My heart plummeted the instant the car tipped off the bridge.
In those final, suspended seconds, I managed to retrieve the pinhole camera I'd hidden inside the vehicle. Through the window, a singular image burned into my retinas: Adam coaxing Lola down from the ledge, cradling her like a treasure he'd nearly lost.
Then gravity took over. I crashed into the sea, and the bone-piercing cold swallowed me whole.
Consciousness returned in a haze of antiseptic and pain.
A cold hand rested on my forehead. I blinked, my vision clearing to reveal Adam hovering over me. Worry was etched into his features—but the moment our eyes met, it vanished. An icy mask slammed down over his face.
I had foolishly thought the accident might have sparked a flicker of guilt. I was wrong.
He straightened, looking down at me with sneering contempt. "You're lucky to be alive. If I hadn't spotted you, you wouldn't have lasted the night." He shook his head, disgust dripping from every word. "I never expected this from you, Layla. Staging a suicide attempt just to play the victim? You'd really go that far to dodge responsibility?"
His gaze darkened. "You gambled with your life just to spite Lola. Now the internet is tearing her apart. Are you satisfied?"
I stared at him in disbelief, my fingernails digging into my palms until the skin broke. The physical agony radiating through my battered body paled against the sting of his words.
"You think I drove off a bridge for sympathy?" I rasped, throat raw. "You think I did this because you cheated?"
"Stop playing the martyr." Adam's temper flared. "The only victim here is Lola." He closed his eyes, inhaling sharply to suppress his rage. "I'm starting a livestream. You're going to apologize to her. Publicly. Now."
The injustice boiled over, eclipsing the pain. I snatched the phone from the bedside table and hurled it with every ounce of strength I had left.
"I will never apologize!"
The device struck his forehead with a sickening thud. Blood trickled down his temple.
Adam cursed, wiping the blood away. "Fine. Have it your way."
He stormed out, slamming the door so hard the room shook.
I curled into a ball, hugging my bruised body as sobs tore through my chest. I cried until my heart felt like it was shredding itself apart.
Before I could even wipe my face, the door burst open again.
Tiffany ran in. My daughter.
But instead of rushing to hug me, she flung the leftover cake she was holding at my face. Cream and crumbs splattered across my cheeks, stinging my eyes.
"You're a bad person! You bullied Aunt Lola!" She screamed, her small face twisted in anger. "I'm never calling you Mom again!"
I looked at her through a blur of tears, heart shattering. "Tiffany..."
Adam followed her in, phone raised, camera already rolling. He supported Lola with his free arm. Her wrist was wrapped in thick bandages—a prop for the drama he was orchestrating.
Tiffany didn't stop. She grabbed whatever she could reach—pillows, cups—and threw them at me while the camera broadcasted everything.
"You did it on purpose! You made a fake video to hurt Aunt Lola! I hate you!"
The viewer count skyrocketed. Tens of millions flooded in. Comments scrolled at a dizzying speed, each one a dagger.
"So the cheating rumors were fake? It was all edited?"
"Even the daughter is saying it. Kids don't lie. Didn't expect someone so weak-looking to be so vicious."
"Mr. James is unlucky to have such a psycho wife. She almost drove an innocent woman to suicide. She deserves to rot in hell!"
"She's insane. Didn't even care about her own life just to frame Lola."
"Divorce her immediately! Lola seems like a saint compared to her. Netizens support the new couple!"
One comment after another branded me a monster.
Adam chuckled darkly and ended the stream. The performance was over.
I gripped the bedsheets, knuckles white, glaring at him. "You are truly despicable."
Lola stepped out from behind Adam. A smug smile curled her lips as she dangled a USB drive between her fingers—the evidence I thought I had saved. She had deliberately uploaded the manipulated video.
Adrenaline surged, momentarily overriding my injuries. Dragging my cast-encased leg, I shoved myself off the bed. I lunged, grabbed a fistful of Lola's hair, and struck her across the face.
"Why are you framing me!"
Lola wailed, burying herself in Adam's chest to play the victim once more. Seeing this, Tiffany rushed forward and shoved me.
"Leave her alone!"
I stumbled back, clutching the nightstand to keep from falling. But before I could steady myself, a stronger force slammed into me.
Adam pushed me. Hard.
I hit the floor with a bone-jarring crash.
