"Why would you frame your own sister? Why would you hire someone to smash her hand?"
Nathan shot to his feet, fury radiating off him like something that could swallow a person whole.
The gift box slipped from his hand, its contents scattering across the floor.
Evelyn took a step back, confusion written all over her face. "I didn't… I've been busy these past few days. I didn't even know she was hurt."
"And you still dare to deny it?" Nathan let out a sharp, humorless laugh.
"Last time you stepped forward at the press conference, I thought you'd finally changed. Turns out you're even more vicious behind the scenes."
He threw a stack of documents in front of her.
Papers scattered across the floor, chat logs and transaction records laid out clearly, all pointing to her paying someone to injure Annelise's hand.
"The evidence is right here. And you still say it wasn't you?"
Evelyn stared blankly at the evidence on the floor, her blood running cold.
"I didn't do it! This wasn't me!" Her eyes reddened as she stared at Nathan. "Photos can be faked! We've been married for three years, don't you know what I'm like? How could I ever hurt Annelise?"
Nathan frowned slightly. He stepped forward, snatched her phone without a word, and unlocked it with her fingerprint before opening the messaging app.
The top contact matched the documents exactly, down to the timestamps and the amounts transferred.
"And you're still lying to me!" Nathan snapped, completely losing control. He turned to the bodyguards. "Take her to the police."
Two tall bodyguards stepped forward immediately, grabbing her arms and dragging her out.
"I'm not lying! It really wasn't me!"
Evelyn shoved them away with all her strength and bolted for the door.
She had to make Annelise believe her.
She stumbled all the way to the hospital and pushed the door open. Annelise was sitting on the bed, her right hand wrapped in thick bandages.
"Annelise!" Evelyn rushed forward, dropping to her bedside. "You have to believe me. I didn't hurt you. Those records are fake. Someone set me up…"
Annelise looked at her, her eyes calm, almost cold.
She gently pulled her hand away, cutting her off. "I know. It wasn't you."
Evelyn froze, relief just beginning to rise before the next words fell.
"Because I planned it myself."
"Why…" Evelyn's body went rigid, her breathing turning shallow.
She took a step back, as if unable to believe it.
"You're lying… aren't you?"
Annelise's lips slowly curved into a twisted, venomous smile. "Why? You're asking me why? I grew up in the Whitmore family, with the best of everything. My parents loved me, Nathan loved me. My life was perfect. And then you had to show up. I felt guilty. I pitied you. I gave you everything that should have been yours. But the company is something I built with my own hands, and now the parents who once favored me want to give you thirty percent of the shares! I'm the one who's supposed to inherit it all, yet you get everything without doing a thing!"
"I don't want the shares. I can give them all to you. I never wanted to compete with you…" Evelyn murmured.
She had never wanted anything from the Whitmore family. In just two days, she would be gone.
Before she could finish, Annelise raised her hand and slapped her hard. Evelyn's head snapped to the side, a trace of blood appearing at the corner of her lips.
"That pathetic look again! Then why did you come back? Wouldn't it have been better if you'd just stayed there and died in that miserable little village, never showing up at all?"
