205–Under Suspicion
Nora:
“Nora! What is going on here–” Lord Atwood stopped talking when his eyes landed on the girl beside me. A very shocked look covered his face.
“What the heck!” Nash seemed as surprised as his father.
“I saw Natalya do that, and when I tried to catch her, she pushed me and ran away.” I said, certain they would take serious measures against her this time. It was really getting out of hand with her now. Why. would she come to torment me now? Didn’t she win Cain already? What else was left in my life that she wanted to steal from me?
Nash and Lord Atwood were examining the car when they heard my accusation. However, their eyes swiftly turned to my hand, and a frown creased their foreheads. I didn’t quite understand at the moment.
because my focus was diverted with Cain and the rest of the brothers marching out of the mansion. I stepped aside so that Cain could see what his beloved girlfriend had done to his car.
The minute he saw his car and read those words, his eyes started to turn red with anger.
“What the heck is this?” he yelled, already losing his temper.
But before I could tell him it was his girlfriend, he too looked at my hands, and then his frown intensified. “What have you done?” Now. that he yelled directly at me, I followed their stares to see the bottle in my hand.
205–Under Suspicion
I had to look between them several times to even realize what it looked
like.
“Oh no! I snatched it out of Natalya’s hands when she ran away.” I quickly defended myself, throwing away the bottle and stepping away from it.
Nash seemed to give me a sympathetic look, almost like he felt sorry for me. But I wasn’t lying. She did do that, and I ran after her.
“There is no Natalya here, but you are,” Cain hissed.
Lord Atwood had his hand on his forehead and looked sorrowful as he paced around a little.
“Let’s go inside and talk about it,” Silas patted Nash’s back, who agreed
with him.
“Get this car inside,” Ryker called for a driver, gesturing for all of us to enter the mansion. My heart was pounding so loudly in my chest that all I could hear were my own heartbeats.
I rushed inside after Lord Atwood because I feared Cain would confront me. The others took some time before they returned.
Now, we all sat in the living room, everyone looking anxious. I was the only one who stayed sitting on the couch with Lord Atwood.
“Everyone sit down. Don’t scare her,” Lord Atwood requested in a gentle tone. I didn’t like getting into trouble, but every time I had at great day, April and Natalya would do something to ruin it.
“I’m telling you the truth. She’s the one who sprayed it with red and blue paint,” I said, trying hard to defend myself, but I knew why I looked guilty. They found me with the bottle.
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205–Under Suspicion
“It’s okay. We don’t need to jump to any conclusions,” Silas intervened while Ryker silently watched Cain pace around.
“Conclusions? What else do you need to see? Why would you write that on the car?” I didn’t understand why Cain was so incredulous
innocence now. I remember he used such gentle words for
about my S
me. But now, he wasn’t even listening to me.
“I didn’t. Why would I write that?” I argued, without raising my voice.
I had such an amazing day, only for it to be ruined like this.
“I don’t know. Maybe because–” Cain stopped speaking after Ryker shook his head at him.
“We have collected the bottle, and we will see if Natalya’s fingerprints show up on it. We don’t need to punish or accuse Nora until then,” Silas intervened once again, and I quickly nodded in agreement. I liked. the idea. Having proof is the only way to prove my innocence after being caught with the bottle. However, soon I remembered one detail that changed my entire outlook once again.
“But–we can’t do that,” I said, and their eyes stared at me with a hint of suspicion. I hated it.
“Why not? It will help clear your name,” Nash spoke softly, trying to make me understand.
“Yeah, but—she was wearing gloves,” I said confidently, but their continued stare at my face didn’t look promising.
“How convenient,” Cain scoffed, shaking his head.
“I’m not lying. Or–” I snapped my fingers as a thought struck me.
“We can look for the blue paint bottle. She must still have it with her,”
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205–Under Puspicion
I watched Nash and Silas exchange a glance, then nod their heads in agreement with the idea.
“I think that will do,” Ryker finally spoke up, getting up from his seat.
“I will go visit April’s place to see if I can find the bottle before it’s too late,” he declared, thankfully taking the right steps. But I wasn’t sure if I could trust him with April. She might convince him to spare Natalya. Anything could be done.
“But you shouldn’t go alone,” as he heard me say that, Ryker slowed down and tilted his head.
“What are you suggesting? That I won’t be honest with my findings?” The look he gave me was full of warning, and obviously, the others. didn’t look pleased with me upsetting Ryker as well.
“I’m just saying, she’s your girlfriend. Your judgment will be clouded by–” I couldn’t finish because Nash shook his head in disappointment,
and Silas intervened.
“I will go with my brother. Not because I don’t trust him, but because I would love to prove you wrong,” it wasn’t a malicious tone he used. He seemed genuinely upset that I had openly accused Ryker of being biased towards his girlfriend in his work.
“I was just sa–” Feeling judged, I tried to get up to face them when my purse dropped from my lap, catching everyone’s attention.
Not just any noise, but it sounded like there was something in my purse. Something that might be a bottle?
“Give me your bag,” Cain hissed, swiftly rushing over and grabbing my bag from the ground. He didn’t wait for any orders and unzipped it, and the blue spray bottle rolled out and dropped to the ground.
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