Chapter 384



He bent down as if to help her up, but his hand froze mid-air.

A flicker of hesitation crossed his face, and he pulled back as if suddenly remembering something.

At that moment, Lucas walked over.

He strode quickly toward Verena, crouching down to help her up.

Verena’s pale face was drenched in sweat, a gash on her forehead oozing blood that trickled down her cheeks.

It was a harrowing sight.

Bruises marred her arms and legs, leaving her battered and fragile.

Ryan’s face turned pale as panic overtook him.

His voice trembled. “Verena, what happened? How are you feeling?”

Lucas’ expression hardened.

“It hurts… It hurts so much!” Verena sobbed, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, her gaze fixing on Belinda, who was descending the stairs.

Between sobs, Verena choked out, “Ms. Wright… Why did you push me down the stairs?”

Her words landed like a thunderclap.

The room fell into stunned silence, as though time itself had frozen.

All eyes turned toward Belinda, disbelief etched on everyone’s face.

“How could Belinda have done that? Pushing someone down the stairs is dangerous.”

“Verena could have died!”

“What kind of grudge drove Belinda to do something so vicious?”

Lucas, too, raised his head to look at Belinda.

For a moment, Belinda’s familiar, delicate face stirred a memory in him—she and Johnson together in the garden.

Lucas’ expression darkened, a shadow clouding his eyes.

“I didn’t push you!” Belinda said firmly, her voice calm but resolute.

Each word was measured. “You fell down the stairs on your own.”

The moment Verena had tumbled down the stairs, Belinda had understood her plan.

She was certain she hadn’t used enough force to cause Verena to lose her balance.

Verena must have done that on purpose.

She must have also said those things to make her angry deliberately.

Verena stared at Belinda, eyes wide, feigning disbelief.

“You… Ms. Wright, how could you…”

“I… I saw it!” a timid voice interjected.

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