Chapter 4

The ambulance arrived. Shane was so panicked he'd lost all sense of direction, clinging to Lydia and barely able to form coherent words.

I had no choice but to accompany Sarah to the hospital as a friend. After a round of emergency treatment, she was finally out of danger and transferred to the ICU.

During all of this, Shane never showed up once. I was the one running around handling the payment and admission paperwork.

My parents called Shane an animal, said he couldn't even take care of his own mother, and told me to stop getting involved too.

But I figured after being neighbors for over 20 years, I'd help out this one last time and then be done with it.

Once Sarah was moved to a regular ward, I contacted Shane to pay the bills. He agreed over the phone.

I'd just returned to the hallway outside the ward when a swarm of media reporters suddenly appeared. They surrounded me at the door, shoving me and demanding answers.

"What kind of grudge do you have that would make you stab a woman in her 60s and critically injure her?"

"Speak up! If you don't explain yourself today, don't think you're leaving here!"

My mind went blank for a moment. I looked up at the crowd. Suddenly, I spotted Shane and Lydia standing outside the mob.

I immediately understood. They'd struck first with false accusations, pinning Sarah's stabbing on me.

I forced myself to stay calm and explained, "Lydia caused Sarah's injury. It has nothing to do with me."

But no matter how I explained, no one believed me.

"Stop trying to shift the blame. The elderly woman's son and daughter-in-law are witnesses. They witnessed you attacking his mother with their own eyes."

As soon as those words landed, a man suddenly flew into a rage and kicked me to the ground. I felt my ribs crack.

I struggled to get up, screaming at the top of my lungs, "You can ask Sarah yourself who's the real culprit who stabbed her!"

The next second, the crowd turned their cameras toward the person on the hospital bed. I looked at Sarah with hope in my heart, praying she'd clear my name.

But instead, she pointed at me in outrage. "The culprit is her. Joanna Calbry."

I froze in shock. I could barely believe my own ears. My voice trembled as I asked, "Why… why are you lying?"

Since childhood, I'd followed my parents' example and treated the Sheridan mother and son with genuine sincerity. When she got hurt, I even came to the hospital to take care of her.

I never imagined she'd betray me when it mattered most. The pain cut deeper than any physical wound.

"Joanna has been shamelessly chasing after my son, constantly throwing herself at him with food and clothes. But my son only has eyes for Lydia.

"Joanna went mad with jealousy and tried to sabotage my son's relationship with his girlfriend. When I exposed her, she viciously stabbed me in retaliation."

Like mother, like son—Sarah was just as good at twisting the truth as her son and Lydia.

I didn't have time to feel hurt. I could only shout for help. "Call the police! Let them investigate who the real culprit is! You can't lay another hand on me, or you'll all end up in jail!"

Those words enraged Lydia. She ran over and slapped me hard across the face. "You're the one who's done nothing but evil, and you still have the nerve to threaten people?"

She yanked my hair and hissed in my ear, "I destroyed all the security footage from your house. There's no evidence to prove your innocence. You filthy bitch, you're absolutely going down in flames this time."

My face burned with pain. Suddenly, I remembered I'd given Sarah the passcode to my door lock.

This woman had actually gone to my house while I was taking care of Sarah and destroyed the evidence. How despicable and shameless.

I turned to leave.

Shane walked over and grabbed me by the throat, his face full of glee. "Joanna, you've always acted so high and mighty, lecturing me like you're better than everyone. It's time you learned how humiliating it feels to be trampled underfoot."

With that, he clenched his fist and slammed it into my abdomen, one blow after another. "You bitch! My mom treated you like a daughter, and you tried to kill her!"

I had no power to fight back. The blows made me cough up blood.

Lydia pointed her phone at me, laughing wildly. "Everyone, get a good look at this bitch's face! When she couldn't have my boyfriend, she maliciously stabbed my future mother-in-law and tried to frame me for it. She's rotten to the core!

"Thank God we caught her in time, or who knows what would've happened. Tell me, doesn't she deserve a beating?"

Cheers erupted around me. "Beat her to death! I hate fake bitches like her!"

Every part of me was in agony. I didn't know who could possibly help me now.

Suddenly, a group of people rushed through the door.

The man leading them threw Shane to the ground and shouted, "Even if you destroyed the video, I can still prove Joanna didn't stab your mother!"