LOGINMegan stared at me, searching my face for even the slightest hint of fear.I couldn't even be bothered to look at her.Instead, I turned toward the cameras. The same cameras that had followed me, condemned me, and broadcast every second of my supposed cruelty to the world."Once I was sure she wasn't Claire, I started watching everything she did. But I couldn't confront her. There was too much at stake. Megan is dangerous. Until I knew exactly what I was dealing with, I couldn't let her suspect for even a second that I knew the truth."Behind the countless cameras pointed at me, there was silence. No one was cursing me anymore.Finally, one of the reporters spoke up, "Then, why didn't you go to the police?"I shook my head. "Because I had no proof. If I'd gone to the police with nothing but a suspicion, I would've tipped her off. And the moment Megan realized I knew, Claire's life could have been in danger."Then, Megan fell into the lake, and I saw an opportunity. I had to make
Luke's words silence the entire crowd outside the police station.The smile froze on Claire's face, but only for a second. She quickly frowned and gave Luke an exasperated look. "Luke, what are you talking about? If I'm not your sister, then who am I?"But Luke wasn't looking at her. He was still staring at the man in the photos, every trace of color gone from his face. "Because Dad's dying wish was that we stay away from that man. He hated him. He made us promise we would never have anything to do with him."Claire's fingers curled into fists beneath the sleeves of her hospital gown.For the first time, she looked genuinely rattled. "Luke… I just felt sorry for him. It's been so many years, and I thought maybe it was time to let go of whatever happened between them. That's all. I only met him that one time."Her words came faster and faster. "I won't do it again. I promise. I'll never see him again."She sounded desperate to patch the hole in her story before anyone could look t
The entire entrance to the police station fell silent. For several long seconds, no one said a word.Then, the live stream chat exploded. "What?""What's going on?""Okay, I'm officially lost.""His wife literally handed him the perfect excuse, and he just threw it back in her face?"Ryan finally snapped out of his shock. He lunged forward and grabbed me by the collar. "What the hell are you doing? Claire just told the entire world something deeply personal to protect you! Why would you turn around and say something like that?"A strange smile tugged at my lips. "Because a month ago, I saw her having coffee with another man."Silence fell again.Then, Luke actually laughed, too furious to believe what he was hearing. "My sister had coffee with another guy, so you decided she deserved to die? You think she's cheating on you?"Luke stopped halfway through his sentence. Something wasn't right. Back at the hospital, he'd already wondered if Claire's baby might not have been mi
The outrage online only continued to grow.Someone dug up an interview I'd given after rescuing three children from a flood. In the video, I was covered head to toe in mud.The reporter had asked me if I was afraid of dying.I'd laughed. "Of course I am. But when someone's life is on the line, nothing else matters."Someone edited that clip together with footage of me sitting by the lake, calmly fishing while Claire was drowning. It immediately went viral for all the wrong reasons."Nothing matters more than a human life, unless it's his wife's.""This guy used to risk his life for complete strangers, but he stood there and watched his own wife drown. What does that tell you?""It tells you he wasn't afraid to save her. He wanted her dead."The last comment shot straight to the top. Once the video was out there, people couldn't stop talking about it.More and more began to question whether Claire falling into the lake had really been an accident at all. Before long, the commen
The room went silent again.The viewers who had just started defending me seemed to realize the same thing at once. The comments exploded."Wait, that's right!""I almost forgot about that!""Trauma explains why he couldn't go into the water. It doesn't explain why he refused to pay her hospital bills.""And after finding out they'd lost the baby, he literally said there was no point keeping her in the hospital!"Claire's face went pale. She quickly turned to Luke. "Luke, are you sure you didn't misunderstand? Gary would never say something like that."Luke whipped around to face her. "Misunderstand? There were dozens of people standing right there! The doctor told us you'd lost the baby, and the first thing Gary asked was how much it would cost to keep you in the hospital!"Claire opened her mouth. But this time, no explanation came. She couldn't think of a single excuse for me.Luke turned back to me. "Gary, tell me something. Is the trauma even real? Or are you just using i
The entire hospital room went silent. Every camera was pointed at me. More than a million people were watching the live stream, waiting for the explanation I'd refused to give until now.I was quiet for a long moment before I finally spoke, "About a month ago, I saved someone else's life."One of the reporters jumped in, asking, "You're talking about a different rescue?"I lowered my gaze. "Yes. I'd just gotten off work that day. I was walking past a river when I saw someone in the water."It was a man in his 40s. The current had already swept him more than 30 feet downstream, and he was seconds away from being carried even farther.I didn't hesitate. I jumped in.There had been days of heavy rain, and the current was dangerously strong. Twice, I got dragged into an eddy and nearly didn't make it back to the surface myself.But somehow, I managed to get the man to shore.We both barely made it out alive. And when he finally regained consciousness, the first thing he did was gra







