Compartir

Chapter 3

Autor: Goodtale
It was the next day when I came to.

My head felt as if it had been struck with a sledgehammer, and every breath I took sent a shock of pain through my ribcage.

I tried moving my fingers, causing the IV needle on the back of my hand to press uncomfortably against my vein.

“You’re awake? Don’t move, don’t move.”

The nurse held my shoulders down.

“You have two broken ribs, a concussion, and two stitches on your forehead.”

The driver responsible had already been arrested.

The nurse mentioned that my phone was smashed beyond recognition in the crash, so they couldn't reach my family and had only notified the local police through their hotline.

She handed over a spare phone for me to call my family to inform them of my safety.

I had just opened my mouth to say thank you when the ward door was slammed open.

Julian’s mom led the charge.

Behind her, a crowd of relatives followed, cramming into the room.

She marched to the bedside, raising her hand ready to deliver a blow to my face.

The nurse stepped right in front of me, blocking her.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“What does it look like?”

Julian’s mom flushed crimson with rage, her finger poking past the nurse’s shoulder at me.

“Why don’t you ask this shameless bitch what she did?

“Hooking up with a guy inside a bridal fitting room, your video going viral all over the internet! And here you are lying in bed like nothing happened!”

The nurse kept her arm held firm.

“This is a hospital. The patient just came out of emergency care. Please step outside.”

“Step outside?”

Julian stepped forward, looking down at me with disdain.

“Hazel Stone, you think playing sick and hiding in a hospital ward can erase what you did yesterday?

“I was waiting for you to try on your gown while you were inside, fooling around with some random guy. You make me sick!”

The nurse’s expression grew stern.

“Are you not listening? The patient just regained consciousness and needs rest! If you aren’t family, please leave at once!”

“Drop the act!”

Julian’s mom slapped her hand hard against the bedside table.

“You really know how to put on an act! I knew girls raised in single-parent homes were no good—you’re like a public bus! Anyone can take a ride!”

Family members from neighboring beds stood up, and people in the hallway began poking their heads inside to stare.

Julian stared at me with frosty eyes.

“You think playing sick here will do any good? Yesterday’s video was clear as day. You’re a whore who knows no shame!”

When those words hit the air, the ward went quiet for a split second.

The door swung open once more.

Laura came rushing in.

She pushed through the crowd and threw herself at my bedside, gripping a phone in her hand, followed by two uniformed police officers.

“Hazel! How could you do this?”

Her voice was piercing as she thrust the phone toward my face.

“Julian’s superiors called him in for a talk this morning. And his mom was so furious she didn’t sleep a wink all night.”

On the screen was the exact same fitting room footage from my past life.

I let out a smile.

Despite me never showing up, they still forged it anyway.

Catching sight of it, Julian’s mom pointed at me and screamed:

“Look! The bitch is still smiling!”

The police officers walked over.

“Ms. Hazel Stone, you are currently suspected of spreading harmful content online. Please come with us to the station for questioning.”

Continúa leyendo este libro gratis
Escanea el código para descargar la App

Último capítulo

  • Staging a Car Crash to Clear My Name   Chapter 10

    My dressing was to be removed on a Tuesday.My mom stood in the doorway of the examination room, watching the doctor remove the gauze layer by layer.My ribs had aligned and healed well. I could now return to normal physical activity.Mom just nodded along quietly, saying nothing.After we got home, she spent hours on a pot of beef bourguignon. Once done, she set a bowl in front of me, urging me to eat while it was hot.Mom sat across from the table, watching me eat in silence.When I spilled some broth on the table, she pulled a tissue to wipe it clean.A moment later, another drop fell, and she repeated the same action.She did it thrice that day.The day the compensation payout hit my account, I transferred the entire sum to an anti-cyberbullying charity fund.When the foundation’s thank-you letter arrived at my office, my boss read it aloud during our weekly meeting.After finishing, he folded the letter neatly, handed it back to me, and mentioned that the design department had a n

  • Staging a Car Crash to Clear My Name   Chapter 9

    When the judge delivered the verdict, Laura didn’t shed a tear.The gavel fell with a light tap, but the sound vibrated through the courtroom.“Defendant Julian Bailey is found guilty of disseminating of obscene material and defamation. For these multiple offenses, he is sentenced to three years and six months of imprisonment. Defendant Laura Crawford is found guilty of disseminating obscene material and defamation. For these multiple offenses, she is sentenced to three years of imprisonment.”Julian stood in the dock, his shoulders slumping heavily.“Upon this verdict taking effect, both defendants shall publish a formal public apology within thirty days and jointly compensate the plaintiff, Hazel Stone, for various losses totaling 50,000 dollars.”A few people in the back rows of the gallery began to applaud.The judge did not stop them.The clapping lasted for only a few seconds before dying down, but the sound echoed crisp and loud.The bailiffs began escorting the defendants out.

  • Staging a Car Crash to Clear My Name   Chapter 8

    On the morning of the trial, the doctor signed my release to attend the proceedings.Paula pushed my wheelchair into the courtroom.The court was packed full.Julian’s mom sat on the far side. The moment she saw the wheelchair approaching, she snapped her head away.The district attorney carried the case of evidence up to the presenter’s stand.The first exhibit was the accredited AI forensic report.The agency was a court-certified laboratory operating directly under the Ministry of Public Security’s Forensic Science Institute.The report spanned thirty-two pages, dense with technical jargon, but its final conclusion was summarized in one sentence:“All submitted video files display definitive evidence of facial substitution.”The forensic expert testified in court, stating firmly:“Every single pixel across these videos has been replaced. There is no raw, unedited footage in existence.”What followed next was my airtight chain of alibis.Emergency intake logs, chest X-rays, the offic

  • Staging a Car Crash to Clear My Name   Chapter 7

    On the day the official case filing notice arrived, Laura published another long post.Eight hundred words, meticulously phrased, portioned into clean, logical segments.She claimed she was merely a deceived third party who forwarded the content, stating she had trusted Julian too blindly.She said she believed everything he told her. When he asked her to take the video to my hospital room, she did it. And when he instructed her to stick to the fake timeline in front of the police, she obeyed.She extended a heartfelt apology toward me, but insisted she was not the person pulling the strings.Then she attached two screenshots to conclude the post.The first was from the night before my dress fitting.A message from Julian: “The video is ready. Just play along tomorrow.”The second was a payment receipt from three weeks prior.It showed Julian paying for an AI synthesis software, with a clear note attached: “Use Hazel’s face for all of them.”Her caption was:“I didn’t want to make thes

  • Staging a Car Crash to Clear My Name   Chapter 6

    One officer took my admission chart and the accident report, flipping through them twice before raising his head to glance at Laura.“Ms. Crawford, the contents of your report directly conflict with the timing on the victim’s admission chart.“She has a convincing alibi for the timestamp on that fitting room video.“Please cooperate and provide all original files and sources for the videos on your phone.”Laura kept her chin high, but her lips had drawn into a tight white line.She didn’t look at the officers, nor did she look at me.She bent down to pick up her phone with its shattered screen, pushed through the crowd at the door, and walked out.Julian’s mom was the last to leave.When she reached the doorway, her steps suddenly paused as she turned back to cast a glare at me.Julian tugged at her arm from behind, whispering, “Let’s go, Mom.”And just like that, she was dragged away.The crowd of onlookers in the hallway dispersed.That afternoon, the traffic officer delivered the of

  • Staging a Car Crash to Clear My Name   Chapter 5

    Julian’s mom whirled around, glaring dead at Laura, who was standing behind Julian.She still had tears on her face, but she took a subtle step back.“Laura. Didn’t you tell me you saw her walk into that fitting room with your own eyes? Didn’t you say the shop’s security camera caught her on tape? How do you explain that X-ray film then?“At four-thirty, she was getting an X-ray in radiology. From four to four-thirty, she was screwing around with some guy in a fitting room. You’re telling me the woman can be at two places at once?”Laura shrank behind Julian, her lips trembling.“Well, I really did see her with my own eyes... Maybe the hospital got the records mixed up—”The attending physician cast a glance at Laura.“Our X-ray film carries an electronic watermark with the patient’s name, medical record number, and exact time of exposure. It synchronizes automatically with the ER system. There is zero possibility of a mix-up.“The surveillance footage you obtained is outside my profes

Más capítulos
Explora y lee buenas novelas gratis
Acceso gratuito a una gran cantidad de buenas novelas en la app GoodNovel. Descarga los libros que te gusten y léelos donde y cuando quieras.
Lee libros gratis en la app
ESCANEA EL CÓDIGO PARA LEER EN LA APP
DMCA.com Protection Status