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Chapter 2

Author: Perfect Timing
At the school gate, Chloe was already waiting.

She wore a white camisole dress, a full face of makeup, and her hair was curled into big waves. She looked like she was about to walk a red carpet.

"You're wearing that to hike?" I asked.

"It looks good on camera."

She checked her makeup through the front camera of her phone.

"Tell me, does this lipstick shade look good on video?"

Chloe turned toward me. Her lips were painted a deep red.

"It looks good," I said.

It really did.

In my last life, after she fell, her makeup was smeared.

Blood poured from her nose and ears, redder than her lipstick.

Sienna arrived second.

She was carrying a large canvas tote, bulging with things.

"What did you bring?" Chloe asked.

"Power banks, a selfie stick, a fill light, and the rope."

Sienna lowered her voice and wiggled her brows.

"The one you asked me to buy."

"Let me see."

Sienna pulled out a coil of orange-red rope.

I glanced at it.

The rope was old. The surface was worn, and several places had frayed.

The seller had labeled it: "decorative rope, not load-bearing." Fifty dollars, shipping included.

When Sienna placed the order, she hadn't even read the product description.

Chloe took it and gave it a casual shake, without checking anything.

"Fine. This will do."

"Chloe, should we test it?" Molly Weaver came up behind us, pale-faced, her voice small.

"Test what?"

"I mean... pull it and see if it's sturdy."

Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Are you stupid? It's new. What could be wrong with it?"

Sienna immediately chimed in.

"Exactly. I bought it myself. It cost more than two hundred dollars. What could be wrong?"

More than two hundred.

In my last life, I saw the purchase record.

The rope cost fifty. Sienna pocketed the extra one hundred and fifty Chloe had given her and bought secondhand junk.

The seller had even written in the comments: the rope is worn and not recommended for climbing.

Sienna didn't care.

It wasn't her life on the line anyway.

I stood there without speaking.

In my last life, I had warned Chloe in the car.

"That rope doesn't look very strong. Maybe we should forget it."

She flipped out on the spot.

"What do you mean? Are you cursing me?"

This life, I wouldn't warn her again.

But I also wouldn't stand there stupidly like last time.

What I had to do was make them believe they were safe, then watch with their own eyes as the rope snapped.

After we got into the car, Chloe started a livestream.

"Hey, everyone! Today Sunny is heading to Eagle's Beak Cliff for an extreme challenge!

"Look, behind me are my three besties. They'll be coming with me."

She turned the camera toward us.

Sienna flashed a peace sign.

Molly lowered her head.

I looked out the window.

Comments drifted across the screen.

"Sunny, be careful!"

"Why does the girl next to you look so serious?"

Chloe smiled and said, "That's Lena. She's... not quite like us. She's pretty introverted."

Introverted.

No.

I was thinking about how to make all of you die with the truth laid bare.
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  • The Rope That Told the Truth   Chapter 10

    One year later.I received my paralegal certificate.My score wasn't high, but I passed.My mother cried with joy and cooked a whole table of food.At dinner, my aunt asked, "Lena, are you going back to that college?""No.""Isn't that a shame?""It's fine. Next year, I'll start an online bachelor's program."My aunt still wanted to say something, but my mother stopped her."The child has her own plans. Don't interfere."After dinner, I returned to my room.A message arrived on my phone.It was from my college classmate, Lily Webb."Lena, did you see the news? Something happened to Sienna.""What happened?""She got into a fight while working down south and injured someone. She was arrested. They say she might go to prison."I put down my phone.I didn't reply.Another month later, I received a letter.The return address was a detention center.Inside was a piece of paper with a few crooked lines."Lena, I'm sorry. I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have bought that r

  • The Rope That Told the Truth   Chapter 9

    On my second day back home, I received a package.Sender: Detective Greer.Inside was a USB drive and a short letter."Lena, this is the complete footage from the cameras you placed at the cliff. I copied a set for you. The case is closed now, so the evidence no longer needs to remain sealed. I hope you live well. Greer."I inserted the USB drive into my computer.A folder opened.There were four video files inside.I clicked the first one.On screen, I crouched down to tie the rope for Chloe.The worn part of the rope was clear under the camera.I watched it three times.I confirmed that from every angle, no one could tell I had done it deliberately.Then I removed the USB drive and locked it in a drawer.In the third month of my leave from school, I found a job in my hometown.I worked at a bubble tea shop.The pay wasn't high, but it was enough.My mother worked as a cashier at a supermarket.Between the two of us, we could get by.The owner of the bubble tea shop

  • The Rope That Told the Truth   Chapter 8

    After getting into the cab, I gave the driver the address of the train station.The driver looked at me through the rearview mirror."Miss, are you that Lena Macmillan?""Yes.""I watched the video. You really didn't push her.""Thank you.""But you didn't pull her either."I looked out the window."I couldn't have held her.""You didn't try. How do you know?"I didn't answer.The driver sighed and said nothing more.At the train station, I bought a ticket home.While waiting, my phone rang.It was Molly."Lena...""Yes.""Why did you put cameras there ahead of time?""What do you think?""... Did you already know the rope would snap?""I didn't know. I was just afraid something would happen.""What were you afraid of?""That someone would blame me."Molly started crying on the other end."Lena, I regret it so much. If I'd spoken up earlier about the rope, would Chloe still be alive?""Maybe.""Would you have pulled her?""Maybe."She cried even harder.I h

  • The Rope That Told the Truth   Chapter 7

    The next day, my phone almost exploded.Classmates, teachers, reporters, strangers online.Everyone wanted to talk to me.I didn't answer.I only took one call--my mother's."Lena, I saw the news. Are you all right?" Her voice was shaking."Mom, I'm fine.""The girl who fell... was she your roommate?""Yes.""You really didn't push her, did you?""No. I didn't do anything."My mother was quiet for a few seconds."That's good. If you don't want to stay at school, come home.""Okay."After hanging up, I opened Twitter.The top trending tag was: #InfluencerSunnyFallsFromCliff.The second was: #MomentTheRopeSnapped.The third was: #LenaMacmillan.I tapped into the third one.The pinned post was from a gossip account."Influencer 'Sunny' fell to her death during a livestream. Roommate Lena Macmillan is being accused of 'watching someone die.' Video shows Lena never touched Chloe Pierce, but she also never reached out to pull her back. Police are investigating. Chloe's mo

  • The Rope That Told the Truth   Chapter 6

    In the interrogation room, Detective Greer played the footage once.The pinhole camera had captured Chloe standing at the cliff edge while I tied the rope for her. The frayed section of the rope was clearly visible.The action camera captured another angle: Chloe falling backward on her own, and the rope snapping.The voice recorder captured the conversations."Just buy any rope.""Pretend to fall."Every piece of evidence was clear.After Detective Greer finished watching, she was silent for a long time."Lena, did you know that when you tied the rope for Chloe, the worn section happened to sit exactly at the load-bearing point?""No.""You really didn't know?""I only tied a knot for her. The rope was already worn. Other than that, I never touched the rope."Detective Greer stared at me.I stared back.At last, she looked away."Fine. For now, you aren't responsible. But the case is still under investigation. Keep your phone on.""All right."I stood and walked to th

  • The Rope That Told the Truth   Chapter 5

    I turned around and removed the pinhole camera from my collar.Then I retrieved the action camera from the shrubs and the other one from the railing.Three devices. Continuous recording.Chloe tying the rope. Me helping her tie the knot. The close-up of the frayed section. The entire process of her shouting "don't push me" and falling.All of it was there.I also took the voice recorder out of my inner pocket.Every conversation from the moment we left until now had been recorded.Including Chloe saying, "pretend to fall."Including Sienna saying, "just buy any rope."Including Molly asking, "Should we test it?"That was enough.I put everything away.Then I waited for the police.The police arrived in twenty minutes.The lead officer was a woman named Detective Greer, in her early forties, with short hair and sharp eyes.She looked at me, then at Sienna and Molly."Who called this in?""I did."I raised my hand."Name?""Lena Macmillan. The deceased's roommate."D

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