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Lahat ng Kabanata ng Staging a Car Crash to Clear My Name: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

10 Kabanata

Chapter 1

Julian’s voice carried a hint of laughter.I gripped the doorknob, my nails digging deep into my palm.I swallowed the bitter taste in my throat.“Babe, my stomach hurts so badly today. Can we try it on tomorrow instead?”The line went quiet for half a beat.“Stomach pain? Did you eat something off?”His tone immediately softened into deep concern.“I’ll come over and pick you up. Stay home and wait.”“It’s okay, don’t.”I rejected him without a second thought.“Don’t be stubborn now. Laura took time off work to accompany you, and appointments at this boutique are hard to book.“Besides, I really wanna see you in that mermaid dress. You’re gonna be breathtaking in it.”Laura Crawford, my bestie’s lively, overly affectionate voice chimed in from the background.“Hazel, hurry up and get over here! I brought you nipple covers. The back of the gown is sheer—it’s gonna be gorgeous on you!”Sheer back fabric.Nipple covers.In my past life, I had handed them their opportunity on a silver pla

Chapter 2

It was Julian’s mom who delivered the slap.Before I could process what was happening, her hand came swinging again.Julian’s aunt, grandaunt, cousins, and sisters-in-law packed half the room, forming a dark, suffocating wall.They all glared at me with pure disgust.Julian leaned against the window outside, watching me with icy detachment.Confused and disoriented despite taking two hard slaps to the face, I still forced an apologetic smile.“What happened—”“Shut your mouth!”Julian’s mom cut me off sharply, her face flushed red with rage as she glared at me.“What a shameless slut you are!”I clutched my burning cheek, still unable to wrap my head around it.Laura rushed in through the door.“Hazel, how could you do something like that?”I looked down at the phone screen she shoved in front of me.Inside a fitting room, a half-naked woman was pinned against the mirror by a man.The woman was me.My stomach churned as if caught in a vice.“That’s not me!”I shoved the phone away.“Th

Chapter 3

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 s

Chapter 4

The nurse froze, too stunned for speech.She looked back and forth between the officers and the mob at the door, opening her mouth to speak, but Julian’s mom’s shrill voice completely drowned her out.I, on the other hand, was unperturbed.I leaned back against the headboard, a pillow propped up behind my back.My broken ribs throbbed painfully with every breath I took.Yet my mind was crystal clear—so remarkably lucid that it surprised even myself.They had the nerve to involve the police.What on earth were they thinking?I raised my uninjured hand—the one without the IV needle—and slightly extended it toward Laura, my tone laced with genuine confusion.“When exactly did you say I committed this shameful act?”Laura’s face was still wet with tears, but she was quick to reply.“Yesterday afternoon! The bridal shop’s surveillance recorded you walking in at four o’clock. You stayed in the fitting room for nearly forty minutes. Julian waited outside for so long, only for you to pull a sh

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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