Chapter 5 Suicide?

Harold and Melinda rushed over.

Melinda pulled the soaking wet Sandra into her arms, her voice shaking, "Sandra, are you okay? You scared me to death."

Harold's face darkened. He turned and shouted at Ryan, "Don't just stand there. Take Sandra to the hospital immediately."

Sandra's lips trembled. She couldn't make a sound and passed out again.

"Sandra!" Melinda screamed.

Harold bent down and scooped Sandra into his arms. Melinda hurried alongside him, and the three Rodriguez brothers followed closely behind.

The group left in a rush. Not a single person looked back at Abigail, who still stood by the water, soaking wet.

Abigail stood there wrapped in a towel.

She didn't move or call out to them. In her past life, she would have been sad, felt wronged, and even made a scene.

But now her heart was completely calm. Since they showed such disregard for her, she naturally didn't need to hold back either.

Only then did Ryan suddenly snap back to reality and turn to look at the shore.

Abigail was still standing in the same spot, neither following the group nor calling out.

A flicker of unease crossed Ryan's mind. He quickly turned back, took off his jacket, and draped it over Abigail's shoulders. "Abigail, Sandra is badly hurt, so everyone's naturally worried. Don't overthink it. Let's go to the hospital together, okay?"

Abigail looked up at him, her eyes rimmed with red. "I'm fine, Ryan. As long as Sandra is safe, that's all that matters."

She raised her hand to wipe the water from her face, and when she turned away, her eyes went completely cold.

Her movement suddenly paused as her gaze fell on a familiar figure at the back of the crowd—Robert.

He was watching her openly, as if he had been observing for quite a while.

Thinking of everything from her past life, Abigail took a deep breath, quickly looked away, turned, and walked off. She remembered she still owed him a favor.

Robert had witnessed the entire scene. The corner of his mouth curved up slightly as he murmured to himself, "Interesting."

The hospital room smelled of disinfectant.

Sandra slowly woke up, her head heavy and her throat burning with pain.

She turned her head and saw Melinda asleep with her head on the bed, Harold sitting on the sofa looking through documents, and her three brothers also keeping watch in the room.

Tears instantly filled her eyes. "Mom."

Melinda woke with a start. "You're finally awake."

The others immediately gathered around the bed.

Sandra looked at her parents' concerned faces, and the tears flowed even harder.

She had not forgotten who had harmed her.

She grabbed Melinda's wrist, her eyes filled with both fear and anger. "Abigail—she pushed me into the water. She tried to kill me."

The room fell silent. Jason's expression darkened as he stared directly at Sandra. "You're saying Abigail pushed you in?"

Sandra nodded forcefully. Without another word, Jason turned and walked toward the door, pulling Abigail, who was standing in the hallway, into the room.

"Abigail." Jason's voice was ice cold. "Sandra says you pushed her into the water. Now give us an explanation."

Abigail looked toward Sandra on the bed. Sandra was curled up in Melinda's arms, looking frightened, but her eyes held intense hatred, as if she couldn't wait to get rid of her.

Abigail lowered her head, hiding the smile in her eyes, and spoke with a voice full of grievance. "Jason, you know I can barely swim."

Jason's movement paused slightly.

"Everyone knows that, don't they?" Abigail's voice took on a tearful tone. "Would someone who can barely swim push someone else into the river and then jump in themselves? Does that make any sense?"

She raised her hand to adjust her still-damp hair, revealing large bruises on her neck and a wound on her right hand that was still bleeding.

The scratches on her hand had already scabbed over, but earlier in the hallway, hearing the anxious voices from inside the room, she had torn the scabs off in her agitation.

Only real pain could help her stay calm and keep her emotions under control.

"Sandra caused all these injuries." She held her bleeding hand up to Jason's face. "She must have impulsively tried to end her life, then regretted it, so she desperately grabbed at me in the water, trying to use me to get back to shore."

End her life? Everyone in the Rodriguez family looked shocked.

Abigail pulled out her phone and played an audio recording.

Sandra's voice came through the speaker: "If my existence causes you so much pain, I'd rather just leave and never appear again... If I disappeared, would you forgive me and stop fighting with Mom and Dad?"

The room fell silent again. Everyone looked at Sandra on the bed in disbelief.

Jason frowned. "Why did you record this in advance?"

"I noticed earlier that Sandra's state was very unusual—sometimes overly emotional, sometimes showing signs of self-loathing." Abigail's voice trembled slightly. "I was worried she had psychological issues. When she asked me to meet by the river today, I secretly recorded our conversation, planning to show it to a psychologist later."

She looked at Jason. "Do you think what I did was wrong? If so, I'm willing to apologize. I was just genuinely afraid she might do something foolish."

Jason didn't answer. His gaze was heavy as he studied her, trying to determine if she was telling the truth.

Abigail met his eyes calmly, then turned to Ryan. "Ryan, when you pulled me ashore, you should have seen an oxygen tank near Sandra, right?"

Ryan paused for a moment, then nodded instinctively. "I think I did see one."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized the implication. "You mean the oxygen tank was placed in the river beforehand?"

Everyone present understood what this meant. It indicated that the drowning was planned from the start, and the person never intended to put herself in real danger.

Harold's expression darkened. He immediately ordered, "Send someone to retrieve that oxygen tank from the river right now."

"No." Sandra on the bed turned pale, her body shaking uncontrollably.

She wanted to defend herself but couldn't find the words. Once her family found the evidence, her scheme would be completely exposed, and she would be disgraced.

Abigail looked at her panicked state and sighed softly. "Sandra, what exactly are you trying to do? Why don't you just tell me the truth?"

She stepped forward and took Sandra's hand, her tone gentle and concerned. "Death isn't scary, but why are you putting everyone through this?"

Her palm gradually tightened, the force almost crushing Sandra's wrist.

Sandra looked at her pretend concern and felt cold all over.

She clearly remembered how those hands had pressed down on her neck, how they had pushed her under the water again and again. She couldn't forget the almost crazed smile on Abigail's face as she watched her drown.

Abigail continued in that gentle tone, "Sandra, you prepared an oxygen tank in advance—were you planning to quietly leave the Rodriguez family?"