Chapter 10

Victoria quickly pulled herself together, eyes brimming with tears. "You guys seriously don't trust me? I was just at Sunbath Garden yesterday to check in on Elizabeth, and I overheard the maids talking. They said Alexander carried her out of the room—she was covered in blood."

Hearing that, Mr. and Mrs. Harper immediately felt a wave of guilt.

"Victoria, we almost misunderstood you," Mrs. Harper said, then looked toward Elizabeth. "Lizzie, she explained everything. You should believe her."

Elizabeth's face darkened. "Yeah, well I don't."

She handed her phone to her mom without another word.

Mrs. Harper looked confused but still took the phone. One glance at the photo on the screen and her expression changed instantly.

"Victoria, what is going on here?"

Victoria moved closer to take a look and froze for a second at the image. "I just ran into Alexander by accident. He'd been drinking, and I thought I'd help him back. I tripped, and he just caught me—that's it."

Elizabeth snorted. "Caught you? You sure it wasn't a full-on hug?"

"You know who sent me that picture? I traced the data—it came from your number. Care to explain that?"

Victoria's face looked panicked, but her eyes stayed innocent. "Why would I do that to you? Look at my arm—I seriously fell. Why would I send you something like that? Ask Alexander if you don't believe me."

Her tone was pleading, seemingly honest, like she really meant what she said.

Mr. Harper stepped in then. "Lizzie, her arm is hurt. I doubt she'd do anything so shady."

"You really believe her? She's literally been fixated on my husband," Elizabeth snapped.

Just as she was about to tap on another file, Victoria suddenly burst into tears.

"What did I even do to make you attack me like this? Alexander is your husband. Can't you at least believe I'm not that kind of person? I've always had your back, but now you're tearing me apart like this. I never even had feelings for him. What do I have to do to prove that to you?"

She was crying so hard it felt like she might just throw herself to the ground.

"I just saw him, that's it! I wanted to help him get home safely. Now I'm being humiliated like this? If you all think I'm some liar, I'll just leave.

"I don't get it, Lizzie. You used to care about me so much. What changed in just a month after marrying Alexander?"

A few words from Victoria, and suddenly Mr. and Mrs. Harper's focus shifted.

Elizabeth's hand froze midair, still holding the phone.

Wow. That performance was Emmy-worthy. If there's no Oscar in her future, it's the award show's loss.

Mrs. Harper walked up to Victoria, squeezed her hand, and turned to Elizabeth again. "Lizzie, she couldn't possibly do something like this. You used to adore her—how could you suspect her like that?"

Elizabeth stayed quiet.

Yeah, she used to pour her heart out for this girl. Trusted her completely. And what did she get in return? A shattered home and a tragic ending.

No way she'd let that happen again.

With a deep breath, Elizabeth pulled up an audio file and hit play.

"Send me the photos you got. I'm gonna use them to make Elizabeth get a divorce. Yeah, I want them to split. I liked Alexander first, why should she be the one married to him..."

The recording echoed through the living room.

Donna's face turned pale instantly, and she retracted her hand from Victoria's grip in a flash.

She stared at Victoria in pure disbelief. "How could you do something like this? What do you get from wrecking Elizabeth and Alexander's marriage after all they've been through?

"Elizabeth married Alexander for the sake of our family, and this is how you repay her? Stirring trouble between husband and wife—what were you really aiming for?"

Her tone turned cold, voice trembling with emotion.

Victoria's face lost all color, her fists clenched tight by her sides. Tears streamed down endlessly, like a broken faucet.

That fragile, pitiful look tugged at Albert's heart a little.

"Donna, calm down, let's hear what she has to say," Albert said gently as he held his wife's hand.

Just then, Victoria suddenly dropped to her knees, crying, "I'm sorry, I really messed up. Please, let me explain, just give me a chance."

Elizabeth gave her a slow, mocking smile. "Explain? What kind of story are you planning to sell this time?"

She knew this wouldn't be over in one go—without solid proof, no one would believe anything she said. Victoria had been playing the perfect friend for too many years.

Tonight's goal was to shake up that image she had built with the family. And she had to hold off until Victoria connected with whoever was pulling strings behind the scenes.

So... no, she wouldn't destroy her completely just yet.

Victoria, still crying, said slowly, "If it weren't for you telling me how much you hated Alexander for taking your first time—and how that ruined your chances with Michael—if you hadn't said you wanted to escape your marriage so many times, I wouldn't have gone out of my way to help you. You said you needed a way out, so I helped. But you came back and just said you went on a trip, pretending like nothing ever happened and blaming me for everything.

"I admit I like Alexander. I knew him before you, but he ended up your husband. It just... hurt.

"I thought maybe if you got divorced, he might eventually notice me. I just fell for someone I shouldn't have, that's all. I didn't mean for any of this to happen.

"I sent you those photos because I thought they might help you start over. I wasn't trying to mess things up for you, I just wanted to help. If you're gonna blame someone, blame me. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have fallen for him."

She spoke like she was the real victim—like Elizabeth had manipulated her first, and she'd only ever acted out of kindness. Now Elizabeth was supposedly making her look bad.

Her apology seemed sincere, her tears convincing. Anyone watching could almost fall for it.

Elizabeth just laughed. "So now I'm framing you, huh? You're saying you never liked my husband? That I made it all up to screw you over?"

She could try to spin it however she wanted, but Elizabeth wasn't playing along.

One sentence shut Victoria right up.

"It's all my fault," Victoria whispered. "I shouldn't have had those thoughts. Please just forgive me, okay? Hasn't everything we've been through meant anything to you?"

As she said that, she crawled over on her knees to Albert and Donna.

"I get it now, I really do. I'm sorry. Please... can you talk to her for me?"