“But Eric, it was Hadley who stabbed me!” The words burst from her lips without warning.

“What?” Eric’s body went rigid, shock rippling through him at her accusation.

“She didn’t.”

“She did!” Linda’s voice remained steady, unyielding. “She stabbed me. If she hadn’t, would I be lying here, clinging to life?”

“She didn’t!” Eric’s voice cut through the air with conviction, his gaze boring into her face. He recognized that expression—the same mask Linda had worn years ago when she falsely accused Hadley of pushing her down the stairs.

Rage crashed through him like a tidal wave, threatening to consume everything in its path. “You’re framing her again!” The words exploded from his throat. “This isn’t the first time! Years ago, you pulled the same stunt.”

He paused, drawing a shaky breath before continuing. “That year, the child you carried belonged to Robin. Ernest never touched you, and you knew it wasn’t his. So you orchestrated the whole thing by hurling yourself down those stairs. That way, you could eliminate the baby and destroy Hadley simultaneously—two birds with one stone.”

Each word that spilled from his lips fed the fire burning inside him, his agitation growing with every revelation. In stark contrast, Linda’s demeanor turned glacial, her composure sharpening like a blade.

“Are you finished?” Linda’s voice drifted out like silk, and she waited for Eric’s tirade to end before gracing him with a ghost of a smile. “You’ve said so much. Where’s your proof?”

Eric didn’t miss a beat. “I don’t need proof. It’s you. It’s always been you.”

“Oh?” Linda arched one perfectly sculpted eyebrow, amusement dancing in her tone. “No proof, and yet you’re ready to condemn me?”

“Because that’s exactly the kind of person you are!” Eric’s imposing frame towered over her, his stare cutting through her like a laser. “For over a decade, I remained blind to your true nature. Just because it took me years to see through your mask doesn’t mean I’ll stay blind forever.”

Without warning, Linda erupted into laughter, the sound slicing through the air like broken glass. The motion tugged at her wound, and she flinched, her face draining of color. Still, she managed to steady her breathing and cast a glance at Eric. “Are you listening to yourself? Back then, you sang a different tune.”

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“That’s because—”

“Because you’ve changed!” Linda sliced through his words, her voice quaking with fury. “Your heart has wandered so far from me! Whatever. I don’t care anymore. Your heart stopped being mine long ago. But…”

Her tone transformed, and a venomous smile twisted her lips as she locked eyes with Eric. She spoke each word with deliberate precision. “It was Hadley who stabbed me. It was her.”

“Stop lying!” Eric’s voice thundered through the room.

“Lying?” Linda didn’t even blink, her defiant gaze clashing with his. “I’ll say it again—where’s your proof?”

Eric fell silent, frustration simmering beneath his skin like molten lava. Linda was far too careful, far too calculating. He finally grasped the depths of her cunning nature. She had orchestrated this with surgical precision, anticipating every possible outcome and preparing countermeasures for each one. She was no ordinary adversary.

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