Chapter 192

Andrew Lucas's fingertips trembled slightly.

Nicole Capra's request was reasonable, yet his legs felt like they were weighed down with lead.

"Focus on recovering." He pried her fingers from his sleeve and turned away, leaving a cold gust in his wake.

The moment the hospital door clicked shut, Nicole's nails dug deep into her palms.

She stood barefoot on the icy floor, scattered clothes like withered petals around her.

When Jenny Keene entered, she was met with Nicole's bloodshot eyes.

"Susan Thompson!"

The name slithered through clenched teeth, dripping with venomous hatred.

A chill ran down Jenny's spine, but she forced herself forward. "The press conference is all arranged."

"Not enough!" Nicole hurled a pillow at the wall. "I want her reputation destroyed! I want her begging for death!"

The shrill ring of a phone cut through the tension.

Henry Bartley's sycophantic voice oozed through the speaker. "Nicole, let's go public with our relationship."

"Shut up!" Her nails screeched against the phone case. "Henry, if you breathe a word of this, I'll make your life hell."

"I'll take care of Susan for you." His tone turned icy. "She'll be gone before sunset tomorrow."

After hanging up, Nicole studied her reflection with a smirk.

Tomorrow would be historic—her redemption, Susan's damnation.

Morning light filtered through the curtains as Susan examined her swollen left hand.

Benjamin Nash's treatments had restored some sensation to her arm, but Vincent King's kick last night had undone all progress.

In a corner diner, the TV broadcast Nicole's press conference live.

Dressed in white, Nicole faced the cameras with practiced fragility.

"That woman in the video isn't me."

She lifted scissors and sliced open the fabric over her abdomen before the flashing lenses.

"This scar is proof."

Gasps erupted through the crowd.

A bespectacled female reporter sneered. "Special effects makeup can fake gunshot wounds now. Care to get a medical verification, Miss Capra?"

Nicole's face drained of color.