Love and Devotion No Longer His to Claim (Angela and Dexter) novel Chapter 305

"Dad, I never intended to go through with this. I wanted to come clean long ago. It was Elena—she told me to see it through. She said that since things had already come this far, I might as well go all the way. It was her—"

"Amber." Just then, Elena entered.

She had clearly heard Amber's accusations, yet her expression remained unchanged.

"Elena, you came just in time! Tell everyone whose idea this was! I'm not usually like this, right?"

Amber walked forward to grab Elena's hand, her eyes filled with hope. "I never planned to take my own life. You told me that whether it was slitting my wrist or exposing the situation, it was all to help me fight for my true love. You told me to do it!"

Everyone looked at her with complicated expressions.

Angela also watched her with a helpless look. So what if it was Elena? Elena valued her own reputation too much—there was no way she would admit to it.

That was what everyone else believed, too, but they were all wrong.

With a gentle look, Elena stroked Amber's hand, sighing lightly. "That's right. I was the one who told you to do it. It was all my idea. Amber, this has nothing to do with you."

Overjoyed, Amber quickly turned to Russell. "See, Dad? You all heard that, right? About this whole ordeal, I was just—"

Before she could finish speaking, Russell suddenly slapped her hard across the face.

Amber was basking in the relief of what she thought was her salvation. She didn't see it coming.

The force of the slap sent her sprawling to the ground, a pained groan escaping her lips. Her cheek burned. It was like this was a nightmare.

"Dad…" The dazed Amber looked up at Russell in shock. "You hit me… How could you hit me?"

Russell had never laid a hand on her, no matter how strict he had been.