After All the Hurt, She Chose Herself novel Chapter 286

Flora wept pitifully.

"Charles... please save me..."

Just as Charles opened his mouth to speak, Roxanne lightly bumped his shoulder.

They still needed to scrape together millions of dollars within three days. If the family diverted resources to bail Flora out now, they would be stretched past their breaking point.

"She hasn't joined the Brent family yet," Roxanne murmured. "She's still a Keene. You have no obligation to step in."

Besides, as far as Roxanne was concerned, Flora had done nothing but drag Charles down.

Did she seriously expect him to abandon his own family's crisis to save her?

Delusional.

Charles stared at his sister, momentarily stunned. He felt like he was looking at a stranger.

The old Roxanne would never have resorted to extortion, nor would she have been this ice-cold. He never imagined returning to the country would reveal such a drastic change in her personality.

"Roxanne, she's my fiancée. How can you say this has nothing to do with me? We're getting engaged in a few days!"

Roxanne gave him a look of pure exasperation. "She's only your fiancée if she actually manages to walk out of here."

—

After watching the sped-up footage Aria provided, the officers handed it over to a technician for verification. The hours of video showed zero signs of tampering or cuts. It was irrefutable evidence.

"Ms. Rowan, we've reviewed the footage. You are officially cleared of all suspicion."

The officer respectfully handed the phone back to her.

Hearing those words, Gideon felt a complicated knot tighten in his chest.

Deep down, he had always known Aria couldn't be a murderer. He had just wanted to force her to submit to him.

He reached out, grabbing her wrist, his voice tinged with a pathetic desperation.

"Aria... let's not get a divorce. Please?"

Samuel was utterly bewildered.

Aria... getting a divorce?

Her words struck the room like a thunderbolt.

Charles stood up, his face dark with fury.

"Aria, you need evidence before throwing around accusations like that! Do you honestly believe my sister would murder her own flesh and blood?

Flora and Lilith were incredibly close. They had zero conflict. Why would she ever harm her?!"

Aria didn't even flinch. She lazily lifted her gaze to meet his.

"I merely offered a hypothesis. Flora can theorize, Roxanne can theorize, so why can't I?

They didn't have a shred of proof either, yet they had no problem fabricating a murder motive for me.

The only reason I have proof of my innocence now is because I came prepared. And why did I prepare? Because I knew damn well they were fully capable of framing me!"

Aria continued, her tone sharp. "Back when the antidote was administered, are you telling me Roxanne didn't have a rough idea of Lilith's dosage?

Hazel said fifty, and she just blindly allowed the injection without a single objection. When things went wrong, she blamed me, right?

So why shouldn't I suspect that while she was alone with her daughter, she injected both the air and the lethal dose, solely to pin the murder on me?!"