Chapter 197: Poison Me II.
Theresa.
"I actually can’t believe you just called me a random person!" Bella said, her voice dripping with thick, exaggerated disappointment as she placed a hand over her chest.
"Don’t you dare deviate from the topic!" I yelled, my tone dropping into a dangerously cold register that silenced her immediately. "Why on earth did you poison me and my unborn child?" I screamed at the absolute top of my voice, every shred of restrained anger bursting through my chest.
Leonard immediately stepped forward, his warm, steady hands reaching out to hold mine as his usual calm expression shifted into one of absolute, terrifying seriousness.
"Bella," he called out, his deep voice carrying a harsh, unyielding authority that vibrated through the room. "Theresa would not simply level such a heavy accusation against you without being completely sure of what she is saying." He paused, his sharp eyes pinning her to the spot. "So tell me right now, what exactly have you done?" he asked, leaving no room for excuses.
"I didn’t do anything, Leonard!" Bella insisted, her voice rising with desperate urgency as she puffed out her chest and forced her shoulders back.
She deliberately straightened her posture, trying to project an air of confidence even though the tension in her expression betrayed how badly she was struggling to maintain it.
"You have to believe me! I am completely innocent!" she added, emphasizing every word as though sheer conviction in her voice could somehow erase the suspicion hanging heavily over her.
She needed to regain her standing, to convince them that she was still worthy of their trust before their opinions of her became irreversible.
"Then make us believe you!" Lawrence chimed in without hesitation, his tone completely serious and firm.
There was not even the slightest trace of doubt in his voice as he stared directly at Bella, making it clear that her insistence alone was nowhere near enough to convince him of her innocence.
He took a deliberate step toward her, closing some of the distance between them before folding his arms firmly across his chest. His posture immediately became more imposing, his entire stance carrying a quiet but unmistakable challenge.
His expression remained stern and unyielding, his features hardening as he watched her closely. There was no sympathy in his eyes, leaving no room for the emotional appeal Bella was desperately trying to provoke from him.
"Because right now, I am entirely certain that Theresa cannot be wrong about this!" he added, his words carrying the weight of his absolute conviction.
There was no uncertainty in his voice, and his loyalty was firmly settled by my side.
"Are the three of you seriously going to trust her this blindly?" Bella asked, her carefully constructed composure beginning to crack beneath the pressure.
Irritation flashed across her face, quickly followed by unmistakable panic as she looked from one person to another, searching desperately for even the slightest hesitation.
"Does she even have a single shred of actual evidence against me, and yet you still trust her without question?" she demanded, her voice thick with utter disbelief.
Her eyes moved across their unyielding faces, but none of them gave her the reassurance she was desperately looking for.
"How about you, Bella?" Lurgard interjected sharply, raising his brows as a dark, mocking smile slowly tugged at the corners of his lips.
His expression made it painfully clear that he was not impressed by her attempt to shift the burden of proof onto everyone else.
"What concrete evidence do you bring to the table that proves you are telling us the absolute truth?" he asked pointedly, his question cutting straight through her weak defense and leaving her with nowhere to hide behind empty claims of innocence.
"You—" Bella stammered out, her finger trembling as she pointed her hand straight at Lurgard’s chest. "Are you really doubting my innocence right now?" she asked, her voice high-pitched and utterly perplexed.
"Well, you surely don’t expect me to doubt her, do you?" Lurgard fired back, his voice dropping into a far harsher, menacing tone that silenced her instantly. "Now stop trying to play the emotional card and speak the truth!" he yelled, stepping closer.
"Say it, Bella!" I screamed from the bed, my voice tearing through the small room with unfiltered rage. "Why the hell did you poison me?" I demanded, straining forward as my chest heaved.
"Shut the hell up, Theresa!" Bella yelled right back, her feigned sweetness completely evaporating as she snapped. "It’s high time you stop all this ridiculous nonsense! Did I commit some terrible crime by simply coming to check up on you at the hospital?" she asked, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "I swear I won’t take this baseless nonsense from you any longer!" she added, trying to puff out her chest and sound intimidating.
I let out a cold, bitter chuckle that made her freeze.
"Don’t force me to drag the evidence out into the light, Bella," I said, my tone shifting into an eerily calm, controlled quiet. "You had much better confess right now, or prepare yourself to face me in a court of law!" I declared, every syllable laced with unwavering determination.
Bella froze dead in her tracks for a long, heavy moment, her composure visibly fracturing.
"Are you... are you really going to take this insane accusation too far?" she asked, her expression flickering wildly between creeping terror and a desperate attempt at lingering confidence.
"Too far?" I asked, my brows shooting up in absolute, disbelieving surprise. "I literally almost lost my life, and I came within inches of losing my pup forever!" I yelled, my voice cracking under the emotional weight of what I had just endured.
"And what on earth does any of that have to do with me?" Bella sneered, attempting one last, pathetic defense to brush off the blame.
"I suppose when you are finally rotting behind bars for attempted murder..." I paused, letting my gaze lock onto hers as I narrowed my eyes into dark slits. "....you will finally understand exactly how it relates to you!" I added firmly, my voice leaving zero room for doubt.
And in that exact instant, every single drop of color drained from Bella’s face, leaving her ghost-white in total, silent panic.