Clara remained silent, but her expression screamed defiance. It was a clear signal she wasnât buying into Ivyâs game.
âWhoâs the one behind bars right now, Clara? Itâs me pressing charges against you, okay? If you want any leniency, you better spill the beans and tell me the truth!â
Clara slammed her hand on the table again but earned a stern look from the officer beside her.
âHow could I not get it? If it werenât for your charges, why would I be sitting here? Youâve ruined everything, Ivy. I swear, Iâll never forgive you!â
Ivy found her laughable, âWhat goes around comes around, Clara. The evil youâve done is finally catching up with you. Why donât you accumulate some good karma for yourself? Iâll give you one more chance. Who put you up to this? Youâre not part of our production crew, so how could you possibly know my schedule that day? Not to mention arranging for someone to jump me on my way home? Do you really think I donât know whoâs behind it? Iâm just giving you the chance to come clean yourself!â
Ivyâs voice was low but her eyes communicated unwavering certainty.
Clara faltered for a moment but then laughed, âHa, youâre hilarious, Ivy. If you really knew, you wouldnât be sitting across from me, spouting this nonsense about giving me a chance! Youâre bluffing and trying to trick me. Do you think Iâm as dumb as you imagine?â
Ivyâs smile faded. She couldnât understand why Clara was so determined to protect Giselle. Now that she was locked up, what good would it do to keep Giselleâs secret?
âYeah, youâre not as dumb as I thought, youâre dumber,â Ivy retaliated. âIf youâre content with rotting away in this cell, then by all means, keep your mouth shut. But let me remind you one last time, if you canât figure out whoâs behind this, then youâll be pegged as the mastermind. Your acting career, oh no, your entire life will be hopeless! Youâll just be the scapegoat for the real villain behind the scenes!â
Clara clenched her fists. âThe real culprits arenât me; itâs those thugs!â
It wasnât just Giselleâs warnings that kept Clara tight-lipped. She knew the odds of her walking free were slim. If she ratted out Giselle, wouldnât that leave Ivy without any adversary?
As long as Ivy suffered, Clara found solace..
âIvy, no one put me up to this. I wonât fall for your tricks! Youâre nothing but a two-faced, gold-digging harlot, strutting around like you own the placeâ¦â
Claraâs sudden outburst caught everyone off guard. Ivy tried to interject, but Claraâs insults grew filthier and more unbearable.
âFine, if thatâs the bed you want to lie in, then off you go. I hope you can keep up this bravado when we face off in court!â
Ivy had lost all her patience. Eventually, the officers took Clara away.
Both officers happened to be Ivyâs fans, shocked that their idol could be so vilely belittled by a no-name actress.
And to hear such unrelenting abuse from her own sister was even more appalling.
Could a sister really be so heartless as to spew such filth at her sibling?
But considering Clara had gone so far as to hire thugs to tarnish Ivyâs reputation, the vulgar tirade seemed within reason.
Ivy sighed with a mix of frustration and resignation. Her attempts to coax Clara into naming Giselle were aimed at putting a check on Giselleâs arrogance.
Besides, Ivy secretly hoped that Balfour would find out about Giselleâs involvement.
She had a hunch that if she suggested to Balfour that Giselle might be involved, he might not believe her. He cared about Giselle too much. How could he believe she was capable of such malevolence?
âAh!â