Chapter 266

“I…”

Cecilia was still feeling a little weak. She looked at the crowd with cloudy, bleary eyes, as if she had something she could not say out loud.

’I bumped into you and Ms. Everheart earlier,’ Ruby Chisholm pointed out suggestively, continuing to fan the flame. ‘And you looked a little upset then. Was Ms. Everheart the last person you were with?’

She felt that her implication was obvious enough, even if she did not spell it all out-Renee Everheart pushed Cecilia into the sea!

Having climbed through the ranks in the entertainment industry for long enough, she had armed herself with weapons that helped her get ahead. Among all the weapons in her arsenal, borrowing the hand of another to eliminate a rival was her favorite, as it was the most convenient.

Without lifting a finger, she could just stand back and let someone else eliminate the most threatening enemy on the battlefield-the perfect strategy!

‘That’s right!’ Cecilia’s mother agitatedly held her shoulders and urged,” Don’t be afraid, darling! Tell us the truth! Did that wicked woman push you into the sea? If she really did, your dad and I will definitely avenge you!”

’Mom…” Cecilia bit her lips and meekly said, ‘Since I’m fine now, I think we should stop pursuing the matter. Ms. Everheart and I are friends, after all, and I believe it was all an accident.’

She actually wanted to say that no one pushed her into the sea at al I—It was all because she had been hurt by Stefan so badly, and she was so distressed at that time that she decided to jump to her death-to end it all.

But when she saw how Stefan and Renee held hands the entire time, her seething jealousy drove her blindingly mad, which then made her decide to pin it on Renee.

No matter how much Stefan loved Renee, there was no way that he would ever want to be with a vicious murderer! 1 As expected, Stefan quickly released Renee’s hand.

He glared at her chillingly, and with an icy cold voice laced with suspicion, he demanded, “What’s going on?”

Everyone else covered their mouths in disbelief.

“I can’t believe it… So she really was the one who did it! Is her heart so stained with ink that she’d do such an unspeakable thing?! It’s horrible!”

Renee was speechless. Once again, she had become the prime target of spite.

“Hey,” she pointed at Cecilia. ‘Say it clearly. Don’t just leave things hanging! What do you mean you don’t want to pursue the matter? What do you mean it was an accident? What did I ever do to you?

Why insinuate something like that about me?’

Cecilia was so shocked that she stepped back to dodge Renee. The fact that she had just returned from the brink of death made her seem that much more pitiful. With tears streaming, she begged Renee, “Please don’t get so mad, Ms. Everheart. We both know what you did, but I really don’t want to pursue this. Just… just pretend I slipped and fell into the water myself, and we’ll leave it at that.”

But this only made Renee angrier than before. Like an uninhibited beast, she charged at Cecilia, grabbing her arm so violently she almost ripped it off. ’Speak clearly, won’t you?” she demanded. “What did you mean ‘just pretend that you slipped?’ If you want to accuse me of pushing you into the sea, just say it, won’t you? That way, I can sue you for defamation. Stop acting all pure and innocent! You’ve already launched your attack! There’s no point trying to look like the poor innocent victim!”

Renee realized how wrong she had been about Cecilia. Back then, when she received the necklace from her, Renee had assumed that Cecilia was a smart woman with a big heart, wise enough not to lose her mind for a douchebag.

But now it was clear that she didn’t only lose her mind-she even lost her conscience!

’ Please, Ms. Everheart! I beg you to not make it any harder for me. I told you that I don’t want to pursue the matter… Fine. I’ll say it! Nothing that happened to me has anything to do with you… so, everyone, please just drop the matter!’

With teary eyes, Cecilia clutched her mother’s hand. “Mom, I feel so dizzy. I feel really unwell. I really need to lie down!’ “You’ve been immersed for so long that you almost drowned, darling! Of course, you’d feel unwell! I’m taking you to the hospital right away!