Free Web NovelChapter 163: Chapter 163 I Won’t Be the Scapegoat
Christina’s POV
I tried to remain polite. "The weather’s awful. You should head home. Would you like me to call a car for you?"
"No." She wiped her face and gave me a pitiful smile. "Forget it. I understand. You hate me. Even if I apologized, you wouldn’t forgive me."
She looked at me for a long moment, then turned and walked out.
I watched her leave.
She moved slowly, one hand still resting on her slightly protruding belly.
Her shoulders were hunched.
Her gait was stiff and dragging.
After the door closed, I turned to Priya. "Follow her, quietly. I want to know where she’s going."
Priya grabbed her coat and slipped out.
She returned two minutes later, breathing hard.
"She hailed a taxi and left."
"Anything unusual?"
"No, she just looked exhausted, almost weak."
I sighed with relief. "Good. The last thing I need is her faking a miscarriage on my bloody tile floor."
That sense of relief lasted until dinnertime.
I was having dinner when Louisa Granger called.
I wiped my fingers on a napkin before answering. Despite my breakup with Niall, Louisa had always been kind to me.
"Aunt Louisa, how are you?"
It wasn’t Louisa.
Niall’s voice exploded through the speaker like a car alarm going off at 3 AM.
"Christina Vance! You vicious bitch! You killed my baby!"
My hand jerked violently.
My fork clattered against my plate.
Across the table, Hudson froze, his wine glass suspended midair, his supernatural hearing picking up every word.
"Beatrice started bleeding after seeing you! Fine, you hate her, but what about my child? How could you fucking do this to my baby?"
He shouted so loudly my sensitive werewolf ears throbbed painfully.
"Someone should charge you for ear damage," I muttered. "Do you know how expensive hearing aids are these days?"
I moved the phone away from my ear.
Hudson leaned forward. "What’s happening?"
I looked at him, my throat suddenly tight.
"Beatrice miscarried. They’re blaming me."
Niall clearly heard my response.
"It’s all your fault! She was perfectly fine this morning. You scared her to tears. What the hell did you say to her?"
He didn’t even give me a chance to answer.
How’s that for irony. Niall, who once told Beatrice to get an abortion, was now screaming at me like I’d committed murder.
"You drove her crazy! You killed my child! I want a fucking explanation!"
In the background, Louisa’s voice rose above the commotion.
"Christina, what did you say to her? She left your studio and now the baby is gone—what happened?"
I exhaled a long, steady breath.
My chest felt tight from holding it in too long.
"Yes, she came by this afternoon. Stayed maybe ten minutes. I never touched her. We barely spoke. Whatever happened after has nothing to do with me."
Niall wasn’t buying it. "Beatrice was perfectly healthy. She sees you for ten minutes and ends up in the hospital? You must have said something."
"Healthy? She was pale as a ghost when she arrived. The miscarriage probably started before she even got to my studio. She just needed someone to blame."
"Bullshit! She only started cramping after leaving your place. The timeline matches perfectly. The doctor confirmed it."
"I didn’t say anything. I—"
"She couldn’t stop crying!" Niall’s voice drowned mine out. "She told me she went to your studio for a glass of water, and you mocked her. You hurt her so badly that she—"
His voice broke.
I touched my face.
"Could they be any more illogical?" Akira growled inside me. "We’re werewolves, not fragile dolls. If I’d known a few harsh words could cause a miscarriage, I would have cursed her properly."
"Tell me about it! I’m starting to wonder how Niall became an Alpha," I replied internally. "The mate bond must have blinded us completely."
After Niall’s emotional pause, I went on full offensive.
"So she shows up uninvited, asks me for water, and now I’m taking the blame because her uterus malfunctioned? If she has enough energy to accuse me of murder, she should have enough to explain herself. Why are you calling me?"
After a moment of silence, Niall muttered, "She’s too weak to speak right now."
"How convenient. Too weak to talk, yet strong enough to give you a detailed account of my supposed cruel remarks? Amazing how her memory works when it benefits her."
"Christina Vance!" Niall roared. "She’s barely hanging on and you’re making excuses. Do you have any heart left?"
I laughed bitterly, rubbing my temple.
"Niall Granger, your brain would fetch a fortune at auction. Know why? Because it’s brand new—never been used! Seriously, her werewolf body is so weak that my words caused a miscarriage? The pregnancy was months along, already stabilized. Nothing short of severe trauma would cause her to lose the baby."
The phone went quiet as his rage faltered, and I pressed my advantage.
"Besides what I’ve said, I have concrete evidence this has nothing to do with me. I have video. I recorded the entire interaction. I’m sending you the video right now. You two can watch it together and then tell me exactly how I murdered your precious baby."
I hung up and tossed my phone onto the table.
My appetite vanished completely.
I called Daniel. "Send me that video from earlier—the one I asked you to record in the studio."
He sent it within seconds.
I didn’t bother typing a message, just hit send and forwarded it to Louisa.
"Thank Goddess someone recorded it," I murmured. "I knew something was off the moment she appeared." freēwēbnovel.com
Hudson moved behind me, leaning over my shoulder to view the screen.
"She looks pale," he observed. "And sick. If she was already miscarrying then, I wouldn’t be surprised. She probably showed up just to frame you."
I nodded. "It makes sense now. I couldn’t figure out what she wanted from me. But that baby was her only connection to The Frostpelt Pack. Without it, she has nothing. If she blames me, she gets to play victim. Aunt Louisa won’t be too harsh on her, and Niall will direct all his rage at me."
I set my phone down. "She chose the perfect scapegoat."
But she hadn’t counted on my backup plan.
I opened my chat with Louisa.
No response.
She’d seen it.
Nothing more needed to be said.
