Web Fic
Chapter 69
Chapter 69
Lucas seemed to freeze for a moment. "Linda is kind-hearted, unlike you-always pretending."
Chloe let out a sneer. She pulled out a voice recorder and pressed play.
A woman's voice came through. "It was Linda. She provided all the information. On my last day at work, she handed me a folder out of nowhere. To secure her spot on the prime-time show, she had me release it online on the final day of voting..."
Lucas' expression turned serious. He had seen that online post, too. It was filled with defamatory content, glossing over the truth. It was aimed at painting Chloe as the daughter of a murderer, twisted and broken.
Linda's face turned pale as she listened to the recording. "It wasn't me. This is fake. It's Vivian framing me. Chloe, how could you do this to me?"
Chloe's lips curled into a sly smile. "This recording is fake. I had someone recreate it. It's not Vivian's voice at all. But how did you know it was Vivian who made those posts?"
Linda went white as a sheet, momentarily speechless.
Chloe approached Linda's bedside and grasped her chin. "Linda, remember, this is just the beginning. If I find out you were behind the other incidents, you'll pay dearly."
Chloe walked away.
Lucas stared at the frail Linda on the bed, for the first time not moving to comfort her.
Linda sobbed, tears streaming down her face. "Luca, you believe me, right? It's Chloe framing me. She hates me so much. She wants to ruin me, ruin our baby. You know how hard it was to conceive this child, how many injections I had, how much medication I took... it hurts, it hurts so much..."
Suddenly, Linda clutched her stomach. Lucas rushed to her side, urgently calling for a doctor.
Their child was conceived through IVF, indeed hard-won, and possibly the only child he would ever have.
Lucas grabbed Linda's hand. "I believe you, don't get worked up, Linda. I've always believed you."
Linda finally let out a sigh of relief, sobbing in Lucas' arms.
However, once doubt is planted, it grows wild. Lucas wasn't a fool. Linda only claimed Chloe framed her but couldn't refute the evidence Chloe had shown.
That evening, Lucas returned to the apartment he shared with Linda to pack some clothes for her. All day, Chloe's words echoed in his mind. "Lucas, have you never doubted Linda?"
As he reached the door of the study, Lucas suddenly stopped. Linda's laptop was on the desk. For the first time he opened it. The computer was password-protected.
Lucas tried a few passwords: Linda's birthday, his birthday, and the date they went abroad together none worked. He was about to give up when something clicked in his mind. He entered a series of numbers.
The computer unlocked. The password was Chloe's birthday.
How much must Linda resent Chloe to use her birthday as the password?
Lucas frowned as he navigated the
laptop. It didn't take long to find a folder. Inside were the original images from the recent online incident, identical to those on
theThis content belongs to Nô/velDra/ma.Org .
post. But the photos had been
stored on her laptop over a year ago, back when they were still abroad.
It was clear. Linda had collected these images to give to someone else.