Ste Laine stood protectively beside her friends as Alessia Morton pressed her fingers gently to Queenie Windsor’s wrist, checking her pulse.


    The woman at the center of themotion backed away, panic flickering across her face.


    “I swear, I didn’t push her! She has a heart condition… but that’s not my fault, is it?”


    “Alessia, how is she?” Xander Dawson’s voice was tense with concern.


    “What’s going on here?” The police officer, already exasperated by the chaos, frowned as he tried to make sense of the situation.


    “She smashed my friend’s phone, refused to pay for it, and then pushed her! My friend just had a heart transnt–if anything happens to her, what are we supposed to do?” Ste’s voice was trembling, her eyes glistening with unshed


    tears.


    “I didn’t push her! I just lifted my hand and she fell on her own. At most, I might have… might have brushed her arm a little.”


    “So you didn’t touch her at all, but now you ‘brushed‘ her arm? Which is it?” Justin Keane immediately seized on the contradiction.


    “Alessia…” Amid the standoff, Queenie stirred. Her voice was so faint that Alessia


    had to lean close to catch it.


    “Queenie, are you alright?” Alessia asked quietly.


    Queenie shook her head, her expression weary. “If they’ll just pay for my phone repair, I’ll let it go. Otherwise…”


    “I’ll pay! I’ll pay! Twenty grand, thirty grand, whatever it takes–I’ll pay!” The woman blurted out, desperate to avoid any bigger trouble.


    “You all heard her! She said it herself–if I pay for the phone, that’s the end of it! Here, there’s thirty thousand on this card–take it! I’m done with this!” The woman, obviously rattled, threw her bank card at Queenie, eager to wash her hands of the


    mess<b>. </b>


    Chester ke, held back by Carlson ke, could only watch helplessly <b>as the </b>


    woman tossed the card.


    “Is everyone alright?” the officer finally asked, his tone a bit <b>softer </b><b>now</b>.


    Chapter <b>351 </b>


    “Since Queenie said she’ll let it go, we won’t press charges. We’re just going to take her to rest and get checked out,” Alessia replied.


    Alessia and Ste carefully helped Queenie to her feet. She was pale, her lips nearly colorless, looking as if she might copse any second.


    “Alright, all of you,e with me. You can’t keep stirring up trouble like this,” the officer grumbled, casting a pointed look at Queenie and her friends before leading


    the group away.


    Once the police and the others had gone, only their close–knit circle of five


    remained.


    As soon as they were alone, Ste and Alessia let go of Queenie,


    and–miraculously–the girl who’d seemed at death’s door just moments ago stood perfectly steady.


    “You nearly scared me to death! I thought you’d really taken a turn for the worse. If Alessia hadn’t tugged my sleeve, I’d have given that couple a ck eye each,” Ste said, exhaling hard.


    When Queenie copsed, Ste had honestly panicked. Thank goodness Alessia kept her cool, discreetly checking Queenie’s pulse and reassuring Ste that everything was fine.


    In just a few seconds, the three of them had pulled off a wless act, leaving everyone elsepletely fooled.


    “If they’re going to scam people, it’s only fair they know what it feels like. Too bad the phone repair is going to cost them a small fortune–twenty, maybe thirty grand,” Queenie said, ncing at her phone without the slightest hint of regret.


    If that couple had only gone after Zachary Morton, she might have stayed out of it. But once Alessia was dragged in, it became a whole different story. She wasn’t about to go overboard, but a little trick to make sure their scheming backfired? Fair


    game.


    Twenty or thirty grand? Let’s see who really pays in the end.


    Queenie turned the bank card over in her hand, a mischievous smile curling at her lips. The moment she looked up, her expression was all innocence.


    “Anyone up for dinner?” she asked, waving the card, her eyes twinkling <b>with </b>mischief.


    Alessia chuckled. “Sounds good. Let’s go.‘


    Chapter <b>351 </b>


    The three girls led the way, leaving the two guys trailing behind.


    “So that’s it? We’re just letting it go?” Justin asked, still a little skeptical.


    “Letting it go? Maybe. But let’s have someone look <i>into </i>them, just in case,” Cole Whitley replied, his tone hinting at deeper ns.


    “You knew Alessia was faking her tears, and you’re still this worked up?”