Chapter <b>5 </b>


    My phone buzzed in my pocket while I was organizing my post divorce asset inventory on myptop.


    An unknown number shed on the screen with urgent static, followed by the hoarse voice of one of Ryan’s teammates:


    “Ms. Rodriguez, Detective Rodriguez… he’s been hurt.”


    My grip on the mouse froze, fingertips going cold against the stic.


    The officer exined that Ryan had sessfully apprehended a suspect during a routine operation when Lily suddenly burst onto the scene, screaming about the suspect being “wrongly used.” She was clutching an old photo frame, crying that the criminal was “a good friend of herte husband” and desperately trying to force Ryan to look at the photos.


    Those few seconds of distraction were all the suspect needed. He pulled a concealed knife from his sleeve and drove it straight toward Ryan’s


    chest.


    “The de missed his heart by less than a tenth of an inch. He’s still in surgery.” The teammate’s voice cracked.


    “Lily’s outside crying, saying it’s all her fault… but if she hadn’t interfered, Detective Rodriguez never would’ve been hurt!”


    My carefully maintainedposure since the hospital crumbled like a burst bubble.


    I rummaged through my closet for the most haggard–looking dress I could find, messed up my hair in the mirror, then grabbed my bag and raced to the hospital.


    The moment I reached the ward lobby, I spotted Lily sitting on a hallway bench, clutching that same photo frame, shoulders shaking with sobs.


    Several teammates stood around looking ufortable but not daring to say much–after all, she was a “fallen hero’s widow” who’d just lost her baby. Nobody wanted to be used of bullying the vulnerable.


    I clicked across the linoleum in my heels, deliberately amplifying the tremor and fury in my voice to grab everyone’s attention:


    “Lily Sinir! You have some nerve crying here!”


    She jumped at my sudden outburst, looking up with red–rimmed eyes and tear–soakedshes, the picture of pitiful innocence:


    “Ms. Rodriguez, I… I didn’t mean for this to happen. I was just trying to help Ryan…”


    “Help him? You nearly got him killed!”


    I stepped forward and snatched the photo frame from her arms, hurling it to the floor. The sound of shattering ss echoed sharply through the quiet corridor.


    Everyone froze in shock, including Officer Diana who’d been protecting Lily. They’d never seen me lose control like this before, no matter how angry I got.


    “Ryan went three days and nights without sleep protecting you, and now he’s nearly been stabbed to death because of you!”


    I pointed toward the operating room, raising my voice deliberately so passing nurses and patients could hear.


    “You keep calling yourself a fallen hero’s widow, but if yourte husband could see you from beyond–clinging to his squad leader every day and nearly getting him killed–do you think he could rest in peace<b>?</b>”


    Lily went pale as paper at my words, lips trembling speechlessly as tears poured down her face:


    “I didn’t… I was just scared…”


    “Scared? Being scared gives you the right to endanger other people’s lives<b>?</b><b>” </b>


    46.7<b>% </b>


    <b>ridonro </b>


    I pressed closer, deliberately raising my volume. “Last time there was a break in, he stayed with you until dawn. <b>This </b>time you interfered and got him stabbed! Lily, do you think the whole world should revolve around you? Do you think Ryan owes you his life?”


    Murmurs began rising around us. Some people pulled out phones to secretly record, others pointed and whispered about Lily.


    Even the teammates who’d previously med me were looking ufortable–they protected Ryan fiercely, but they also knew this time was definitely Lily’s fault. <fn46a7> Checktest chapters at FindN0vel</fn46a7>


    Diana tried to defend Lily, but I cut her off immediately:


    “Diana, don’t defend her! Ryan is your squad leader–watching him risk his life over and over for this woman, doesn’t that hurt you inside?”


    Lilypletely panicked. She tried to stand up and grab my hand, but I violently shoved her away:


    “Don’t touch me! You’re bad luck! <b>If </b>something happens to Ryan, I’ll never forgive you for the rest of my life!”


    I shouted while deliberately moving toward the crowded areas, making sure my words reached as many ears as possible:


    “Everyone listen to this! This woman uses her status as a fallen hero’s widow to cling to other people’s husbands every single day, and now she’s nearly gotten him killed! Doesn’t someone like this deserve divine punishment?”


    Lily waspletely stunned by my aggressive disy. She shrank back onto the bench, sobbing and trembling all over, repeatedly muttering “I didn’t mean to” but unable to exin herself clearly.


    Watching her panic, a cold glint shed in my eyes. This was just the beginning–I wanted everyone to see her “true face” and make her understand that what she owed Ryan, what she owed me, would have to be paid back eventually.


    Just then, the operating room light went out.


    The doctor emerged saying Ryan was temporarily out of danger. I immediatelyposed myself, pretending to rush over anxiously to ask about his condition. But from the corner of my eye, I caught Lily sneaking out her phone, hiding in a hallway corner to take a call, her voice carrying an urgency I’d never heard before:


    “…He’s still alive, don’t worry… I’ll figure something out…”


    My heart skipped a beat. I quietly followed her, pulling out my phone to start recording, aiming it at Lily in the corner. The voice on the other end was muffled, but I vaguely caught a familiar name–Lily’s supposedly “deceased” husband.