Chapter 132\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucy\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I saw Bella, for a few seconds, my mind simply refused to accept what I was seeing. I stood there without moving. staring at her face again and again, trying to convince myself that I was mistaken. She was sitting beside Scott, staring at me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart began to pound. This was not possible. Rowan had told me clearly that Bella would not survive. She had described the accident in detail, and sounded certain. I had trusted her implicitly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Bella was sitting there, breathing, living. Slowly, a terrible thought formed in my mind. If Bella was alive, then someone else must have died that day. Someone else must have been hit by that vehicle. And that thought made my stomach twist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
troubles. I felt dizzy. I was not out of that it was Rowan who did it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Who was that? Whoever it was, was going to investigate the case. It could increase y\u00a0<\/p>\n
one case, and was looking at the second one already? But then I forced myself to think- Using magic. There was no way it would point toward me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That also explained something else that had been bothering me. There had been no news. No public announcement about Bella\u2019s death. At the time, I had brushed it aside, telling myself that the would come later because she might be in a coma. But now, it made sense in the worst possible way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
news\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt weak and lowered myself onto the bench, afraid my legs would give out. Nothing had gone the way I planned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had given Rowan every bit of money I had managed to collect by selling my wedding ring for that payment. I had emptied myself for this plan, believing that once Bella was gone, everything else would slowly fall into place.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now with Bella alive, I was left with nothing. I felt like my last trump card was\u00a0<\/p>\n
stolen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the hearing continued, I tried to focus on the case, but my thoughts kept spinning. My chest felt tight with anxiety, and my hands would not stop trembling. I felt trapped, unsure of what to do next.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Every argument made by Scott\u2019s lawyer sounded confident and well\u2013prepared. Attempts made by Maya\u2019s lawyer to defend her felt weak. It was clear to everyone in the room that the evidence was overwhelming. And all this made me hate Bella crazily. I wanted to jump and throttle her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Messages, financial records, witness statements \u2013 everything pointed toward Maya as the mastermind of the blackmail.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I watched Maya sitting there, pale, her eyes darting around the room in fear. Her eyes landed on me with hope. All those years of manipulating Jared worked in my favor. I lived a comfortable life with Maya, making sure that Bella was hated. Now\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
The judge listened carefully. I knew then that the verdict would not favor us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The chances of saving Maya were very thin. Scott\u2019s influence, resources, and the strength of the evidence were too much. My lawyer had nothing solid left to argue. Every point he tried to raise was met with proof that shut him down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the session ended, I stood up quickly and walked out. I did not want to cross paths with Bella or Scott. Once I reached outside the courtroom, I hurried toward a secluded spot. I took out my phone and called Rowan immediately.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She answered calmly, as if nothing had gone wrong. \u201cBella is alive,\u201d I said, my voice shaking with anger and panic. \u201cWho the fuck did you kill?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was a pause on the other end. \u201cThat cannot be,\u201d Rowan said slowly. \u201cI saw her come out of the car. I cast the spell, and I watched her get\u00a0<\/p>\n
hit.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am telling you what I saw,\u201d I replied harshly. \u201cBella is sitting in the courtroom. She is alive. So whoever you killed, it wasn\u2019t\u00a0<\/p>\n
her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rowan was silent for a moment before responding. \u201cIf someone else who looked like her came out of the car, that is not my\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:17 Wed, Jan\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 132\u00a0<\/p>\n
fault.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My frustration boiled over. \u201cI paid you to kill Bella. I gave you everything I had. You need to finish what you started, I insisted. God, I wanted Bella gone out of my life like yesterday!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her tone hardened. \u201cI cannot repeat something like that easily. Killing humans leaves traces. If I act again, I will be noticed\u00a0<\/p>\n
I clenched my teeth. \u201cHow dare you? You have deceived me!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her voice turned cold. \u201cBe careful how you speak to me. Do not tempt me into killing you. I did everything with careful planning.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart skipped, but I forced myself to respond. I threatened, \u201cI will\u00a0<\/p>\n
expo\u00a0<\/p>\n
you, Rowan. I will tell people what\u00a0<\/p>\n
you\u00a0<\/p>\n
are.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rowan laughed quietly. \u201cYou cannot.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her words confused me. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She explained slowly. \u201cFirst, no one will believe you. Second, once humans interact with supernatural beings, magic binds them. It works silently. You cannot speak about us even if you want to. Your mind will stop you before your mouth does. You will think you chose not to speak, but it is magic.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My throat felt dry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rowan continued, \u201cYou have no power over me, Lucy. Remember that. I\u2019ve already done what I was paid for. I won\u2019t touch another human being for some time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The call ended, and I stood there staring at my phone, my thoughts racing. I had no leverage left. I went home in a daze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I entered the house, I saw Jared sitting in the living room. He was confused expression, as if he was trying to understand his surroundings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
holding a glass of water and looking around with a\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked up\u00a0<\/p>\n
at me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did you go?\u201d he asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was already tense, and his question irritated me. \u201cI went to court,\u201d I said sharply. \u201cFor Maya\u2019s hearing. Do you even care?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He blinked slowly. \u201cCourt?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I snapped. \u201cThe hearing you seem to have forgotten.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stared at me for a moment, then ignoring what I said, asked, \u201cWhere is Bella? I haven\u2019t seen her in a long time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That question made me jittery. The potion was wearing off. I had not been able to give him more because of lack of money. Rowan only worked for money. Without potion, his confusion was slowly fading. He was beginning to ask questions again, the cloud over his judgment was clearing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t answer him. Instead, I turned and walked into my room, closing the door behind me. Once alone, I leaned against the door, sweat trickling down my forehead. Everything was slipping out of my hands fast. Maya was likely going to be sentenced. Rowan was beyond my control. And Jared was slowly returning to himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was only a matter of time before everything turned against me, and I knew I might not be able to stop it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The only way left for me to survive was to run away. Because if Jared came to his senses, he would start questioning me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Midnight Winds Carry Secrets Toward Worlds Yet Unknown 132 Chapter 132\u00a0 Lucy\u00a0 When I saw Bella, for a few […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-new-world-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23097\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}