Delmar was seething, glaring at Katelyn with undisguised hatred in his eyes. His shout caught the attention of the reporters at the ward door, and the scene from downstairs replayed.

Surrounded by reporters, Katelyn was jostled by microphones and cameras.

“Miss Bailey, can you give a formal response to this event? After what happened, your actions might leave her in a vegetative state.”

“Due to your revenge, you nearly took someone’s life. Don’t you feel any guilt?”

“Miss Bailey, the public has been following this story closely. Please, share your response.”

Katelyn’s eyes were filled with disgust. To her, the reporters were nothing but pests scrambling for a scoop. Annoyed, she grabbed a microphone from one of them and turned to face the cameras.

“I will respond to this matter, but not today. If you harass me again, don’t blame me for being rude.” After speaking, she handed the microphone back. As she turned to leave, Delmar grabbed her wrist in fury.

His eyes blazed with rage. “Do you think a few words will end this? No way! Return my healthy daughter to me!”

Katelyn looked at him coldly.

“Let go.”

Gritting his teeth, Delmar yanked Katelyn into the ward. He pointed at Tricia, who was connected to a respirator, and hissed, “If it weren’t for you, my daughter wouldn’t be in this condition. If anything happens to her, I’ll take you down with me—even if it costs me my life.”

Ignoring him, Katelyn observed Tricia closely. She lay on the bed, pale and lifeless. Her right wrist was wrapped in thick gauze, while her left hand was connected to an IV drip. The nearby equipment displayed her vital signs.

α с?ρ αν﹒

If it weren’t for the faint signs of life, she could have been mistaken for a corpse.

Katelyn realized the tragic truth—Tricia had indeed slit her wrist. However, she was certain that Tricia, someone who would never recklessly endanger her life, must have been coerced into doing so. And she was obviously prepared. That’s why Tricia had been saved in time after cutting her wrist.

Delmor blamed her hysterically. “See? Because of you, you turned my daughter into this!”

He tightened his grip on her wrist, his intentions deadly serious. “You owe me an explanation today, or you’re not going anywhere.”

Coldness spread across Katelyn’s face as she forcefully removed Delmor’s hand. Surveying the scene with an icy gaze, she remained poised despite the circumstances.

“She set a trap to insult me, aiming to ruin my reputation. Was it wrong for me to demand an open apology from her?” Her tranquility was such that it seemed as though she were addressing either Delmor or the gathered media.

Her question left the crowd speechless, having almost forgotten that Tricia was the one who had initially caused the incident. “She couldn’t withstand the public’s scrutiny and chose to end her life by slashing her wrist. Now, you’ve shifted all the blame to me. What have I done wrong? Why should I be vilified and suffer because of her actions? Your hypocrisy disgusts me.”

Her remarks cast a profound silence over the room. Delmor, enraged, widened his eyes but found himself speechless. The cyberbullying had been the work of faceless online users; Tricia’s decision to end her life was her own, and Katelyn was in no way accountable.

After a tense silence, Delmor finally spoke. “No compensation is enough for my daughter’s life.”

Katelyn responded firmly. “She made her choice. There’s no one else to hold responsible.”

Eventually, she approached him, her tone softening with compassion. “You should understand your daughter better. She would never choose suicide lightly. Consider whether she acted on her own or was manipulated. You should investigate.”

At that moment, Delmor seemed to grasp something, his expression turning to anger.

Then, a soft voice from the doorway challenged Katelyn. “Don’t you think you’ve taken this too far?”

.

.

.