Chapter 3
1237 Words
Annabel POV
I sat on the bed.
My eyes stayed fixed on the door.
Bruce had ordered my confinement within the estate, and now I was alone in this room with no idea what would happen next.
My phone had also been taken from me.
I didn't know when I would get it back.
I didn't know what Bruce intended to do with me.
My hands started shaking again.
Jane's accusation kept replaying in my head.
She attacked me.
But I had never touched her.
I had been sitting at the dining table with everyone else when Jane stumbled into the dining hall.
The elders had seen me there.
They had watched me working on the flowers.
They knew I hadn't left.
Yet none of them had spoken.
Not even when Bruce asked questions.
That was what hurt the most.
I had always believed elders were supposed to stand for the truth.
But when I needed them to speak up for me, they couldn't.
I pressed my hands together.
For two years, I had lived in this house by keeping my head down. I had endured things I shouldn't have because all I wanted was peace.
But sitting there in that dining hall, I finally understood something.
Silence couldn't protect me forever.
If I kept allowing everyone else to speak for me, one day their lies could cost me everything.
Even my life.
A knock came at the door.
Before I could answer, the door swung open.
Van stepped inside carrying a tray of food.
“You haven't eaten.”
“I don't feel hungry.”
“You still need to eat.”
He placed the tray on the table.
I looked at him.
“Why are you doing this?”
His eyebrows pulled together.
“Doing what?”
“Bringing me food. Checking on me.”
I looked away.
“Everyone else seems to have decided I'm guilty.”
Van pulled the chair closer and sat down.
“I haven't.”
I looked at him.
“You believe me?”
“I was there.”
“You were in the dining hall when Jane came in. I saw you there.”
I lowered my eyes.
“Then why didn't anyone say that?”
Van was quiet for a moment.
“Because people only believe what they want to believe.”
A small, bitter laugh escaped me.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“No,” he said. “It doesn't.”
There was something different in his expression.
He simply looked concerned.
I touched my wrist.
“Jane grabbed me earlier.”
Van's expression changed slightly.
“I saw it.”
“She looked at my bracelet.”
I looked down at the silver bracelet around my wrist.
“She reacted strangely. Like she recognized it.”
Van looked at my wrist.
He studied the bracelet for a few seconds.
“Where did you get it?”
“My mom gave it to me.”
His eyes lifted to mine.
“Do you know what the symbol means?”
I shook my head.
“No.”
I touched one of the small silver charms.
“I've had it for years. My mother never explained what the symbol meant.”
“Has anyone else reacted to it before?”
I hesitated.
“I don't know.”
I turned the bracelet slightly around my wrist.
“But I've always felt there was something unusual about it. I just never understood what.”
“I usually keep it hidden.”
“Why?”
“Because people ask questions.”
I looked at him.
“And I don't have answers.”
Van said nothing.
Then a sharp beep came from near his ear.
Van immediately reached beneath his hair and touched a small communication device.
I watched him listen.
His expression changed.
“What is it?” I asked.
He didn't answer immediately.
Then he stood.
“Pack business.”
“What kind of business?”
“I need to go.”
“Now?”
“I'll be back.”
He started heading toward the door.
“Van.”
He stopped.
I looked at him.
“Thank you.”
He turned back.
“You don't have to thank me.”
Then he left.
I stared at the closed door.
Something about that conversation stayed with me.
Van knew more than he was saying.
I just didn't know what.
A short while later, there was another knock.
This time, Mrs. Ann entered.
The doctor followed behind her.
My stomach tightened.
Mrs. Ann didn't even look at me.
“Get up.”
I slowly stood.
“Where are we going?”
“The medical room.”
“Why?”
“The doctor needs to examine you.”
“I already told you I didn't attack Jane.”
“This isn't about that.”
“Come.”
She turned toward the door.
I had no choice but to follow.
We reached a small examination room.
A bed stood in the center, with several medical instruments arranged on a nearby table.
I sat down.
The doctor checked my temperature and asked me a few questions.
“Do you often feel weak?”
“No.”
“Do you have trouble sleeping?”
“Sometimes.”
“Any unusual pain?”
“No.”
He wrote something down.
Mrs. Ann stood near the door, watching him.
The doctor looked at me again.
“When was the last time you were seriously injured?”
I thought for a moment.
“Years ago.”
“How long did it take to heal?”
He studied my face.
“I don't remember.”
He started preparing a needle.
“What are you doing?”
“I am taking a blood sample.”
“Why?”
“We need to run some tests.”
He didn't explain further.
The needle went into my arm.
I watched as my blood slowly filled the small tube.
The doctor pulled out the needle and held the tube up.
Then he stopped.
His expression changed.
“What is it?” Mrs. Ann asked.
The doctor didn't answer immediately.
He looked at the blood again.
Then he placed the tube on the table and picked up his pen.
“There is an unusual reaction in the sample.”
I frowned.
“What kind of reaction?”
He hesitated.
“Something I wasn't expecting.”
I looked from him to Mrs. Ann.
“Is something wrong with me?”
The doctor didn't answer.
Instead, he wrote something down.
“Doctor?”
He finally looked at me.
“We need to run another test.”
“Why?”
His eyes moved briefly toward Mrs. Ann.
She gave him a small look.
He lowered his eyes again.
“I'll explain when we have the full results.”
My stomach tightened.
“Full results of what?”
Neither of them answered.
I stared at the blood sample on the table.
A simple blood test shouldn't have made the room feel this quiet.
Something was wrong.
I could feel it.
And suddenly, Jane's accusation no longer felt like an isolated attack.
It felt like the beginning of something I didn't understand.
Something that might have started long before tonight.
For the first time, I was afraid that the real question wasn't whether Jane had lied about me.
It was why someone had wanted me blamed in the first place.
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