Seven Years to Clear Her Name

Before leaving, Chase Harlan's gaze fell on something I was carrying.

It was a carefully framed painting.

His eyes shifted, and he suddenly reached out and swiped it to the ground!

With a crash, the glass of the frame instantly shattered!

A nearby drink spilled all over it.

The sound of shattering glass made Liam Chandler, Holly Quinn, and Chase Harlan all stop in their tracks.

Their gazes all turned toward it.

I rushed forward and grabbed Chase Harlan's wrist.

"Fix it."

Chase Harlan gave me a cold glance, shook off my hand, his face showing not a hint of apology.

"It's just a stupid painting, what's the big deal? The glass is broken, how can I put it back?"

He was clearly in the wrong, yet he acted as if it was perfectly justified and turned to leave.

A shard of glass from the edge of the frame cut my finger, and a drop of blood fell.

"Claire!" Holly Quinn ran over, dripping with false concern.

"Claire, it's a small thing, don't be angry! Chase is just clumsy, he didn't do it on purpose." She glanced at the mess on the floor.

"If you want this painting, I can help you get it reframed, okay?"

Before she could finish, Liam Chandler had already walked over, his face grim.

A flicker of contempt crossed his eyes.

He pulled a thick roll of cash from his pocket, waved it in the air, and then slammed it down in front of me!

"Isn't it money you want?"

His voice was ice-cold.

"How much? Is this enough? If not, I'll give you more!"

Seeing this, Chase Harlan at his side immediately put on a mocking expression of feigned understanding.

"Oh~! So that's your game? This is your new extortion racket now that you're out of prison?"

"You pick high-end places like this, use some worthless junk, and try to blackmail 'rich people' like us? You really are a calculating bitch!"

I took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil of emotions inside me.

I repeated in a low, clear voice,

"Please… fix it for me."

My daughter drew this herself. It means the world to me.

I couldn't let her precious gift be ruined.

But Chase Harlan seemed to have been provoked, becoming even more arrogant.

He bent down and snatched up the ruined painting.

Right in front of me, he made a move as if to snap it in two!

"So what if I wreck it?"

He stared at me provocatively.

"Are you going to try to kill me this time?"

Watching his violent actions, my suppressed rage finally snapped.

I suddenly grabbed the broken frame from the floor.

And with all my strength, I threw it at Chase Harlan!

"Bang!"

The frame didn't hit Chase Harlan, but it struck Holly Quinn, who was standing right behind him!

"Ah—!"

Holly Quinn cried out in pain.

A shard of glass had left a bloody scratch on her arm.

She leaned close to me and said in a voice only I could hear,

"Why didn't you just die in prison? If you had died, the truth about Liam's mother's death would have remained a secret forever."

"And another thing. Even after he destroyed your mother's medicine in front of you, his conscience got the better of him. He asked me to take a fresh supply to the hospital. Too bad he asked the wrong person."

Staring into her venomous eyes, I finally understood.

So, all of this was her doing.

Like an unchained beast, I lunged forward and grabbed her by the throat.

"You bitch, why would you do this? Why!"

Then, a sharp pain shot through my shoulder.

Liam Chandler had picked up a wine bottle and smashed it down on me.

His pupils contracted, a flicker of panic in his eyes.

But in the end, he still turned and rushed to Holly Quinn, pulling her into his arms.

After checking her injuries, he looked up sharply.

His eyes, like daggers, bored into me.

"Claire Winters, it's been seven years, and you still haven't changed!"

"It was just a stupid painting! Was it worth trying to kill someone over? Or was prison not enough for you?"

I clutched my throbbing shoulder, stalking toward him step by step.

"Haven't changed? At least I'm not like you, still blind to who people really are after seven years."

"Prison? At least it taught me that you don't reason with dogs."

He didn't speak, a sharp glint in his eyes.

A wave of dizziness washed over me, and I collapsed toward the floor.

In the moment I fell, I seemed to see the Liam Chandler from seven years ago.

The year he loved me most.

He caught me steadily, his worried voice calling out in my ear.

"Claire, are you okay? Wake up."