CHAPTER 54: DEEP, ANGRY RED

"Leander!" Selena snapped, her grip on Sierra tightening protectively. "Watch your mouth. Your sister already said it’s fake!"

"It’s not fake, Mom!" Leander’s voice cracked like a whip, startling even David. "You heard it yourself—her voice, her face, every damn word! Stop pretending!"

"Leander, enough," David said sharply, though his own voice trembled with controlled anger. "This isn’t about yelling. This is about the truth."

Shane finally spoke, his tone cool but heavy. "Dad’s right. We don’t need to argue. We’ve seen and heard enough."

Selena’s lips parted, her eyes darting helplessly between her husband, her sons, and the daughter clinging to her. "No... no, you’re all wrong. It’s a setup. That girl is framing her!"

"Framing?" David’s voice hardened as he turned on her. "With her own words, Selena? With her own voice threatening Erisia and laughing about it? How far are you willing to go to protect her?"

Selena faltered, her mouth opening and closing, but no words came out.

Sierra buried her face in her mother’s shoulder, her sobs intense and frantic now. "Mom, please... please don’t let them hate me..."

Erisia stepped forward, "This isn’t about truth or lies." she said evenly, her eyes settling on Sierra. "It’s about her actions which has consequences. And you’re long overdue."

David turned to Erisia, his face drawn tight with fury and regret. "Is there anything else on that drive? Anything at all?"

Erisia’s lips curved in a small, cool smile. "There’s a few more," she said, lifting the remote. "But I’ll leave it to her to confess before I press play."

Every pair of eyes swung back to Sierra.

Her sobs faltered.

Shane leaned forward slightly, his voice quiet but unyielding. "Sierra... if there’s something else, now is the time to speak. Before we all see it for ourselves."

The color drained from Sierra’s face. Her fingers dug into Selena’s sleeve, trembling violently. "I... I don’t..."

David’s voice dropped to a low, dangerous rumble. "Confess. Or I will play it."

Sierra’s eyes widened, having an idea of what Erisia was telling her to confess about. "No! Don’t—"

David’s hand shot forward, taking the remote from Erisia.

"Then we’ll see it together," he said coldly.

Everything played one after the other, Sierra’s muffled sobs filling the background.

First came the call recording Erisia had heard with Seliora and Rita.

Next were screenshots of messages from Sierra’s friends’ group chat, casually discussing Adrian’s feelings for Sierra.

Finally, a recording of Adrian’s call and text messages appeared, all sent before his arrest.

Leander’s head snapped toward Sierra, his eyes blazing. "Didn’t you say you weren’t friends with Adrian? That you had no relationship with him? That you had nothing to do with him trying to get Erisia killed?!"

Sierra flinched, her lips parting soundlessly. Her throat worked as if words might come, but nothing did.

"Answer him!" David barked, his voice filled with fury. "You were lying to us this whole time?!"

"I—no! I didn’t—" Sierra’s voice broke into a thin, desperate wail. "I never told him to hurt her! I swear it! I only... I only talked to him a few times—"

"Talked to him?" Shane cut in, his eyes narrowing. His tone was low but heavy with disgust. "The messages say otherwise. He said he’d do anything for you. That he tried to ’take care of the problem’ if it made you happy. What exactly did you want him to do, Sierra?"

"I didn’t want him to do anything!" Sierra cried, her voice rising in alarm. "He misunderstood! I—I just said I hated Erisia. That’s all! I never asked him to—"

Erisia stepped forward, her expression calm but her gaze mocking. "You just ’said’ you hated me? And he just happened to hire someone to run me down with a car?" Her voice carried through the room. "That’s not a misunderstanding, Sierra. Just admit it already. There is nothing more to hide behind. Every thing you did, every word you said, it’s all out in the open. So just quit fucking acting."

"No! Shut up! No, it’s not like that!" Sierra sobbed harder, her hands trembling as she clutched at Selena’s arm. "Mom! Please—please tell them! Tell them I would never—"

Selena tightened her hold around Sierra’s shoulders, but her face was pale and stricken now, the certainty in her eyes faltering. "Sierra... tell me the truth," she whispered. "Did you... did you talk to Adrian about Erisia?"

"I—I didn’t mean for anything to happen!" Sierra wailed, pressing her forehead against her mother’s shoulder as if she could hide from the truth. "I only wanted him to scare her! Just scare her so she’d leave! I didn’t know he’d go that far—I didn’t!"

Leander recoiled as if struck. "You... you what?"

Shane exhaled through his nose, his voice icy. "So you admit it. You asked him to do something to her."

"I didn’t!" Sierra screamed, panic coating her tone. "I didn’t ask him to do anything to her! I just—he said he’d help me and I didn’t say no, but I never told him to hurt her!"

David’s face darkened, "Do you have any idea what could have happened if he’d succeeded? Do you even understand what you’ve done?"

"I didn’t know!" Sierra’s words dissolved into choking sobs, fervently denying everything. "I didn’t know!"

Erisia walked to her, pulled her away from Selena, and slapped her—not once, not twice, but four times. No one moved to stop her.

On the last hit, Sierra fell to the floor, her ears ringing as her face flushed a deep, angry red almost instantly.

Erisia looked down at her and said coldly, "I hope that wakes you up. I’ve heard enough of your shit. If you’re going to keep denying it, then just shut the fuck up."

Her voice stayed even, each word deliberate. "You wanted me gone. Adrian only gave you what you wanted."

Sierra looked up, her tear-streaked face twisted in desperation. "You don’t understand! You ruined everything! You ruined my life! You shouldn’t have come back!"

"Enough!" David’s voice thundered through the room. He turned to Shane. "Call the police. Now."

Selena’s eyes went wide. "David, no! She’s our daughter!"

David’s gaze cut to her, "Your daughter," he said, "And she will answer for every single thing she’s done."

Selena staggered back as if struck.

"No!" Sierra cried, clutching at her mother’s dress. "Mom—don’t let them take me! Mom!"

Selena bent down and clung to her, torn between maternal affection and denial. "David, you can’t—she’s just a child—"

"She’s not a child," Shane said flatly, his eyes locked on Sierra. "Not anymore."

The sound of a phone dialing filled the silence, followed by David’s low voice giving instructions to the police.

Sierra’s sobs grew frantic, her pleas rising in a choked crescendo. "No! Mom, please—please don’t let them take me!"

Selena’s hands trembled violently, but she didn’t move.

"Father, don’t call the police."

Erisia’s calm voice broke the tension. She turned to David, her expression composed.

"What?" David paused mid-sentence, the phone still in his hand. Everyone turned to look at her.