Chapter 310: Chapter 310 Samantha’s Accusation
For several long seconds, Samantha remained frozen inside the car.
Her ears rang violently.
The world around her seemed strangely distant, as though she were underwater.
She could still hear the frantic screech of tires...
The deafening blare of horns...
The terrified screams from the street...
Every terrifying sound replayed over and over inside her mind.
Then the pain hit.
A sharp, burning agony spread from her left forearm.
She lowered her gaze.
Blood.
Bright red blood trickled steadily down her wrist before dripping onto the expensive leather seat.
Her breathing became ragged.
Only then did she realize what had happened.
When the car had swerved violently, she’d been thrown sideways. Her wrist had smashed into the center console with enough force to shatter the crystal face of her designer watch.
One of the jagged shards had sliced deep across her forearm.
The wound wasn’t life-threatening.
But it was deep enough to leave blood running freely.
Her entire body began trembling uncontrollably.
She had almost died.
Only seconds earlier...
She had been convinced the next impact would send the car into another vehicle.
Or through a guardrail.
Or rolling across the pavement.
She had been certain she would never leave that car alive.
The driver’s door suddenly flew open.
Lucas climbed out first.
His face was ghostly pale, and sweat soaked through the collar of his shirt.
His breathing was uneven as he hurried toward the rear door.
"Miss Hill..."
"I’m so sorry."
"I—"
Before he could finish speaking, Samantha shoved the door open herself.
She stumbled out onto the sidewalk.
The moment both feet touched solid ground, her legs buckled beneath her.
She collapsed hard onto one knee.
The impact sent another wave of pain through her injured arm.
People immediately rushed over.
"Someone call an ambulance!"
"Is she hurt?"
"Get back and give her some air!"
Several pedestrians gathered around them, whispering anxiously.
Someone handed Lucas a bottle of water.
Another person had already dialed 911.
Samantha barely noticed any of it.
Her chest rose and fell violently.
Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
She was alive.
But only barely.
Then—
Through the crowd...
She saw someone running toward her.
Rose.
Rose slowed only after reaching the damaged sedan.
Her eyes quickly swept across the scene.
The tires were shredded.
Smoke curled lazily from beneath the hood.
The front bumper had been crushed against the concrete divider.
She immediately looked toward Lucas.
"Lucas."
Her voice remained calm despite the urgency in her eyes.
"What happened?"
Lucas was still struggling to steady his breathing.
He had worked for G.S. for nearly eight years.
He was known throughout the company for being one of its safest drivers.
Even now...
His hands were trembling.
"I don’t understand."
He shook his head repeatedly.
"The brakes..."
"They suddenly stopped responding."
"I pressed the pedal..."
"Nothing."
"I tried again."
"Still nothing."
"I had no choice but to scrape the curb and use the barrier to slow the car."
He looked at the damaged sedan in disbelief.
"We had the vehicle inspected less than a week ago."
"It shouldn’t have happened."
Rose frowned.
Something wasn’t right.
Company vehicles underwent routine maintenance on a strict schedule.
Brake failure...
Especially this severe...
Was almost unheard of.
Unless—
Her thoughts were interrupted by a shrill voice.
"Rose!"
Samantha had forced herself back onto her feet.
Her face was completely drained of color.
Blood continued dripping from her arm onto the pavement.
Her eyes, however...
Burned with fury.
She pointed directly at Rose.
"Was this your doing?"
The surrounding crowd instantly fell silent.
Rose looked at her in disbelief.
"What?"
"You heard me."
Samantha took another shaky step forward.
"You wanted me dead."
Rose stared at her for several seconds before letting out a short, incredulous laugh.
"Have you lost your mind?"
"You think this is funny?"
Samantha’s voice cracked.
"You tried to murder me!"
Rose’s patience immediately began wearing thin.
She had rushed over because someone had almost died.
Not because she wanted to argue.
She took out her phone.
"I’m calling the police."
"We’ll let the investigators determine exactly what happened."
Before she could dial—
Smack!
Samantha lunged forward.
The phone flew from Rose’s hand and clattered across the pavement.
Gasps erupted from the surrounding crowd.
"Rose!"
Samantha’s breathing had become completely erratic.
"You’ve hated me for years!"
"You’ve wanted me gone ever since Ryan chose me!"
"So who else could’ve sabotaged that car?"
Her voice grew louder with every accusation.
"You knew exactly which vehicle I was getting into!"
"You arranged the transportation!"
"You had every opportunity!"
Rose’s expression darkened.
"What exactly is wrong with you?"
She took one slow step closer.
"This was one of G.S.’s fleet vehicles."
"If someone tampered with it, that hurts my company more than anyone."
"Why would I sabotage my own vehicle?"
Samantha opened her mouth—
But no words came.
Rose continued coldly, "Every executive who left tonight rode in one of the same company cars."
"No one else had any problems."
"You happened to be in the only vehicle that malfunctioned."
"That makes you a victim."
"It doesn’t automatically make me the culprit."
Samantha refused to listen.
The terror she had experienced moments earlier had overwhelmed every ounce of reason.
In her mind...
Everything connected.
The restroom confrontation.
Rose’s mocking smile.
Then—
This accident.
It couldn’t be coincidence.
"It was you!"
She raised her bleeding hand and swung toward Rose’s face.
"I know it was!"
Rose instinctively lifted an arm to block the slap.
But before Samantha’s hand could reach her—
A large hand shot forward.
It caught Samantha’s wrist in midair.
The slap stopped inches from Rose’s face.
Silence fell.
A cool breeze swept through the street.
Rose slowly turned her head.
Ryan Knight stood behind her.
His expression was unreadable.
Cold.
Controlled.
His left arm remained secured in a black sling beneath his suit jacket, evidence of the injury he had suffered while saving Rose.
Yet despite the injury...
His grip on Samantha’s wrist was firm enough to stop her instantly.
Samantha’s anger disappeared in an instant.
Her eyes widened.
"Ryan..."
Her voice trembled.
"When... when did you get here?"
Ryan didn’t answer immediately.
He simply looked from Samantha’s blood-covered arm...
To the damaged sedan...
Then to Rose.
Only after several silent seconds did he slowly loosen his grip.
As he released Samantha’s wrist, streaks of blood stained his fingers.
He glanced down briefly before pulling a neatly folded white handkerchief from his pocket.
Without the slightest change in expression...
He calmly wiped the blood from his hand.
Only then did he finally speak.
"What happened?"
His voice wasn’t loud.
Yet somehow...
It silenced everyone around them.
Samantha suddenly felt as though she had finally found someone to rely on.
Tears instantly welled in her eyes.
Her lips trembled.
"I..."
She clutched her injured arm.
"I almost died."
"If the driver hadn’t stopped the car..."
She swallowed hard before looking toward Rose with tear-filled eyes.
"I never imagined..."
"...that she’d hate me enough to do something like this."
The accusation hung heavily in the night air.
Rose finally laughed.
Not because anything was amusing.
But because she genuinely couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
"This is unbelievable."
She looked directly into Samantha’s eyes.
"This is a country governed by law."
"If you think I tried to kill you..."
"Then show me evidence."
"Otherwise..."
"Stop throwing around accusations just because you’re frightened."
Her gaze sharpened.
"Or is it because you’ve done so many unforgivable things yourself..."
"...that you assume everyone else thinks exactly the way you do?"
What normal person would jump to the conclusion that this was a deliberate act of sabotage without a second thought?
What could have caused such darkness in her heart?
Samantha’s expression froze.
For the briefest moment...
A flicker of panic flashed across her face.
She had a vague feeling that Rise was implying something.
But at a time like this, she couldn’t take the bait!
“Why would she do that?” Ryan also asked.
The excruciating pain in her arm was causing Samantha’s mind to reel.
But of course she knew the answer.
It was because of her provocation toward Rose.
The things she said to Rose today.
Then the accident happened—everyone was fine, but she was the only one who got hurt!
Yet her face remained pale: “Rose knows full well that she’s harbored hatred toward me for quite some time now. Ryan, I’m in so much pain...”.
His said nothing.
But his eyes...
Had grown noticeably colder.
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