Chapter 618
Chapter 618:
A realization flashed across his face, and the corner of his mouth quirked upward ever so slightly, as though he had unlocked a hidden secret. He remained silent, but his eyes spoke volumes, and he extended his hands with a calm, almost serene acceptance, allowing the officers to cuff him and lead him away.
Zane, who had been outwitted by Ashton on more than one occasion, now wore a look of smug triumph. It was as if the weight of the world had just been lifted from his shoulders. Proudly, he escorted Ashton away, a self-righteous aura surrounding him like a crown.
Meanwhile, Abrial stood alone, feeling the cold indifference of her family members. She refused to surrender, her determination burning as bright as ever. Stepping in once again, she implored, “Please, everyone, you have to believe me! Ashton could never kill anyone. He was framed! Instead, it was Craig who almost killed us yesterday!”
The crowd remained unmoved. Abrial pressed on, her voice trembling but unwavering. “When we asked Craig why, he shrugged it off like it didn’t matter. That’s when Ashton, frustrated and angry, locked him in here—to force him to reflect, nothing more.”
Despite Ashton being the prime suspect, Abrial still defended him, her voice unwavering. Seeing that, some of the Carter family members exchanged looks, displeasure creeping into their hearts.
But it was Craig’s parents who took their fury to a new level, storming over to Abrial. With eyes flashing and voices full of venom, they grabbed her, pulling her aside. “This is all your fault! If you hadn’t brought Ashton to the Carter Manor, our son would still be alive! You’ve already killed your own parents, and now you want to destroy the rest of us too—how heartless can you be?”
Their words struck like daggers, sharp and unforgiving. But the rest of the Carter family remained silent, sighing softly, their judgment already passed.
To them, it seemed that Abrial was, in some way, indirectly responsible for Craig’s death.
𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓼𝓪𝓯𝓮𝓵𝔂 𝓪𝓽 𝓰𝓪𝗅𝗇𝓸ν𝖊𝗅𝘀⧿ⅽ𝗼𝗺
With clenched teeth and a burning sense of injustice, Abrial shot back, “No! Ashton is innocent! Someone is framing him—I swear it!”
“Abrial, haven’t you said enough?” Levi snapped, his voice harsh with anger. “Look at where we are! And here you are, making excuses for him. Are you hiding something?”
For a moment, Abrial was caught off guard, her mind stumbling over the implications of his words.
In her rush to defend Ashton, she’d let slip that she’d been with him when they’d seen Craig. This, she realized, made her a potential suspect, though Zane’s earlier accusations had kept everyone’s suspicions directed solely at Ashton.
But if she kept defending him, the others might turn on her too, perhaps even suspecting her as an accomplice and taking her in for questioning. And if that happened, there’d be no one left to defend Ashton’s innocence.
The realization hit her like a punch to the gut. Softening, she finally murmured, “I just didn’t expect him to be capable of something like this.”
Levi gave a cold, dismissive snort. “The truth will come out when the investigation is over. There’ll be an official statement. Your words now won’t change a thing.”
Catching the double-edged warning in her grandfather’s words, Abrial nodded in silent resignation, saying nothing more.
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