Chapter 4
The police showed up right at that moment.
Everyone at the stairwell immediately fell silent.
The lead officer scanned the area.
His voice cut through the quiet. "Who called the police?"
I stepped forward.
"Me.
"Someone accused me of pushing her down the stairs. I want to reenact what happened, right here at the scene," I said.
The officer turned to Nina. "Did you say she pushed you?"
Nina instinctively glanced at Charles.
I spoke up. "Don't look at him. Face the officer. You were pretty clear earlier; repeat it now."
Charles was about to speak. "Tara—"
The officer turned to him. "Please don't interrupt."
Charles froze.
Nina's eyes were rimmed with red, her voice trembling, barely holding together. "I was just so scared."
The officer pressed, "Where were you standing?"
Nina bit her lip nervously.
"On the stairs," she said.
The officer pressed, "Which step exactly?"
She glanced at the stairs.
Her eyes darted away, betraying her anxiety.
"I don't remember," she said.
The officer pressed, "Which direction did she push you from?
"Was it from the front, the side, or behind?"
Nina's gaze flickered between the stairs and Charles.
"I... I just remember her suddenly coming over," she stammered.
I just stood there quietly, not butting in.
Nina glanced at the stairs and whispered, "She must have come from above."
"Must have?" The officer frowned. "Are you absolutely certain she pushed you?"
Nina dropped her gaze, unable to meet the officer's eyes.
She stammered, "I was just so scared I really don't know..."
At last, I broke the silence. "Officer, she was really sure earlier that I pushed her."
The officer turned to Nina. "Your story's changed. Just tell us straight—did she push you, or was it just because you were scared?"
Nina opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
Charles was about to speak.
I gave him a look.
"Mr. Ford, please don't answer for her," I said.
Charles's lips tightened into a thin line.
Nina finally burst into tears.
"Miss Shaw, why are you forcing me to relive every detail?" she cried.
I looked at her. "You had no doubts when you accused me earlier.
"Funny how your story gets fuzzy as soon as the cops show up."
Nina clutched her chest, her voice trembling.
The officer turned to the hotel manager. "What about the security footage?"
The hotel manager answered right away, "There aren't any cameras inside the emergency stairwell, but we do have footage from the second-floor hallway, the elevator lobby, the entrance to the bridal suite, and outside the fire exit."
"Pull it up," the officer ordered.
Then, he told the other guests to stay where they were and only took those involved to the surveillance room to review the footage.
Grace followed behind me, her phone still recording.
Nina didn't go into the surveillance room.
The doctor had her sit on a chair outside and kept telling her not to move.
The hotel manager pulled up the surveillance footage.
The footage showed me leaving the second-floor lounge and heading into the emergency stairwell.
Within ten seconds, guests outside the side door of the first-floor party hall heard something and ran over to the stairs.
The officer jotted down the timestamp.
I watched the footage. "So, according to Nina's story, I'd have to pull all that off in less than ten seconds.
"Wearing a wedding dress, holding a ring box, running from the second floor to the landing, getting close to her, pushing her, and making her fall all the way down to the first floor.
"If that's what happened, the victim should be able to explain it in detail."
The officer turned to Nina, who was sitting outside the door.
"Can you tell us exactly what happened?" he asked.
Nina's lips trembled.
"I-I was just really panicked," she stammered.
I stayed silent.
Charles's gaze stayed fixed on the timestamp, not moving away.
The officer kept his eyes glued to the footage.
Nina never entered from the second-floor hallway before I went into the stairwell.
So she definitely wasn't behind me.
The officer rewound the footage.
Twenty-six minutes before the wedding, James led Nina into the hotel through the side door.
Nina was wearing a mask.
James headed straight for the elevator with her and went up to the second floor.
The footage stopped there.
I turned to James.
"You were the one who brought Nina up to the second floor," I said.
"And the ring was on the second floor, too. You were the one who passed it to Ethan."
James's grip on the tablet tightened.
I turned to Charles.
"She didn't come in through the front entrance or check in. Your assistant snuck her inside.
"Both of us went up to the second floor.
"Are you seriously still claiming she was just here to give her blessings?" I asked.
Charles wouldn't meet my eyes.
He looked over at James, who was sweating bullets.
"Mr. Ford, Ms. Hayes said she just wanted to catch a glimpse from a distance—" James stammered.
I couldn't help but laugh.
"Catch a glimpse from afar? And she somehow ended up in the emergency stairwell right next to the bridal suite?" I shot back.
Charles's voice was low and dangerous. "Shut up."
Not sure if he meant James or me.
But he couldn't control me.