The slap rang loud, my head snapping to the side as pain exploded across my face.
“Dahlia!” he shouted, his eyes cold and furious. “Grandpa treated you like his own, and this is how you repay him? You pushed him down the stairs? You tried to kill him?!”
My ears rang, my cheek burning, but none of that mattered.
“What?” I breathed, panic rising fast. “What are you talking about? How did Grandpa fall? What did the doctor say? Is he okay?”
Before Argus could answer, a weak voice came from upstairs.
“Miss Connelly, the butler already said it was you,” Celine said, her tone trembling, almost pitiful. “Are you really going to pretend you’re innocent even now?”
My body went cold.
“Argus, is this really the person you chose?” she added softly, like she was hurt. “She did something like that and still won’t admit it. She’s a coward.”
I staggered back as Argus shoved me hard against the wall. Pain shot through my back, but I barely felt it.
Because I saw her. Celine.
For just a second, her eyes met mine. And she smiled. A small, smug smile.
My scalp tingled. I didn’t need to think twice. She did it. She pushed Grandpa. And now she was blaming me.