Chapter 4

Faye pointed an accusing finger at Chloe, her voice cracking with fury.

"Stop playing dumb, Chloe! I thought you were just a cheating scumbag, but you’re a cold-blooded killer! How could you do this to Ethan?!"

"He told me just last week that this would be his final championship! He was retiring for you! He was giving up the sky to build a life with you, and you conspired with this leech to murder him?!"

The crowd erupted into an uproar.

"Monster! She murdered her fiancé for her side piece!"

"Arrest her! Put both of them behind bars!"

Julian immediately stepped up, raising his hands and shouting at the crowd.

"Nothing is confirmed yet! Stop jumping to conclusions!"

"We have laws! The police are right here! Officers, show everyone the surveillance footage! Let the truth speak for itself!"

The officers exchanged glances. Under the overwhelming pressure of the angry crowd, they plugged a USB drive into the café’s television and hit play.

On the screen, Chloe could clearly be seen opening my parachute rig in the hangar and pulling out a small metallic component.

"Freeze it right there!" Julian shouted triumphantly. "Do you see what she took out? That was an unauthorized electronic altimeter booster! A banned piece of gear! Ethan’s been cheating his way to victory for years!"

"Chloe only removed it because she couldn't stand watching him cheat anymore! She had no idea that without his illegal crutch, he wouldn't even know how to deploy a basic chute..."

The officers and the crowd frowned, clearly skeptical of his absurd spin.

Faye trembled with rage.

"Julian! Ethan taught half the jumpers in this league! You think he didn't know how to pull a cord?! You can’t spin black into white, you lying piece of garbage!"

"Chloe! If you ever had a shred of love for Ethan, tell the truth! What did you do to his rig?!"

Chloe stared blankly at the screen, looking lost, as if her brain still refused to process that I was truly gone.

Julian leaned close to her ear and whispered urgently, "Chloe, I know you’re overwhelmed, but if you go to prison, who’s going to handle Ethan’s remains? You’re the only family he has left."

A flicker of light returned to Chloe’s dull eyes. She swallowed hard and whispered, "Right... I have to take care of him."

Watching this, I realized the woman who had once loved me was truly dead.

She knew skydiving was more precious to me than my own life.

Yet now, after my death, she let Julian drag my name through the mud just to save her own skin.

Seeing her submit, a smug smile crossed Julian’s lips. He turned to the crowd and sneered:

"Nine championships! That means Ethan cheated nine times!"

"This is the biggest scandal in extreme sports history!"

My fans looked devastated, their faith crumbling.

Faye refused to back down. "Julian, you framed him! You hated being stuck in his shadow, so you set this whole thing up!"

"Officers, please! Investigate this! Don't let Ethan die in vain!"

Other jumpers who had trained with me began speaking up as well, defending my integrity. They knew how many hours I had poured into training, how much blood and sweat I had spilled for every single title.

Watching them fight for me, a bitter ache settled in my chest.

My live-in fiancée cared less about me than acquaintances I barely spoke to.

Chloe stared ahead, her expression chillingly blank.

"Everything Julian said is true. If I'm lying, may God strike me down right beside Ethan."

The room went dead silent. Faye glared at her with pure hatred.

"Then start praying, Chloe! There’s a special place in hell for cheaters and murderers!"

Suddenly, someone outside shouted, "Stop arguing! The Coast Guard salvage team just recovered Ethan’s gear!"

"They haven't found his body yet, but they just posted the recovered helmet cam footage online!"