Emergency

Emergency
Scarlett's POV

I ran down the hospital hallway so fast I nearly crashed into a nurse.

"I need to see Luna Martinez," I gasped. "She's asking for me."

"Room 304. But only one visitor at a time."

Kai and Madison stopped behind me, both breathing hard from the sprint from the car.

"I'll go first," I said. "She asked for me specifically."

Luna looked small and pale in the hospital bed. Tubes ran from her arms. A heart monitor beeped steadily beside her.

"Scarlett." Her voice was weak but urgent. "You have to leave. You have to get away from that house."

"Who pushed you?" I grabbed her hand. "Luna, who did it?"

"I can't—" She coughed, wincing with pain. "If I tell you, he'll know I talked. He'll come after you too."

"I don't care. Tell me."

Luna's eyes filled with tears. "It was—"

The door burst open. A doctor rushed in with two nurses.

"I'm sorry, but we need to examine the patient," the doctor said. "You'll have to leave."

"No! She was about to tell me—"

"Now, please. Her blood pressure is spiking. We need to stabilize her."

Security appeared at the door. I had no choice but to leave.

In the waiting room, I wanted to scream. "She was about to tell me! One more second and I would have known!"

"She said 'he,'" Kai pointed out. "So it's definitely a man."

"That narrows it down to half the people in the house," Madison said grimly.

My phone rang. Unknown number. I answered anyway.

"Scarlett Rose?" A woman's voice. Professional. Cold. "This is Detective Sarah Chen. I need you to come to the station immediately for questioning."

My stomach dropped. "Questioning about what?"

"About the incidents at the mansion. Luna Martinez. Ryan Cross. We have some concerns we need to address."

"Concerns?"

"We'll discuss them when you arrive. One hour. Don't be late."

She hung up before I could respond.

"They think we did it," Madison whispered. "They actually think we pushed Luna and Ryan."

"Jake." Kai's voice was hard. "He's been planting suspicion since Ryan's accident. Making us look guilty."

"But we didn't do anything!" I said.

"We exposed his manipulation on camera. Showed the world his fake contracts. He wants revenge." Kai stood up. "And framing us for attempted murder is the perfect way to get it."

The drive to the police station felt like heading to an execution. Detective Chen met us in the interrogation room—a gray box with a table and uncomfortable chairs.

"Let's talk about last night," she said, opening a folder. "Ryan Cross nearly drowned around midnight. Where were you at that time?"

"In my room," I said. "Trying to sleep."

"Can anyone verify that?"

"No. I was alone."

"Convenient." Detective Chen pulled out a photo. "This was taken from security footage at 11:47 PM. Someone walking toward the pool area."

The figure in the photo wore a red dress. My heart stopped.

"I was wearing red yesterday," I admitted. "But I didn't go to the pool."

"The footage shows someone in red by the pool right before Ryan went in." Detective Chen leaned forward. "Want to explain that?"

"I can't explain it because it wasn't me!"

"Then who was it?"

"I don't know! Maybe someone else wearing red? Maybe Jake planted this to frame me?"

"That's a serious accusation." Detective Chen made notes. "You're saying Jake Morrison is framing you for attempted murder?"

"He's framing all three of us," Kai said. "He's been manipulating this whole situation since the beginning."

"Tell me about the contract." Detective Chen pulled out another document. "The one you claim proves Jake scripted the show."

"It's real," Madison insisted. "I photographed it from his office."

"Interesting. Because Jake Morrison claims that contract is a forgery. That you three created it to discredit him after he threatened to fire you."

"That's a lie!" I shouted.

"Is it? Because from where I'm sitting, you three have motive to hurt people. You're facing contract penalties. Your careers are ruined. Maybe you decided to take revenge by sabotaging the show."

"We would never—"

"Luna Martinez had evidence against you," Detective Chen interrupted. "According to Mr. Morrison, she discovered you were planning to fake an accident for publicity. When she confronted you, someone pushed her in the pool to silence her."

The lies were so thick I could barely breathe. "Jake is manipulating you just like he manipulates everyone else."

"Prove it." Detective Chen closed her folder. "Bring me evidence that Jake Morrison is behind this. Real evidence, not fabricated contracts. Until then, you're all persons of interest in two attempted murders."

She let us go with a warning not to leave town. Outside the station, we stood in the parking lot trying to process what had just happened.

"He's winning," Madison said quietly. "Jake is actually going to get away with this."

"Not if we find proof," Kai said. "Real proof the police can't dismiss."

"How? He has all the files locked in his office."

"Then we break in." I was surprised by my own words. "Tonight. We get those files and expose everything."

"That's insane," Madison said.

"So is everything else we've done." I looked at them both. "We're already suspected of attempted murder. What's one more crime?"

We drove back to the mansion in tense silence. When we arrived, Jake was waiting on the front steps with cameras rolling.

"There they are!" he announced cheerfully. "Our persons of interest returning from police questioning."

The other contestants stared at us like we were criminals.

"I didn't push anyone," I said loudly. "Jake is lying."

"Am I?" Jake pulled out his phone. "Then explain this."

He played a video on the big screen TV visible through the window. Security footage. Time stamp: 11:47 PM. A figure in a red dress walking toward the pool where Ryan was swimming.

The figure stopped at the edge. Looked around. Then appeared to push something—or someone—into the water.

"That's not me!" I shouted.

"Really? Because that looks exactly like the red dress you wore yesterday." Jake zoomed in on the footage. "Same style. Same color. Same height."

"Someone else could be wearing red!"

"Who? Madison was in blue. David in black. Marcus in green. The only person wearing red yesterday was you, Scarlett."

The contestants were backing away from me now. Fear in their eyes.

"I didn't do this," I said desperately. "Jake is framing me."

"Why would I frame you?" Jake's expression was innocent. "What would I gain from that?"

"Revenge! Because we exposed your manipulation!"

"You mean the forgery you created?" Jake shook his head sadly. "Scarlett, I think the stress of the show has gotten to you. Maybe you need professional help."

He was gaslighting me. Making me look crazy in front of everyone.

"Show them the rest of the footage," Kai demanded. "Show them what happens after that timestamp."

"There is no more footage. The cameras mysteriously malfunctioned right after this moment." Jake's smile was predatory. "Lucky for Scarlett, since we can't see exactly what she did to Ryan."

"This is insane!" Madison stepped forward. "Scarlett was with us! She couldn't have been at the pool!"

"Can you prove that? Were you in her room watching her all night?"

Madison went silent. We had no alibi. No way to prove I wasn't at the pool.

"I think you should pack your bags, Scarlett," Jake said quietly. "For your own safety and the safety of others. The police may not arrest you yet, but I can't have a dangerous person living in my house."

"You can't kick me out. Contract—"

"The contract has a clause about unsafe conditions. Attempted murder qualifies." Jake gestured to security. "Escort her to her room to pack."

"No!" Kai grabbed my arm. "She's not going anywhere."

"Then you'll both leave. Your choice." Jake crossed his arms. "Scarlett goes, or you both do."

Kai looked at me, silent communication passing between us. If he left to protect me, we'd have no way to access Jake's office. No way to get the evidence.

"It's okay," I said quietly. "I'll go."

"Scarlett—"

"I'll be fine. Get the files. Expose him." I squeezed his hand. "Finish what we started."

Security escorted me to my room. I had twenty minutes to pack. Twenty minutes before I'd be thrown out of the house and lose any chance of clearing my name.

I threw clothes into my suitcase, my mind racing. There had to be a way to prove the video was fake. Had to be some evidence that Jake was lying.

A knock on my door. Madison slipped inside, looking around nervously.

"I found something," she whispered, showing me her phone. "Look at the timestamp on Jake's video. 11:47 PM."

"So?"

"Now look at this." She showed me another video. "This is from my phone. I was filming the living room last night, remember? For our documentary about Jake's manipulation?"

I looked at the timestamp. 11:47 PM. And there, clearly visible in the background, was me. Sitting on the couch talking to Madison and Kai.

"I was with you," I breathed. "The whole time. This proves I couldn't have been at the pool!"

"It gets better." Madison zoomed in on the window behind us. "Look outside. You can see the pool area. It's empty. No one in red. No one at all."

"Jake's footage is fake. He edited it somehow."

"Or filmed it earlier with someone else in your dress."

We had proof. Real proof that would clear my name and expose Jake's lies.

"We need to show this to the police," I said.

"We will. But first—" Madison's expression turned serious. "There's something else on my video. Something I didn't notice until I watched it in slow motion."

She played the video again, zooming in on the window. The pool area was empty. But as the camera panned, we caught a reflection in the glass. Someone standing in the shadows watching us.

Someone wearing a red dress identical to mine.

Madison paused the video on the figure's face.

My blood turned to ice.

It was Luna.