Reclaimed By My Ex-husband-Chapter 263: Riya escaped again

Chapter 263: Riya escaped again
"It’s already sent," Zara said.
Riya stepped back, her expression turning bleak. "What kind of proof are you talking about? I don’t know what you are up to this time. Stop harassing me, Zara. This is not the time. Mom is like this. Do you have to stir up chaos in the family at this moment?"
"Save the act," Zara snapped. "You pushed Mom down the stairs. The fear of being exposed made you desperate, and you bribed a nurse to hurt her, to poison her. Now she is in coma. It’s all your doings. Your deeds finally came to light. Now, Nathaniel will deal with you."
She stepped toward her and grabbed her hand. "No more lies. No more running. Today, I’ll show them what your true color is. They should know the daughter they cherish the most is nothing but a poisonous snake, who betrayed them, planned to hurt them."
Zara dragged her along.
"Let go of me," Riya protested. "Don’t make a scene here. This will only enrage Nathaniel. I’m warning you. Stop it right away before you regret it."
"What?" Zara snorted. "Scared? Today, no one can stop me from exposing you. Come with me."
She tugged at her hand, forcing Riya to follow her.
Riya pushed the corners of her lips up, displaying a calculated smile. Everything had been happening as planned. But she still protested, "You are making a mistake. Dad will never forgive you."
"Let’s see what he says when he learns what you did to Mom." As Zara rounded the corner, she came face to face with Nathaniel. Excitement surged within her instantly. Leaving Riya’s hand, she moved toward him.
"Nathaniel, have you heard that recording?" she asked. "She did something to Mom. Because of her, she is in the coma. She is planning something very dangerous. You have to stop her. Ask her what she gave to Mom."
Nathaniel glared at Riya. "What is this, Riya?" he asked, holding up his phone. "What did you do to Mom?"
Riya made a wronged face, fake tears brimming in her eyes. "I didn’t. Why would I hurt Mom? I don’t know what kind of video she sent you. But I didn’t do anything to Mom."
In a flash, Nathaniel grabbed her arm and hissed, "Don’t lie. I have a proof. You were scheming with a nurse."
"Then call that nurse," Riya challenged, shoving Nathaniel’s hand away. "I want to see who I have schemed with. I also want to know how I schemed against my mother. Call her..."
"Yes, I’ll call her." Zara dialed the nurse.
The call was connected in a few rings.
"Can you come over?" Zara said. "You need to testify against Riya. Hurry..."
Ending the call, she turned fiercely to Riya. "She is coming. Your pretention won’t work."
"I don’t know what kind of game you are playing," Riya said, her voice trembling as if she was deeply hurt. "But I’ll defend myself. I’ll prove my innocence."
Just then, the nurse appeared. She looked troubled, her face pale, her steps faltering as she approached them.
"You...Are you the one who schemed with Riya?" Nathaniel thundered. "You have the nerve to hurt my mother. Do you know I can make you disappear in a blink?"
The woman trembled. She didn’t dare to lift her head.
"Tell me the truth," Nathaniel commanded fiercely.
She dropped to her knees, sobbing. "I’m sorry. I became greedy. But I learned my lesson now. I shouldn’t have agreed to her."
"What did you do to my mom?" Nathaniel barked, his patience wearing thin. "Speak."
The nurse shook her head. "I did nothing to your mother. All this is just a lie." She looked up and pointed at Zara. "She told me to fake a voice recording and frame Miss Riya."
"What?" Zara’s scalp went numb. "When did I say such things? Why are you lying?"
Nathaniel was shocked, too. He had not expected things to shift like this.
"I’m not lying," the woman said desperately. "Everything I said is true. You gave me money to testify against Miss Riya. Greed took over me, and I faked that recording. But I can’t lie anymore. Take your money back."
She pulled out some cash from her pocket and tossed it toward Zara. Shame and guilt weighed heavily on her chest. She couldn’t meet Zara’s eyes. Her instinct told her to expose Riya, but she hung her head down and pressed her lips tightly. She couldn’t do that, no matter how much she felt guilty.
Her mother and brother were in danger. Riya had kept them captive. One wrong move and her loved ones would be gone. If her silence could save them, she would do that.
Zara’s jaw fell apart, disbelief crossing her face. "Why are lying? I saw you speaking with Riya, heard your conversation. I still have that video."
She held out her phone toward Nathaniel.
"Stop it already," Riya snapped, snatching the phone and tossing it aside.
The phone broke into pieces.
Zara gasped, looking at her broken phone.
"How far can you go to harass me?" Riya spat. "You accused me of hurting Mom – the person I cared about the most. How could you do that? This is too much. I can’t let this matter go. I’ll call the police."
"Wait," Nathaniel stopped her from calling the cops. "Don’t do it. Let me handle this."
"No, Nathaniel," Riya retaliated. "She blamed me for hurting Mom. She was all set to destroy me. How could you let it go?"
"I’ll talk to her," Nathaniel persuaded. "Don’t involve the authority. Mom is like this. Dad is upset. Try to understand. Calling the cops will turn the situation worse. I’m afraid Dad will fall sick too."
Riya nodded. "Alright, I won’t call the cops. But I can’t let this matter go just like that. Ask her to kneel and apologize to me."
Zara turned to Nathaniel, her breathing unevenly.
Nathaniel looked at Zara, his heart trembling. "Apologize to her."
Zara squinted at him with disbelief. "Are you asking me to apologize to her? You don’t believe me!"
Nathaniel knew something wasn’t right. He didn’t trust Riya, but the situation had turned against Zara. He couldn’t involve the cops. Or Zara would fall into trouble.
"Don’t make it difficult," he said coldly. "Apologize to her right now."
"I won’t," Zara said defiantly. "I did nothing wrong. The one who is wrong is her."
"Still stubborn?" Riya sneered. "Since you won’t apologize to me, I’ve to take action. I’m calling the police."
"Stop it, Riya..." Nathaniel snatched her phone. "I’m handling this." His tone turned sharp as he turned back to Zara. "Are you done enough of making trouble here? Apologize if you don’t want to escalate the things."
Zara’s eyes turned misty. She thought he would trust her and that he would take action against Riya. However, a few lies from Riya and her fake tears led him to turn against her. Even after providing the proof, she couldn’t win his trust.
But she wouldn’t sacrifice her dignity.
"I’ll not apologize to her. If she wants to call the cops, she can do it." With that, she turned and left, tears streaming down her cheeks.
The nurse slightly lifted her head and watched Zara leave. ’I am sorry,’ she mumbled in her mind, regret gnawing in her chest. ’But I have no choice.’
Nathaniel’s jaw clenched, rage flaring in his eyes. He glared at the nurse, who had been still kneeling on the floor.
"Leave," he roared.
The nurse sprang to her feet and dashed away. Even Riya flinched at his loud voice.
Nathaniel turned back to her, the fire in his eyes flaring even more. "You think you fool me by playing such a dirty trick," he hissed. "I know that recording wasn’t fake. But you twisted the fact, made that nurse change her statement. How did you do that? What did you do to that woman?"
Riya’s expression changed; her pretension fell. "Yes, that recording wasn’t fake. Zara wasn’t lying. Every word she said was true. But what’s the point. You didn’t trust her. You chose to stand by my side." She sneered. "You again hurt her. Do you think she will forgive you?"
Nathaniel reached out and clasped her throat. Gritting his teeth, he grunted out, "What did you do to Mom?"
Riya didn’t push him away, nor did she say a word. She simply stared at him coldly as if she had determined not to reveal anything.
Nathaniel was losing his patience. "Answer me."
"This is not the way to talk to me," Riya said defiantly. "If you want answers, you have to ask me politely. Don’t threaten me. Or you will never be able to save your loved ones."
At that, his anger surged further. He tightened his grip. "The audacity. I can kill you right here, and no one will question me."
"Then who is stopping you?" she challenged. "Go ahead and kill me. But this won’t save your mother. It’s only me who can save her."
Nathaniel’s grip didn’t loosen a bit. "You think you can make me do anything with your small tricks. I don’t need you to save my mother. I can do that on my own. And once I did, I’ll deal with you. I swear I won’t give you a chance to regret it."
He pushed her away before striding down the hallway.
Riya rubbed her throat, her glare sharpening as she watched his retreating form. "It’s you who is going to regret your actions. You will lose everything soon, Nathaniel. Even if you beg me, I won’t forgive you."