"I was scared! What if it happened again—me swearing and then lightning striking? It'll be just like last time!" Ana said with an aggrieved tone.
"There's no one else here. It's pointless to lie to me. We all know that the lightning strikes weren't a coincidence," Thomas retorted coldly.
Ana froze. Her mind was in chaos, defaulting to excuses out of panic.
"Can't I be traumatized after being struck by lightning? You'd be scared too!" Tears slid down her cheeks as she choked back a sob.
"Why fear unless you're lying?" Thomas questioned.
Ana was stunned. "Why don't you believe me? Now, you're ganging up on me too?"
She covered her face with her hands as she burst into theatrical sobs.
Daniel massaged his temples. He wanted to believe that Ana hadn't deliberately dropped the pack. However, her flinching reaction when Demi had challenged her spoke volumes.
He said gently, "Ana, it's just us now. Be honest. Did you mean to lose that bag? If it truly was an accident, we'll explain it to everyone."
"I didn't do it on purpose!" Ana shrieked, stomping her foot in frustration.
However, Ana had forgotten she was standing in rushing water. The sudden shift in balance sent her lurching sideways. Daniel's grip on her hand became the only thing preventing her from being swept away.
With a loud splash, Daniel and Ana toppled into the raging current. Thomas lunged to pull them up, but he didn't have the strength to support two people. In the end, he fell into the water too.
"Ana, how many people do you plan to drag down with you?" Thomas roared, slamming his palm against the water in frustration.
His anger wasn't about the fall into the water—it was about Ana's antics, making Demi loathe them even more. It was even harder to reconcile with Demi now.
Ana's breath hitched. Then, her sobs escalated into full-blown wails.
…
Meanwhile, Herne paused after walking for a distance. By then, his temper had cooled. Noticing that the Pitts still hadn't caught up yet, he signaled the team to wait.
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