Chapter 233 Who Was Shot? Savannah The first thing I thought when I heard the gunshot wasn’t I’m going to die. It wasn’t we’re all going to die. It was—who was shot? The sound cracked through the room like glass shattering inside my skull. Loud. Violent. Final. That for a split second, the world froze, suspended between before and after, and my body reacted before my mind could catch up. My eyes went straight to Roman. I scanned his immaculate white shirt in a blind panic, searching for red. My heart slammed against my ribs as my gaze dragged over his chest, his stomach, his side—anywhere a bullet might have torn through him. Nothing. No blood. No spreading stain. I sucked in a sharp breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding, relief crashing over me so hard it made my knees weak. But that relief barely had time to settle before something else sliced through the air.A sound. A sharp, broken inhale. It didn’t come from Roman. It came from Paula. For a second, my brain refused to process it. Refused to accept what my eyes were seeing. Then Paula’s knees buckled, and reality slammed into me with brutal force. “No—” My scream tore out of me before I could stop it. “Paula!” She fell forward, and Jace caught her instinctively, his arms wrapping around her as they both hit the floor hard. His back slammed against the marble, but he didn’t seem to feel it. His entire focus was on the girl in his arms. For a heartbeat, Jace looked frozen. Like time had locked him in place. His eyes were widely staring down at her face as if his mind couldn’t connect the dots yet. Then it hit him. “Oh God—no.” His voice broke apart. “No, no, no—” Paula gasped again, a wet, choking sound, and his hands flew to her abdomen. Blood was already spreading there, blooming fast and terrifyingly bright against her clothes. “Someone call an ambulance!” Jace screamed, his voice cracking as he pressed his hands harder against the wound. “Please—someone help her! She’s bleeding—she’s bleeding!” The room erupted. Mom screamed, both hands flying to her mouth as she staggered back like she might faint. Alyssa went deathly pale, her eyes locked on Paula, her lips trembling but no sound coming out. In that moment I feared for her. Her sanity. Her mental health. The negative aftereffects that today's violence would have on her. And me? I couldn’t look away from the person holding the gun. Chloe. She stood a few feet away, her arm still extended, the gun aimed downward toward Paula and Jace like she was considering finishing the job. Her face was eerily calm. Empty. Like something inside her had finally snapped, leaving behind nothing but cold, brittle rage in a fragile shell. “Chloe…” My voice came out as a whisper. “Why?” She didn’t answer right away. My gaze flicked to the floor beside the dead guard Paula had shot earlier. My stomach twisted violently. The gun wasn’t there. It wasn’t lying on the marble. It wasn’t anywhere in sight.And suddenly it clicked. In the chaos. In the shouting. In the moment when everyone’s attention had been pulled toward Paula, Chloe had taken it. She turned her head slowly toward me, the gun never wavering. Her eyes met mine as I peeped from Roman's back, and I felt something icy crawl down my spine. “You’re all so selfish,” she said. Her voice was steady. Too steady. Jace wasn’t listening to her. He was rocking slightly now, pressing down harder on Paula’s wound as blood soaked through his fingers. “Please—someone—call an ambulance!” he begged. “She’s dying! Can’t you see she’s dying?!” “No one moves!” Chloe screamed suddenly, her composure shattering. She lifted the gun higher, sweeping it across the room. “Not a single step! Anyone moves and I swear I’ll shoot again!” Everyone froze. Even the air felt heavy. Roman took a careful step forward, his hands raised slightly in a placating gesture. His voice was calm, controlled—but I could hear the tension beneath it.“Chloe,” he said evenly. “She’s going to die without help. Let us take her to the hospital. We can deal with everything else after.” She snapped her head toward him, fury blazing in her eyes. “Shut up!” she spat. “You shot me, remember?!” From the corner of my vision, I saw Julius start to edge forward, his movements slow and deliberate. Roman didn’t flinch. “And I’d do it again,” he said coldly. “You’re not in your right mind.” Chloe laughed. It was a sharp, hollow sound that made my skin prickle. “You really aren’t afraid of anything, are you?” she asked mockingly. “Even with a gun in my hand, you still aren't scared.” “Chloe,” Alyssa said softly, her voice shaking. “Please. Mom’s sick. Emily’s upstairs and she probably heard the gunshot. She’s scared, Chloe. Please put the gun down.” Chloe scoffed. “You’re all unbelievable.” She gestured wildly with the gun. “Do you even care about me? Any of you?” The question hit something ugly inside me. I almost laughed. The most pampered person in the room. The one who’d been protected, indulged, excused—still standing there, holding a gun, demanding to know if she was loved.This must be her sick version of a joke. Mom stepped forward despite herself. “Of course we care about you, sweetie,” she said desperately. “Please—please stop this.” “Stop saying that!” Chloe shrieked. “Stop telling me to stop!” Her chest heaved as years of bottled rage poured out. “I sat there and listened to all of you argue about whose fault it was that Savannah suffered!” she screamed, pointing straight in my direction. “What about me?! Haven’t I suffered too? Didn’t I suffer in silence for over a decade?! What makes her so special?!” My throat closed. “Chloe, this isn’t the time,” Jace snapped hoarsely, glancing down at Paula. Her breathing was shallow now, uneven. “She’s losing a lot of blood.” “Good!” Chloe screeched. “I should shoot you as well, uncle Jace. You brought her into my life to play with my emotions. All so you can get revenge for Savannah! It's always about her!” The word echoed like a slap. “It’s good!” she continued hysterically. “This way I can get justice. This way I can watch her die!” Mom gasped, stumbling back into Alyssa. Chloe paced like a caged animal. “I loved her,” she said, her voice cracking. “I trusted her. And she played me. She played me the entire time. It was all a lie.” She jabbed the gun toward her head. “And no one cared what that did to me. What that did to me up here.” “Give me the gun, Chloe.” Julius stepped closer, his voice gentle, pleading. He reached out slowly. “I’ll take care of this. All of it. I promise—you won’t have to go to jail for this.” She spun on him, eyes blazing. “Get away from me, Dad!” she screamed, aiming the gun at his chest. “If your brother is telling the truth—if you were having an affair with Monica—then it’s your fault that bastard forced himself on me for years! It's your fault he raped Savannah!” The room went dead silent. Julius staggered back like he’d been struck. “Chloe,” he whispered. “I would never—never hurt you intentionally.” She shook her head violently, gripping the gun with both hands. “I don’t trust you anymore. I don’t believe anything you say.” “Sav.” Roman’s whisper cut through the chaos. I looked at him.“Take my phone, baby,” he murmured. “Call an ambulance. Now.” My hands trembled as I reached into his back pocket and pulled it out— “No talking!” Chloe screamed. “What are you two doing over there?!” I froze, phone clenched in my hand. “Nothing,” I whispered. Her eyes narrowed. “Come out, Savannah,” she hissed. “We need to talk.” Then she smiled. A slow, cruel smile. And said the words I never expected she'd say so casually in public. “Stop hiding behind your baby daddy.” My heart dropped straight into my stomach. The words echoed. Baby daddy. And then, like she’d just let something slip she hadn’t meant to, she slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes glittering with mockery and fake remorse. “Oopsie. Guess I wasn't supposed to say that out loud.”