Page 49 of Ranger's Wildflower

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Undeniable.

Mine.

“I didn’t do it,” I whispered again, crying harder now.

Ace pressed his cheek lightly against my hair.

“No, sweetheart,” he murmured. “You didn’t.”

And this time—

somebody finally believed me.

14

Tessa

The flower shop stayed quiet long after the video ended.

Morning light crept slowly across the floorboards, catching scattered petals near the counter. Somewhere in the back, the cooler hummed steadily.

I sat on the floor with my back against the cabinet, Ace beside me, the phone loose in my hand.

The screen had gone dark minutes ago.

But the footage kept replaying behind my eyes anyway.

Headlights.

Impact.

Metal twisting.

Passenger seat.

My throat tightened.

“I wasn’t driving. Finally I have proof.”

The whisper barely made it out.

I stared down at the blank screen like it might disappear if I looked away too long.

Six years.

Six years of prison walls and whispered accusations and wondering if maybe the world saw something monstrous in me that I couldn’t see myself.

Another shaky breath slipped out.

“I knew I wasn’t,” I whispered again.

And somehow that hurt worse now.

Because knowing the truth meant realizing exactly how much had been stolen from me.

The courtroom flashed through my head.

The judge reading my sentence.

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