CHAPTER 7: THE HERO'S LIED
Forty-five minutes later, Arthur burst through the front doors of the chalet, screaming frantically for help. His expensive winter jacket was torn, and his knuckles were bloody—injuries he had deliberately self-inflicted by scraping his hands against the stone fireplace down the road.
"Help! Someone call emergency services!" Arthur yelled, collapsing onto the floor of the grand living room where the staff and local authorities had assembled. "An avalanche hit the upper trail! I tried... I tried for nearly an hour to dig Madam Veronika out with my bare hands! Look at me!" He held up his bloody hands, tears streaming down his face. "The snow was too heavy! I couldn't save her!"
A local police captain stepped forward, looking somber. "Dr. Vance, calm down. The weather is too severe for a rescue team right now."
"You don't understand!" Arthur sobbed heroically, playing the grief-stricken savior to perfection. "She was the most wonderful woman I ever knew! I would have given my life for hers!"
"That is a truly touching story, Doctor," a sharp, clear voice echoed from the top of the grand staircase.
Arthur’s weeping instantly stopped. He slowly raised his head, his eyes widening in horror.
Standing at the top of the stairs, wrapped in a warm cashmere shawl and sipping a mug of hot tea, was Veronika. She looked entirely unharmed, completely relaxed, and utterly unimpressed.
Beside her stood Alex, holding a tablet connected to the room's primary television screen.
"Veronika...?" Arthur stammered, scrambling to his feet, his mind racing to comprehend how she could possibly be standing there. "You... you survived? Thank God! The avalanche—"
"The avalanche was staged, Arthur," Veronika interrupted coldly.
Alex tapped the tablet screen. The large television above the fireplace flickered to life, playing thermal-camera footage from the cliffside trail. The crystal-clear video displayed Arthur standing over Veronika, his voice clearly recorded through a directional microphone hidden in her coat collar: "If hypothermia takes you out here... the medical power-of-attorney takes effect immediately. Isn't it time to finally rest?"
The local police captain’s expression hardened immediately. He looked from the screen back to Arthur, pulling out a pair of steel handcuffs.
Arthur backed away, his face twisting in rage and embarrassment. "You crazy old hag! You set me up! You’re insane! You’re testing everyone because you know nobody could ever genuinely love a withered, bitter old monster like you!"
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Veronika didn't flinch at his cruel words. She simply looked down at him with quiet pity as the officers tackled him to the floor and dragged him out into the snowstorm.
"Take him away," she murmured softly.
