Chapter 246 Hidden Truths Ignite
Sidonie’s face turned ashen. She stared at Quinn in panic and cried, “Y–You’re spouting nonsense! I don’t smoke at all. How could that massive wildfire along the border have anything to do with me? I was fighting the flames. I saved so many lives!”
Trent glowered at Quinn, fury etched across his features. “Quinn, you’ve gone after Sidonie time and again. Because of you, she even lost her position at Nimbus Air. Isn’t that enough?”
Quinn let out a mirthless laugh. “I’m the one targeting her? Maybe she lost her job because she committed one sin too many.”
“Sin? What sin did Sidonic commit?” Trent argued, “Even if she did fail to rescue a coworker back then, she was scared–anyone would panic in that situation! Besides, during that blaze, she still helped put out the fire and saved other people.”
“So it’s perfectly fine for her to hide the truth, lap up everyone’s praise, and accept the title of ‘Firefighting Hero?” Quinn snapped back. “And that’s not even the worst of it. She concealed far more than her refusal to help–the entire wildfire started because of her! She’s the culprit, yet she enjoys the accolades with a clear conscience. Isn’t that laughable?”
“Sidonie already said she doesn’t smoke. How could the cigarette butt that ignited the fire come from her?” Trent insisted.
“Doesn’t smoke?” Quinn sneered and flung several photographs at Trent’s face. “These were taken right before the fire–Sidonie Stonehurst, cigarette in hand. Not only does she smoke, she’s been doing it for years.”
Stunned, Trent bent to gather the photos, staring at the image of Sidonie with a cigarette between two fingers, lazily exhaling smoke.
He had never seen her like that. He had always believed she was a nonsmoker, yet the ease in the photos marked her as an old pro.
Sidonie’s expression shifted when she saw the photos. “They… They’re fake. They must be doctored–yes, digitally altered!”
“Whether they’re doctored will be clear the moment we run a forensic test,” Quinn said coldly.
Trent pressed his lips together, his emotions a tangled mess. “Even if Sidonie does smoke, that doesn’t prove she caused the blaze. Besides, back then, the fire department and police already ruled that the co- pilot’s discarded cigarette butt started/the fire.”
“That conclusion only stood because the co–pilot was dead,” Quinn replied icily. “If he’d lived, do you think he’d have borne such a wrongful charge?”
“You’ve got no evidence–nothing at all…” Trent began.
Before he could finish, Quinn hurled a second stack of photos–stills she had extracted from the restored security footage–showing Sidonie smoking and flieking away the butt.
“This shot captures Sidonie smoking at the exact ignition point. Ten minutes after she tossed that butt, the flames erupted. Do you still want to claim it has nothing to do with her?”
Trent lifted the photos again. The face was blurred, but the outline was unmistakable–Sidonie
After all, I know her better than anyone, he thought helplessly.
Sidonie’s body jolted when she saw her silhouette in Quinn’s hand. How… How did Quinn get these pictures When were they taken? Who was holding the camera? Panic hammered in her chest.
“Quinn, you’re slandering me!” Sidonie shouted. “A few fuzzy photos and you want to pin the wildfire on me? That’s malicious defamation!”
“Whether it was you will be decided by the police and the court,” Quinn said. “I’m here only to get justice for myself–and for my brother.”
“What-” Sidonie never finished the question. Quinn closed the distance, raised her fist, and smashed it into Sidonie’s face.
Sidonie staggered backward; without Trent’s quick grab, she would have crashed to the floor.
Clutching her throbbing cheek, she screeched, “Quinn, what right do you have to hit me?”
“Right?” Quinn’s teeth ground audibly as she yanked Sidonie by the collar. “My brother vanished five years ago because you casually flicked away a cigarette and started that inferno. You tell me–do I have the right?”
Sidonie was struck dumb.
Trent’s expression shifted; he remembered Quinn mentioning an older brother who’d gone missing along the border five years ago.
He had never imagined it was tied to that same wildfire.
If that blaze truly was Sidonie’s fault…
For a split second, Trent could not bear to finish the thought.
