Chapter 316: Truth
Remo sat at Abby’s bedside for what felt like hours, his mind replaying the events of the last few days over and over. The doubt that had settled in his chest gnawed at him, refusing to be ignored. Abby looked so peaceful, so innocent as she slept, but the weight of Nicole’s words pressed heavily on his mind. He loved Abby, had always protected her, but Nicole’s desperate warnings couldn’t be dismissed so easily.
The hospital room was quiet except for the soft beeping of the machines monitoring Abby’s vitals. The low hum of the hospital’s life reminded Remo of the tension hanging over him, an invisible but suffocating presence. His phone buzzed in his pocket, pulling him from his thoughts. He looked at the screen—Tony.
For a moment, he hesitated. He didn’t know if he wanted to talk to anyone right now. The confusion and guilt tangled within him made it hard to focus on anything other than what had just happened. But Tony, his closest friend and confidant, would notice his silence. He sighed and answered the call.
"Remo," Tony’s deep voice rumbled on the other end, "I heard about what happened. Are you okay? Is Abby...?"
"Abby’s stable," Remo replied, his voice tight. "She’ll be fine."
Tony paused, and Remo could hear the skepticism in his tone when he asked, "And you? What the hell happened with Nicole? The news is all over it, making it sound like you’ve got some love triangle situation going on."
Remo leaned forward, rubbing his forehead with his free hand. "It’s a mess, Tony. I walked in, and Abby was on the floor, bleeding. Nicole was standing there with blood on her hands." He paused, his voice dropping lower. "But she says Abby set her up. That Abby... manipulated the situation."
A long silence followed on the other end of the line. Tony finally spoke, his voice measured. "You think there’s any truth to that?"
Remo closed his eyes, his chest tightening. "I don’t know. Everything about it felt wrong, but I don’t want to believe it, Tony. I love her."