Chapter 11: We Were Wrong!

Elio's forehead furrowed deeply, as if something catastrophic was about to happen, but he kept suppressing it. Because he knew that if this thing emerged, he would be doomed.
Katie, who had intended to say something, turned pale as she saw everything inside the room. Her face, which already lacked color, suddenly turned pale with terror. She pushed Elio away and ran towards Julia— "Move aside! All of you, move aside!" Katie pushed the man lying on top of Julia away and shouted at the men still standing in line, "Get the hell out of here! Scram!"
Seeing Julia lying on the bed, lifeless, Katie felt an unprecedented fear. She dared not approach, not even look into Julia's eyes.
Her trembling and inconsolable crying continued until she knelt in front of Julia. "Julia..." Katie's voice seemed as if it were stuck in her throat, and she trembled as she cried, "Julia, I'm sorry, I know, I know you won't forgive me, I know—"
Julia, in her daze, seemed to hear someone calling her. She made a strenuous effort to open her eyes and, upon seeing Katie kneeling in front of her, closed them again.
"Sorry?" Did it even matter to her anymore?
She was tired, no longer wanting to explain anything more. No matter what she said, no one would believe her. She didn't want to argue or continue making any more efforts.
'Whatever, I don't care now...' she thought.
In that moment when Julia closed her eyes again, Katie knew that she would never gain Julia's forgiveness in this lifetime.
Elio's expression darkened, and he stepped forward to grab Katie's arm with a hint of fierceness in his voice, "Do you even know what you're doing? What are you apologizing to her for? This malicious woman—"
Slap!
A resounding slap struck Elio's face without mercy. Katie's slaps were heavy, and her eyes were filled with tears and pain.
"It's not her! We were wrong, everything was our fault!" Katie said, falling heavily to the ground, covering her eyes and trembling with tears.
"But brother, how could you treat Julia like this? How could you treat her like this? She's your Julia, the Julia you cared for with all your heart..."
"Katie, you're talking nonsense," Elio's expression didn't improve much. He even thought about escaping, not wanting to hear anything else Katie had to say.
Katie seemed to see through all his thoughts. She held onto his hand and spoke word by word, "Brother, everything was done by Tiffany. We were all deceived by Tiffany!"
Shaking her off, Dave Elio retorted, "Stop talking nonsense! Tiffany is not that kind of person! Tell me, what did Julia say to you that made you so devoted to her?"
Katie let out a bitter smile and replied, "Dave, it was those people who humiliated me. You can ask them again and find out who orchestrated it all. And doctor Jake, he knew the truth..."
Katie called someone to take Julia away, and in the process, Elio wanted to intervene but was held back by Katie. She said, "I know you won't believe anything I say now, but brother, I betrayed Julia, and I must atone for it."
"If you don't want to know the truth, then don't ask anything. Maybe, it's for the best, considering the circumstances," she added.
Katie didn't know how her brother would react once he learned the whole truth. Julia was the woman he cherished, the one he had poured his heart into. Now, because of that damned reason, everything had come to this point.
"Katie!" Elio shouted in a deep voice, "Keep her here!"
"For everything, you can confront Tiffany. Treat her accordingly," Katie pursed her lips. "I know, with your abilities, my brother, there's nothing you can't uncover if you want to investigate those matters."