CHAPTER 11

It was quite unlike Cleo to be late to school. At first, Gabriella thought it was pay back for what she did the day before or maybe a prank, but it wasn't.

She alongside the rest of the gang had arrived at her house to pick her up from school, but neither her nor her parents were home, they called, but she wasn't answer. She wasn't in school either and this made them worried.

For the rest of the day, the girls couldn't stop thinking about what could have possibly happened to Cleopatra because it wasn't pretty unlike her to be completely unreachable.

Finally, Avery received a call and it was from Cleo's mom. The horrified expression on her face told the made it obvious that something bad or even worse had happened.

"What's wrong?"

"Cleo was attacked, found unconscious at home last night. I don't know how bad it is until we get to the hospital," Avery responded.

Gabriella wondered when the incident had happened because she was at Cleo's place the night before, and she left pretty late.

Fortunately, classes had ended, so they had time to meet Cleopatra at the hospital. Keith and his friends who had been watching them approached the girls to inquire what was wrong.

"We aren't sure for now. All we know is Cleopatra is in the hospital," Gabriella said coldly, which didn't go unnoticed.

"Are you girls headed there right now?" Anthony asked and they nodded.

"We're coming with you," Keith insisted. The girls got into Gabriella's car while the guys entered Keith's.

Gabriella couldn't help but wonder why Cleopatra was suddenly attacked. She still had to see for herself what happened before she concluded, but she had a feeling it was related to the other cases. She was definitely going to call Damian if he hadn't arrived at the hospital before her.

They arrived at the hospital a bit earlier than the boys, but they didn't wait for them before entering.

The got to Cleopatra's ward and saw the state she was in.

She had cuts on her arm and probably other body parts but not visible, and bruises on her face. She looked like she was bartered, which was surprising and horrifying. Who could have done something so horrible? She was awake and, just like Gabriella had predicted, Damian was there and had already started the interrogation.

While the others rushed to Cleopatra's side, Gabriella took her time to examine the wounds on Cleopatra's body. It was quite similar to the one on Nicole's body, except that she was hit on the head, which caused her death. This made it clear she was murdered.

Gabriella was sure Damian must have noticed it, so she moved forward to check on her friend. As soon as Cleopatra saw her, her expression changed into horror, like she had seen a monster. This didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the people in the room.

"Why are you here?" She asked, and Gabriella looked confused.

"What do you mean, why am I here? I came to see how you were doing, of course." She said.

"Liar! You came here to act like you're innocent," Everyone, including her parents and the boys who just stepped into the room, were shocked.

"Cleo, what are you talking about," Iris questioned.

"She… She wanted to kill me," Cleo responded, fear evident in her eyes. Everyone looked at the both of them in disbelief and said nothing until Damian finally spoke.

"How do we know that's not a baseless accusation?" He asked and just then, they noticed Cleopatra's uneven breath. She was having trouble breathing, and they needed to calm her down. Keith and some other people tried to calm her while the rest went out to fetch the doctor.

"I think it's best if you step out for a bit, until all this is settled," Damian told her, and she nodded. Still in shock, she left the room and was followed by Keith. She finally found a place where she could be calm. As soon as she saw Keith, she sighed.

"What was that all about?" He asked calmly.

"I'm just as surprised as you guys,"

"Did you and Cleopatra have an argument before that time or…" Before he could finish, Gabriella scoffed.

"Now that I think about it, I'm not surprised you believe I did all that,". Keith felt guilty, knowing the reason she made such a statement.

"Look, Gab, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Renee. It all just really complicated and…"

"I have no idea why you think I feel bad about you and Renee, but it has nothing to do with me, really," She told him in a tone that wasn't defensive but rather calm and convincing.

Keith had actually selfishly hoped she'd care about his relationship with Renee, but he got disappointed when her reaction seemed like she sincerely didn't care about anything, this stung.

Gabriella, on the other hand, who was an excellent actress, had other problems and thoughts going on in her head, so it made the fact that she didn't care a bit more believable.

Keith finally went back in, reassuring Gabriella that everything would be settled. She stayed outside for a while and after what seemed like an eternity, Damian finally came out to meet her. He spotted her and took her by the wrist, leading her outside to his car. He opened the door to the passenger's seat and ordered her to get in.

A bit frightened, she did as she was told, and Damian did the same. As soon as he was in, he lowered his head and sighed, Gabriella imitated him and spoke.

"You also think I did that to her, don't you?" She asked and once more, he sighed.

"You're not that stupid,"

"What?"

"If you were scared she'd leak your secret, you'd have killed her without leaving a trace, at least I know that little about you," He said and Gabriella looked at him surprised. Although, to a normal person, it wouldn't sound like a compliment, he was the least person she expected not to believe Cleopatra's words. He saw the way she looked at him in amusement, which he found cute. He then cleared his throat and continued.

"Everyone might not believe you, though because every of Cleopatra's claim seemed legit. I'd have to check the CCTV footage outside her house to see who else was there," He said.

Gabriella was happy she had at least one person by her side. While the whole thing started, everyone looked shocked, and it seemed like they believed Cleopatra's words even though they were trying not to. Gabriella knew it'd have been useless defending herself.

The fact that Cleopatra bluntly accused her was proof that more was coming.