the clip continued, showing stan walking directly to the food packs. he gently picked them up and left the kitchen.
the anticipation twisted inside vera, fear and disbelief choking her as the video played on. in the next clip, stan emerged from the kitchen, the food packs in his hands. he passed through the dining room and entered the sitting room, where vera stood, glancing around.
vera watched herself reach out to take the food packs, but stan shook his head, declining to hand them over. together, they left the house.
"no," vera whispered, shaking her head in disbelief. this can't be right.
wasn't stan supposed to open the food packs and add the pills? maybe she had missed it. she quickly replayed the clip several times, hoping to catch the moment, but there was nothing. no sign of him adding the pills.
her heart pounded as confusion clouded her mind. was that part deleted? she thought. but the hacker had assured her that the footage hadn't been tampered with. and the timestamps on the clips confirmed the data was intact.
could it be? was stan innocent? had she wrongly placed her anger on him? but if not him, then who?
her thoughts spiraled. who else could have done it? she couldn't fathom someone sneaking into her office, opening her food, and slipping in the pills, not when she had never left her office that day.
her forehead creased as she tried to make sense of the pieces. this isn't as simple as it seems, she realized. the puzzle pieces weren't fitting. then, like a flash, a name crossed her mind, a name that sent a chill down her spine.
mr. drake. the former director who had threatened her after losing his job. the same man who had vowed she would pay. and then, a week later, her pregnancy was lost.
but if it was him, how had he known? how had he known she was pregnant?
a new, unsettling thought gripped her. did anyone see the test kits? she remembered now, forgetting the test kits in her handbag for an entire week. could tina have seen them? if she had, could she be an accomplice with drake?
"tina!" vera muttered under her breath, the realization dawning on her like a dark cloud.
even after drake had taken over her position unofficially, tina never said a word. she never called to check on vera, nor did she seem concerned. instead, she happily worked with the new lady drake had brought in.
tina... drake... more suspects, vera thought, her mind racing with new possibilities.
with a heavy sigh, she closed the file, took out the flash drive, and shut down her computer. she carefully put the drive back in her bag. i'll wait until williams recovers the missing footage from the office surveillance, she decided.
the complexity of the situation dragged on her, and though her mind was far from focused, she refused to let her emotions interfere with her work. so, she buried herself in her tasks. slowly but surely, her muddled thoughts began to clear.
when the workday finally ended, she called jason, asking him to meet her at a private restaurant. she pushed open the door, and there he was, jason, walking towards her with a warm smile. without a second thought, he pulled her into a tight hug.
some might have wondered why she was closer to jason than to olivia, but the answer was simple. jason had been her friend since grade school. he had been her protector, her confidant, especially when she lost her father in that fatal accident. when loneliness threatened to overwhelm her, when the tears wouldn't stop, jason had been there, always by her side.
he had made sure that the loss of her father didn't destroy her. he had been the one to remind her to be strong, not just for herself but for her mother and little brother as well.
through all the years, jason had been the steady presence in her life, and, over time, vera had become the strong woman he had always believed she could be.
in high school, rumors had swirled about a possible romance between them. but despite the speculations, their bond had remained purely platonic. it always had been and always would be.
jason had a girlfriend, and vera had a boyfriend. they were always more like siblings, with no romantic feelings between them.
as for olivia, they had met in university. olivia was a close friend, someone vera could trust, but it was jason who made her feel safest. that's why, when things got difficult, she always confided more in him.
until recently, olivia had no idea vera had been pregnant or lost the baby.
"he didn't do it," vera whispered, her voice shaking as she buried her face in jason's broad chest.
"he didn't add the pills," she continued, her sobs escaping uncontrollably.
the truth she had uncovered made her hate herself for the blind vengeance she'd wanted against a man who, it seemed, had done nothing wrong.
jason stroked her hair gently, his arms wrapping around her for comfort. "calm down, vee. tell me what happened."
he led her to a chair and helped her sit, his presence a steadying force.
"the hacker gave me the clip," vera managed to say through her tears.
"i watched it over and over... but he never did it. he never added the pills." she shook her head, the weight of her guilt and frustration settling in.
"i wanted revenge on a man who didn't deserve it. i hate myself for believing the worst of him."
jason's expression hardened. "i see. was the footage altered?" he muttered, his voice thoughtful.
"it wasn't," vera replied. "the timing is accurate. but the hacker said the clip from my office was altered. he's working on recovering it."
she let out a shaky breath. "i don't know who to trust anymore."
"hmm," jason mumbled, his brows furrowing as he processed the new information.
"how will i face stan after accusing him?" vera sobbed, her body trembling in jason's arms.
"vee, stop! wait until the second surveillance is recovered before you blame yourself," jason urged, his voice firm but comforting. vera nodded, trying to hold back her tears.
"yeah, i'll wait," she whispered, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
"i never thought about mr. drake," she murmured, her voice quiet but laced with fear. "he vowed to make me pay... even tina. she never called when she realized i was replaced. what if she was working with drake to harm me?"
jason's expression darkened as he processed her words. "you're right, we never thought of them," he said, a frown creasing his forehead.
"but your boyfriend shouldn't be declared innocent yet, until we confirm it," jason added, his voice thoughtful.
there was a brief silence, the only sound in the room her sniffling. after a moment, jason broke the quiet.
"who's the hacker?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.
"his name is w..." vera began to answer, but before she could finish, her phone rang, interrupting her.
"what!" vera screamed in horror, her eyes widening with panic as she quickly answered the call, her voice shaking. "okay, i'll come over immediately."
she ended the call, her face pale with fear. "mom fainted again. she's at the general hospital," she said in a rush, grabbing her bag as she stood up.
"wait for me!" jason yelled, rushing to catch up as she hurried out of the room.
vera didn't slow down, her heart pounding with fear for her mother.