Alexander remained silent for a long moment before finally speaking. "Perhaps," he murmured, "it was simply an accident. You might have lost your footing."

Amy hadn’t planned to waste another breath arguing with him, but now, she was morbidly curious—just how far would Alexander go to twist the truth for Victoria’s sake? What kind of ridiculous excuse would he conjure to absolve her?

"So, what you're saying," Amy said slowly, "is that you can’t even tell whether I was pushed or if I fell on my own?"

Alexander met her gaze, his voice low but firm. "It’s possible that when you slipped, Victoria tried to grab you to pull you up, and you misunderstood her intentions. In moments of panic, confusion is natural."

At that, Amy nearly laughed. She had to admire his creativity. There was no limit to the lengths he would go to protect Victoria.

While they argued, Nathan had already pulled Victoria from the water. She hadn’t been submerged long, so she was conscious, but the moment she was back on solid ground, her entire body trembled as she burst into dramatic sobs.

"Alex!" Victoria wailed, clutching at him. "Ms. Sinclair kicked me into the lake right in front of all of you! Does she want me dead that badly?"

Nathan, wiping water from his face, scowled. "I swear, by the end of today, I’ll make sure that woman is behind bars!"

Amy stood perfectly still, her expression unreadable, not a trace of fear in her posture.

Nathan sneered at her composure. "Go ahead, act all calm now. Let’s see how long that lasts when you’re sitting in a jail cell."

Victoria turned tearfully to Alexander. "Alex, Amy has humiliated me over and over. For your sake—and for Liam’s—I’ve always let it go. But this time, she tried to kill me! You saw it with your own eyes. I won’t back down anymore!"

Alexander studied Victoria’s tear-streaked face, his lips parting slightly. "Victoria, your concert is in a few days. A scandal right now would ruin everything. If word gets out that you and your composer are at odds, it’ll destroy your reputation."

Victoria gaped at him in disbelief. "Alex, are you seriously suggesting I’m the one causing drama here?"

A shadow flickered in Alexander’s eyes. "I’ll make her… apologize to you."

Before Victoria could respond, Nathan exploded. "Apologize? She pushed Victoria into the water—she tried to murder her! And you think an apology is enough? Or did you forget she slapped me earlier? My face is still burning!"

Amy finally spoke, her voice steady. "Don’t worry. I have no intention of apologizing to any of you. If you think this is unfair, call the police. Please."

She pulled out her phone, holding it up. "By the way, I recorded my entire conversation with Ms. Langley earlier. So we’ll see who’s really guilty of attempted murder."

Victoria’s face went rigid, her already pale complexion turning ghostly white. "What… what are you talking about?"

Amy glanced around at the others. "If I’m not mistaken, this area conveniently has no security cameras—or maybe they’re ‘malfunctioning’ again. But that’s fine. I have proof."

She smiled at Victoria, cool and composed. "Meeting with you alone? I’d have to be an idiot not to come prepared. Did you really think I’d walk into this without insurance?"