CHAPTER 0114
JULIAN’S POV
“So what do you want to know?” the reporter asked, leaning back in her seat with an air of tired resignation. Her voice was low, calm, but I could tell she was nervous. The tension in her shoulders gave her away.
Olivia shot me a glance from across the room. That look said it all–it was time for me to take the lead now. I gave her a small nod in return before rising to my feet and stepping forward, closing the space between me and the reporter. I needed to handle this carefully
“We don’t want much,” I said clearly, my voice firm but not aggressive. “We just need you to do what your partner here already did–and that’s confess. Admit that you were hired by Adrian Westwood to frame Olivia.”
She tilted her head, her eyes flickering toward Olivia for a second. “Whatever,” she muttered. “Just as long as you keep your side of the deal. I’m not dying for that man.” Without wasting a moment, I excused myself and left the room, heading straight to the surveillance office down the hall. I needed to make sure we captured every second of this. I leaned over the operator’s shoulder, confirming the red REC icon was flashing on the monitor linked to the room’s camera feed.
“Record everything,” I instructed. “Don’t stop until I say so.”
With a final nod, I turned and walked back to the room. When I stepped in, I gave the reporter a subtle nod, signaling that everything was ready. She saw it, took a deep breath, and then slowly closed her eyes. For a moment, I thought she might back out. But then she opened her mouth and started talking.
“About a month ago, Adrian Westwood came to me,” she began, her voice steady but laced with regret. “He said he had a deal that would change my life forever. At first, I didn’t take him seriously, but I was curious, so I listened.”
Olivia crossed her arms beside me, listening intently as the confession began to unfold.
“He told me that I, along with two others, was going to help him frame someone. When he first said it, I was shocked. I didn’t want to be involved. I wasn’t that desperate… until he named the amount.”
She paused then, her eyes glazing slightly as if recalling the moment she sold a piece of her soul.
“That amount was… insane. It was the largest sum I’d ever seen in my bank account, the kind of money that makes you question your morals. And like a fool, I said yes. I took the deal.”
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The room was silent. Her voice had become softer, almost ashamed, but she kept going.
“Adrian told us everything–where to be, what to say, how to make it all look real. He had it planned down to the second. On the day it happened, we waited behind a parked car. The second we saw you enter the bar, that was our green light. The trap
was set.”
She stopped for a moment, swallowing hard, then looked directly at Olivia.
“I don’t need to explain what happened next. You already know. So the short version is that: Yes, Adrian Westwood paid me to frame you. You didn’t kill anyone. The person you’re being blamed for murdering… is still alive. Walking around, living a normal life, probably spending her own share of the money, because she had the largest cut.”
Hearing those words–it was like someone had just opened a window and let the fresh air in. I hadn’t realized how tightly I’d been holding my breath. I closed my eyes and slowly exhaled. We had it. A confession. Not from some low–level source, but one of the people directly involved.
“Happy now?” the reporter asked, a bitter smile tugging at her lips.
“That’ll do. For now,” I said quietly, still absorbing the weight of what we had just
achieved.
But Olivia wasn’t finished yet.
“You’re third,” she said, stepping forward. “Emma. Where is she?”
“And what makes you think I might know where she is?” the reporter Sandra asked, arching a brow as she leaned back in her chair. There was a trace of sarcasm in her voice, laced with defiance, as though daring us to press her further.
“Well, like you said earlier,” Olivia replied coolly, her voice calm but sharp, “you were all brought together as a group for this setup. That means you must’ve had some sort of coordination. You should, at the very least, know where Emma went–or who she might be in contact with.”
Sandra didn’t bother responding immediately. Instead, she gave us a smug smirk and turned her head to the side, clearly enjoying playing difficult. It was infuriating.
“Look,” I said, stepping forward and narrowing my gaze. “If you really want the protection we offered, you need to answer every question we ask. Half–truths won’t cut it. Cooperation is non–negotiable.”
“I really don’t know where she is,” Sandra finally responded, her voice losing some of its earlier arrogance. “After the accident, once we got paid, Adrian told her to lie low. He said it was necessary so the media wouldn’t catch on that she was still alive. If anyone found out she faked her death, the whole plan would’ve unraveled. So she vanished. I haven’t heard from her since.”
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That wasn’t the answer I was hoping for, but I couldn’t say I was surprised either. Emma Jackson was the last piece of this sick puzzle. If we could get her to confess, then Olivia would be fully exonerated. Until then, the weight of this lie still hovered over us. Still, even though Sandra and the driver claimed ignorance, I wasn’t worried. I had a team of professionals who were better at tracking people than most intelligence agencies. Emma would surface, sooner or later.
Since we’d gotten what we came for, Olivia and I turned and headed for the door. Just as I reached for the handle, Sandra’s voice rang out behind us.
“Hey… hello? Are you forgetting something?” she said, holding up her hands with a clank of metal. “The cuffs? You can’t seriously be walking out and leaving us like this.”
I glanced at the handcuffs and let out a small, amused chuckle. I had been waiting for
this moment.
“What’s so funny?” the driver asked, his brows furrowed.
I didn’t respond right away. I just stood there silently, watching them. And then, I saw it -the flicker of realization starting to form in their eyes. It only took a few seconds for it to fully hit them.
“No… no, no, no,” Sandra muttered, her smirk quickly disappearing as her expression
turned into horror.
- “You can’t do this,” the driver snapped, his voice rising with desperation. “We had a deal! We gave you everything you wanted!”
I turned back to face them and gave a small, unapologetic shrug. “We lied.”
Their faces twisted with shock and betrayal. It was almost too easy.
“Just like my sister said earlier,” I continued, “this world is ruled by the rich. The powerful. And right now, you’re sitting in a world where deception is just another tool for survival. You fell for our trap because you underestimated us.”
Olivia stepped beside me and crossed her arms. “Don’t worry–we’ll let you go. But not until your third partner, Emma Jackson, is found and gives her confession. Until then? Sit tight.”.
Without waiting for their response, we turned and walked out of the room. I could still hear Sandra shouting behind us, protesting the so–called deal, but her voice was already fading into the background.
”
As we stepped into the hallway, I looked over at Olivia, impressed despite myself. “ How come I haven’t seen that side of you before?”
She smiled without turning her head. “Because you were different,” she replied. “There was never any need for me to show you that side–until now.”
“Huh,” I said in a low voice
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And with that, we kept walking.
Let’s see how long you can stay in hiding, Emma
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