Time had never crawled so agonizingly slow. In all her twenty-seven years, Emma Johnson never imagined she would set foot inside a police station.
Even if she did, it would never be as a suspect.
Her wrists were still bound in cold metal cuffs. Across the scarred wooden table, Captain David Reed sat opposite her, his expression unreadable.
"Why didn't Liam come?"
Emma parted her dry lips. Perhaps it was the icy wind she'd been caught in earlier, but her voice came out hoarse and brittle. All color had drained from her lips—gone was any trace of their usual soft pink.
"He's your husband. To avoid any conflict of interest, he can't interrogate you. That's standard procedure." Captain Reed's gaze was unwavering as he studied her.
"You think I'm Elijah's accomplice, don't you?"
"Aren't you?"
The captain shot back without hesitation. Emma fixed her clear eyes on him, a bitter smirk curling at the corner of her mouth.
"Some police officer you are. If you and Liam are supposed to be the enforcers of justice in this world, then you're nothing but people who twist right and wrong and frame the innocent. The world must have gone to hell long ago. What a tragedy for humanity."
Captain Reed hadn't expected such sharp words from her. He froze for a moment, then his face hardened with anger.
"We will get to the bottom of this. In all the intelligence we gathered on the Fox Hunt case, your name appeared more than anyone else's. If you weren't his closest confidant, how could he have kept so much information about you? And in several of his previous violent crimes, your shadow was always there. We may not have concrete evidence yet, but that only proves how cunning you are—you slip out of danger every single time. And tonight, you tried to use yourself as a hostage to let Elijah escape. But justice has a long reach. He might run for now, but he can't run forever. We've already contacted Interpol. Sooner or later, we'll catch him. If you know the truth, you'd better start talking. Maybe we can go easy on you."
Captain Reed hoped she would understand her situation and cooperate for a lighter sentence.
"I have nothing to say. I never knew about Elijah's other identity, from beginning to end. I had nothing to do with any of those things you mentioned. I won't confess to something I didn't do, and you'd better not try to frame an innocent person. I'm calling my friend now. I want a lawyer."
Emma glared at the uniformed man across from her. The injustice burned in her chest, making her sick. Tonight had already dealt her enough blows, but she knew she had to keep going. She couldn't break down here. She would never admit to something she hadn't done.
"You'd better stop wasting your breath. Think it over. I'll let you make the call tomorrow."
Since Emma was still a suspect and they had no solid evidence, they could only hold her for forty-eight hours at most. But that should be enough time to find what they needed.
"I said I'm calling my friend right now."
Emma slammed her palm on the table and stood up abruptly, but a wave of dizziness hit her. She gripped the edge of the table, steadying herself until the spinning stopped.
A moment later, the door swung open. Emma looked up to see Liam Williams standing in the doorway. A cold laugh escaped her lips.
"What? One cop wasn't enough to interrogate me? You need another one? Mr. Williams, you really wear many hats. I never thought you'd sacrifice your own marriage just to solve a case. I truly admire you. At least I could never do that. Because it's disgusting."
Hatred blazed openly in Emma's eyes. Liam's deep gaze flickered almost imperceptibly.
"Emma, you'd better confess. It'll be easier on you. I promise you, no matter how long you have to sit in prison, I won't divorce you."
Emma grabbed the paper cup of water on the table and hurled it at him. In the end, only a few drops splattered onto his chest.
"Is that your pity for me? You think I care about being Mrs. Williams? Liam, get out of here. I don't want to see you right now."
Her chest heaved violently. It felt like she couldn't breathe. A flicker of something cold passed through Liam's eyes. He reached out to steady her, but she shoved his hand away. There was no warmth left in her gaze.
"Captain Reed, let her make the call."
In the end, Liam stopped pushing. He turned and walked out of the interrogation room, throwing the order over his shoulder.
After a long night of waiting, Captain Reed finally relented. He allowed Emma to call her friend. In his mind, it didn't matter whether she called or not—she wasn't innocent. Even if she hired a lawyer, it would only shorten her time behind bars.
Liam would make sure of that anyway.
Captain Reed had already figured that out.
That same night, Mia Lewis and Olivia Davis had been drinking together. Mia had had a bit too much. Olivia personally drove her home, and since it was late, she decided to stay over.
In the middle of the night, Mia's phone suddenly rang. Olivia was the first to hear it. Groggily, she switched on the bedside lamp and saw the caller ID: Emma Johnson.
Confusion clouded her mind. Why would Emma call so late? When she answered and heard Emma's hoarse voice, she jolted upright.
"Emma, what's wrong? Your voice sounds terrible. What happened?"
"Olivia? Why are you answering? Where's Mia?"
"She's right here, still asleep. I'm staying over tonight. Tell me what's going on."
Olivia gripped the phone tightly.
"I see... I remember Mia has a friend who's a famous lawyer, right? I'm at the police station now. Can you send that lawyer here tomorrow?"
Emma's voice cracked with difficulty. Olivia's mind raced. She had no idea what was happening. How did Emma end up at the police station?
"What happened? Tell me now. I'll come with Mia to see you right away."
How could Olivia wait until morning when her friend was sitting in a police station? Panic surged through her. But the phone connection was bad, and Emma herself wasn't entirely clear on what was happening. How could she explain it to Olivia?
After hanging up, Olivia quickly shook Mia awake. Mia reluctantly opened her eyes, her head still throbbing. She looked at her friend, who was already out of bed and dressed, and couldn't help but ask, "What's going on?"