~Chase~
The metal chair had already warmed up from how long I’d been sitting here. There was dried blood on my shirt, and the pungent metallic scent clung to my skin. Sammy’s blood. To her dying breath, she admitted and apologized for trying to kill Sofia. I was torn between forgiving and hating her for dying on me like she did. Not to mention Cyrus. How the fuck would I tell him his mother died a painful death? And that I might be his father?
Sammy’s dead. She knew.
My teeth gritted.
Fuck it! She felt she wouldn’t make it out.
Since they brought me inside this interrogation room, Sammy’s words and her death kept playing in my head. There were fading bruises on her body when I lifted her shirt. If my assumption was correct – fuck, I hope I was wrong – she had been tortured for days. No wonder her body gave out as quickly as it did.
Tick tock, tick tock. The plain clock on the puke-beige brick wall ticked loudly. Other than the one-way mirror across from me, the room was windowless.
11:47 PM.
The meeting between Nikos and the Japanese gun supplier should have gone down by now. Did they even catch Nikos? Was he even there?
Goddammit! He played us like a fool and we fell into his trap willingly.
Rafa’s intuition was fucking right. This was a setup. Derek and Carlota were busy on the docks, and Rafa and I were here in the precinct, leaving Sofia and Elise in the hands of Jose and Chuck.
I don’t even know what this Chuck guy was capable of.
My legs were practically shaking in fear, and the longer I stayed here, the more vulnerable my family was.
Another minute passed and the door opened, a man with army-cut hair walked in. His narrowed eyes were meant to intimidate me, but all I could offer him was my annoyed and bored glare. He wore a black shirt and a pair of jeans, his badge attached to his belt catching the fluorescent light.
He placed a glass of water, a packet of cigarettes, a lighter in front of me, and a white folder above the metal table on the other side. He pulled out the seat across from me. The metal chair scraped against the floor. My teeth gritted at the sound.
“My name is Detective McGowan from the homicide division of Boston PD.”
I had wished Alice would interrogate me. Alice, I could handle but this guy, I need to assess him, and time is not on my side. I didn’t speak. I knew my rights, and he was testing the water. I need him out of here.
He flipped through the folder, unseeing what was written inside. “Why don’t we start with your name?”
His eyes narrowed at me when I kept my silence. “Look, Mr. Chase Montiero.”
Stupid fucker.
“Your face and name will be all over the news tomorrow, so why don’t you help your cause and tell me what exactly happened? Maybe I can help clear your name.”
I don’t fucking care about what will happen to me. All I want right at this moment is to make sure that Sofia and Elise are safe.
He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, huffing. “We can do this the hard way, Mr. Montiero. You can cooperate and tell me your side of the story, or we can arrest you for the murder of your mistress. Then we will put you in a cell until the first of your many court appearances. This will be gruesome for someone as renowned as you. There are reporters demanding a statement from us outside the precinct.”
I met his gaze, unphased by his intimidation tactics. His thick brows arched, watching me as I leaned forward, the table cold against my arms. “Call Detective Jacobson, and I will confess.”
His jaw fluttered. My hunch was correct. Alice was watching behind that one-way mirror. I knew she wouldn’t miss the chance to interrogate me. She waited a decade to have me right where I am.
Detective McGowan pressed his earpiece, jaw stiffening. Wordlessly, he stood and exited the room; Alice strutted inside after two minutes.
“You asked for me?” She remained standing on the other side of the table, dressed in a white blouse and jeans, her badge hanging around her neck.
I smirked at her. “I knew you waited a decade to have me here, Alice.”
Her brows arched. “You know we got evidence to process you for killing Samantha Cardoso.”
What kind of evidence do they have against me? Curiosity swarmed in my system, but I kept a steady poker face. “Then why aren’t you processing me?”
She pursed her lips. “Rafael Alves claims there was another person in the crime scene when you arrived.” Finally taking the seat Detective McGowan vacated, Alice looked thoughtful as she leaned forward, setting her chin on her crossed fingers. “Tell me what happened.”
This was taking longer than I needed it to. “I want my call first.”
A wicked smile spread on her lips. “You don’t get to call the shots this time. I do.”
It’s true, but I need to make that fucking call an hour ago. After the EMT rushed to save Sammy, they didn’t give me time to make a phone call. They were five minutes fucking too late.
Sammy used up all her strength to apologize for trying to kill Sofia. I should be mad at her, but that would be futile. Her death wasn’t easy. Whoever the guy Rafa chased made sure that she wouldn’t make it out of that room alive.
“Samantha Cardoso,” Alice murmured, flipping through the files Detective McGowan brought in. “This doesn’t look pretty, Chase. Your prints were found on the knife inside the bathroom.”
I kept my mouth shut. Of course, they had my prints. As Alice read aloud further evidence putting me as the prime suspect in Sammy’s murder, realization and fear sank their claws into my chest, digging deeper with each passing second. ‘He wants you away from your family!
“… you had a motive. She tried to run over Sofia-“
“Alice…” I cut her off. “I didn’t kill Sammy,” I said, taking Alice by surprise.
Her brows arched. I wasn’t supposed to plead my case without the presence of my lawyer.
“That’s what a suspect would say.”
“If I killed her, why would I put myself in this situation? Think about that.” I locked eyes with her, hoping she would see my desperation. “Look, I know I cannot change what happened between us, but you’re smart. Why would I incriminate myself?”
Her lips pressed on a hardline. Some sentences are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on Jobnib.com. Visit Jobnib.com to read the complete chapters for free.”Your men followed us. They were there the minute I made the 911 call. I’m sure they already reported what kind of scene they found me in. You hate me, I get it, but this screams a fucking setup, Alice.”
Her brows furrowed, lips pressing on a hardline. “Is this the part where you tell me who you pissed off this time?”
I shook my head. “This is the part where I tell you to process me.”
~Sofia~
“Mommy, are you and Daddy fighting?” Elise asked as I slid beside her; Hunter was already curled on his bed in the corner of Elise’s room.
“No,” I said, switching the lights in her room to dim. “Why would you say that?”
She pulled Jessie from the pile of stuffed toys gobbling up a quarter of her bed.
“Daddy is sad,” she murmured, sinking into her pillow. I pulled the covers up to her chest. Jessie’s head peeking from her grasp.
“Well, he miss you,” I explained, tucking her closer to me.
“I miss him too. Hunter misses Daddy too.” She threw a glance over at Hunter. He perked up from his bed, sniffling. I swear he could understand what we were saying sometimes.
“I miss Daddy too, Love.”
“He said he’ll be home soon and see who is the better diver, Daddy or Hunter!” she gushed.
“Yeah? A diving competition? That sounds exciting.”
“Yes!” Her voice rose with enthusiasm. “We will wake up early tomorrow and practice.”
I giggled. It became a routine for Chase and me. I was in charge of the kitchen activities and all pertaining to lady stuff while Chase was in charge of the physically challenging activities with Elise, and even from afar, he could still influence our daughter. “Then we should sleep early, too.”
“Oh, I forgot to kiss Hunter good night.” She jerked from her bed and sprinted towards Hunter. “You were a good boy today, Hunter. We will practice tomorrow, okay? We have to win against Daddy.”
Hunter made a sound under his throat, closing his eyes as Elise kissed the top of his head.
Once done kissing Hunter, Elise hopped back on the bed, bouncing once, and kissed me on the cheek. “That’s from Daddy.”
She cupped my face and kissed my other cheek. “And this one is from me. I love you, Mommy.”
I giggled, cupping her face and peppering her with kisses. “I love you too, Hun.”
We snuggled until she fell asleep, requesting a story about Hunter’s escapade on the river with Shooter. Though I wasn’t there with her, she already told me how Hunter jumped into the river and surfaced with a stone he fetched from underwater.
When she finally fell asleep, I slipped out of her room only to bump into Jose. His face speaks volumes, and my heart thudded in my chest. This was probably the first time he stepped on the second floor of the mansion.
“Is something wrong?”
“Someone is here,” he whispered, walking inside Elise’s room and standing beside the window, drawing the curtain a bit to the side. I stood beside him, steps calculated just in time for two closed vehicles to pull to a complete stop in front of the mansion.
I counted five men dressed in jeans, dark tops and jackets slipping out of each vehicle, sucking a huge breath when they drew guns from their waistbands and jackets. They weren’t even hiding their intentions.
I swallowed hard, locking my gaze on Jose.
“We need to get out of here,” he said pointedly, eyes flitting towards Elise’s peacefully sleeping figure.