"Hey," Ss said softly as Ivy entered the room.
"Hey," she replied, her eyes shining with a mixture of guilt and concern.
He looked away, afraid to show his pain. It still hurt that she had rejected him, but
he was willing to give her space-until she was ready for him.
He knew it might break him, but he was willing to wait.
"Hello, Ms. Stone," the officer beside him greeted.
"Hello," Ivy replied.
"Can you please confirm that this is the man in the footage?" the officer asked, pointing to the other room where a stranger sat.
Ivy moved closer to the two-way mirror and studied the man. After a few seconds, she nodded. "Yes, he is. He has the exact outfit."
The officer nodded. "Thank you for that, ma''am. We can proceed now." He left the room, leaving Ss and Ivy behind.
Ss swallowed, clenching his hands to keep them from trembling.
"Thank you," Ivy said softly. "I wasn''t expecting this."
"Yeah," he replied, unsure of what to say next.
She turned to face him, her eyes glimmering with something akin to remorse. "Thank you."
He swallowed. "Yes."
She bit her lip, turning back to the mirror only for a split second, before facing him again. "I''m sorry about earlier. I shouldn''t have..."
His heart tightened at the hesitation in her voice. "It''s okay," he said gently. "You''re setting boundaries, and I respect that. I''m your husband, I should know better. I apologize."
Shock shed in her eyes before she looked away.
His stomach dropped. "I''m still your husband, right?"
"Oh God, of course," she said quickly.
"Okay," he murmured, just as the officer entered the other room.
Ss tucked his hand into his pocket to ease the tension building in his chest,
Maybe it was time to propose again, to marry her properly.
No contracts, No media. Just love.
Then his mind drifted to Rosie, crashing the party with gunshots.
Maybe not.
Another officer entered the room, and it was time for the interview.
"Let''s sit," Ss said, pulling out a chair for Ivy
Her cheeks flushed as she sat down.
"Good day. I''m Detective Mark, and this is my partner, Detective Long," the first officer said, gesturing toward his colleague. "So," he added, "Christopher
49. Sar zi
Edgeton, Can I call you Chris?"
"Call me whatever, Detective," Christopher replied, leaning forward. His colorful trousers shimmered under the white light. "But don''t waste my time 21 didn''t do anything wrong."
"We''ll be the judge of that." Detective Long said.
"It''s about the envelope, right?"
The detectives exchanged a quick nce before Detective Mark nodded. "Yes, it is."
Christopher leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "I knew it was going to be a problem, walking into someone''s office, pretending."
Ss leaned forward, intrigued.
The officers said nothing. They just let him speak.
"I shouldn''t have done it," Christopher said, rubbing his face. "If the owner wants
to press charges, I ept."
Ivy shifted in her chair. "He doesn''t know what he did?"
Before Ss could respond, Detective Long interjected. "We''re not focused on the trespassing for now. We want information on who sent you."
Christopher lifted his brow. "The woman? Oh goodness, she''s a stranger."
Ss nced at Ivy, who was tapping her foot nonstop. His heart ached at her difort, and he wished he could pull her close and kiss it away.
But then-boundaries.
"Exin further, please," Detective Mark said.
Christopher lowered his head, his expression full of shame. "She... approached me while I was having my morning coffee. We liked the same vor, so we started talking. She told me she wanted to see her sister-inw, who wouldn''t talk to her." He paused, his cheeks turning red.
Detective Long leaned in, his voice firm. "Now''s not the time to hide anything." "I''m not hiding," Christopher said. “I''m... ashamed. She paid me two hundred dors for the job. It seemed small, and I needed the money, so I did it. I don''t know her. I... should... I..." His voice cracked.
Detective Mark nced briefly at Ss and Ivy before turning back to Christopher. "Describe this woman."
Christopher wiped his forehead. "Short blonde hair. Smelled great. Long red nails. She was wearing Louboutin heels with a terrible gown, I thought it was weird."
Ss groaned, his chest tightened as he stood up. "It''s Rosie."
Ivy stood too. "They can get her with that information, right?"
"Yes." Though he didn''t believe himself.
“I think that''s how she approached Beatrice too," Ivy said. “Random ces. A
small job. It''s like she wants to drive me crazy."
Panic surged inside Ss, but he held it together "The phone led nowhere. It''s like she knew we had the girl."
They both became silent.
His mind raced. If Rosie had approached this stranger so casually, how many
more people had she contacted?
He remembered her threat, and the panic deepened.
The door opened, and Detective Mark returned. "Do you think it''s her?"
"Absolutely," Ss said. "He described her perfectly."
"What''s the next step, Detective?" Ivy asked, her voice wavering.
"We''ll begin investigating and follow up on his statement."
Ss took the cue that their part was done. He extended a hand. "Thank you so much, Detective."
The detective shook it. "You''re wee, sir."
Ss ced his hand gently on Ivy''s waist, guiding her out. Once they were in the
hallway, their eyes met before he dropped his hand.
He cleared his throat. "So... time to go, yeah?"
"Yes," she nodded.
He wanted to say so much more, but he held back. One thing was certain now:
once he got home, he would tear up the contract they had once signed.
Bud joined them. "Hello, ma''am."
"Hey, Bud," Ivy replied with a smile. "How are you?"
"Great, ma''am," Bud said, then he turned to Ss and whispered, "Everywhere
has been checked, sir. We found no proof that it was bugged."
Relief washed over Ss for a moment before panic took over. If he wasn''t bugged, how else was
Rosie knowing everything?
"Thank you, Bud," he said.
Just as they started walking down the hallway, Ss saw Wade.
"Wade?"
Wade spotted him and hurried toward him. "Hey, have you seen him?"
Ss raised a brow. "Who?"
"Thomas."
Anger red inside Ss''s chest. "He''s here?"
"Yes," Ivy said gingerly. "I saw him when I... wasing in."
Ss turned to her, narrowing his eyes at her tone. "What did he do?"
"Nothing," she said quickly, avoiding his gaze.
He knew she was lying but he didn''t press. Instead, he turned to Wade. "How did
he know I was here?"
"He was called. They found the officer responsible. Come, let''s go," Wade said.
"What officer?" Ss asked, confusion racing inside him, but Wade was already walking away.
Out of curiosity, Ss followed, with Ivy surprisingly close behind. He said nothing, afraid she might change her mind and leave.
They reached a room where Wade had gone. Before they entered, Ss could
hear Thomas already yelling.
"What''s happening?" Ivy asked.
11:49
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"No idea," Ss shrugged. "Let''s find out."
He pushed the door open, and Thomas fell silent. The female detective in charge
was standing with two other detectives, looking remorseful,
When Thomas saw them, his face twisted with rage. "What are
you doing here?"
"I invited him," Wade said before Ss could speak. "He deserves to know."
Ss''s eyes narrowed, matching Thomas''s hostility. "Know what?"
Ivy''s phone rang, cutting through the tension. Her cheeks flushed. "Sorry. Excuse
me," she said and left.
"They found the detective who helped Rosie escape," Wade said.
Ss''s heart dropped. "What? Where the hell is he?"
"Same question I''m asking!" Thomas roared, turning to the detectives. "Where the
hell is he?"
"The investigation is ongoing," the female detective began. "We''re looking for
him."
"Or hiding him!" Thomas snapped. "If I find out you are, I''ll sue the fuck
out of you!"
Ss fought the urge to scoff at Thomas''s fake outrage. If he didn''t know what
Thomas had done, he might have thought Thomas was so eagger to find
Rosie.
The door opened and Ivy returned, her face pale.
Ss''s heart clenched as he went to her. "What happened?"
She bit her lip. "It''s Theresa. She needs help. She just beat up a reporter, and it''s
all over the news."