CHAPTER 21

During Aurelia's seclusion, a lot of things happened. Diana signed the divorce papers with Victor and fell into a comma as her employees left one by one. Mercy was mercilessly blackmailed on a daily basis until she paid a total of twenty million dollars, and as if that wasn't enough, the pictures were revealed to her husband.

This caused a major schism in her marriage. Though her husband couldn't divorce her because of his reputation, their marriage had been over for a long time.

****

It was the day Aurelia returned to the mansion after being gone for two weeks. A group of detectives greeted her as soon as she stepped off the helicopter. She looked at them puzzled; she had no recollection of committing a crime while she was away, not even one that the authorities were aware of, so why were these men here for her?

"Detectives, what a pleasant surprise; may I ask as to why you have come to give me such a warm welcome?" she asked, smiling as she looked at the group of detectives.

"We apologize for this, but we need you to accompany us to the station," the other man said, and she looked at him.

"I should have returned sooner if I had known I would be met with such a warm welcome. If you want me to accompany you, I will, but I will do so in my own car. Is that going to be a problem?"

"No, it will not be."

"All right, then. Is it going to be a problem if I call my husband? Is there anything I need to be concerned about?"

"You have the right to call whoever you want."

"All right, then, let's go. I'd like to go back home and rest," she said as she walked to the waiting limo.

She put on an eerie smile the moment Julius joined her in the car.

"Did something good happen?"

"They got the package, Miss, that's why they're acting like this," Julius replied, and she smiled.

"That's also good. I'm curious what will happen next. How many people will be on edge once this information becomes public?"

"Don't worry about anything; everything is in order. Should I contact your husband?"

"No, don't do it. I'll just go along with it. I haven't played in a long time."

It took about an hour to get to the precinct; she was escorted like a government official or a criminal. The feeling was fantastic, and she wanted the entire world to know about it, but now wasn't the time. All of her efforts will be for naught.

She was well guarded by the time they arrived at the precinct, and she walked gracefully in. This was her second visit to this place, and nothing had changed much. They led her to an interrogation room, where she sat calmly, without fear or remorse.

Why would she, when she had done nothing wrong?

The same detective who had told her to accompany them to the precinct walked in with a file, and she knew exactly what was in it and didn't care.

"Detective, based on everything I've seen since the moment you took me from the helipad, I believe I'm not here as a suspect, but to make a statement. Is that correct?"

"It is, indeed. Do you understand why you're here?"

"I think I have an idea, but I need to eat first. I'm hungry; I was going to go home and eat something warm, but you stopped me. You should accept responsibility for that, or I will sue you," she threatened.

Why would she, given that she had done nothing wrong?

She wasn't hungry, but she wasn't going to make it easy for these arrogant people.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, but would you like to eat?"

"I'm in the mood for pizza and chips. Get that for me, and we'll talk about whatever you want. You know, a hungry person is an angry person," she smiled.

The detective then left and returned minutes later with her food. When she saw that, she smiled. To be honest, she had missed this type of food terribly. Because of the meditation she was doing, she couldn't eat whatever she wanted, but now that she was done eating, she could swallow whatever she wanted and that was the end of it.

She took a bite of the pizza and ate it slowly. She felt at ease and then looked at the man sitting opposite her, who appeared to be very impatient.

"Let's talk right now. Why am I here?" she asked once more.

"What do you think you're doing here?"

"Did you find anything more to my statement about the falling incident?"

"The incident?" the man asked, raising his brows, and she nodded.

"You are aware of how I fell from that balcony and nearly died. Don't tell me I'm not supposed to be here for that?"

"I'm afraid that's a different matter. We are still investigating the matter, and once you arrive, the case will proceed smoothly and bring you justice," the man apologized, and she smiled inwardly.

"That's fine because I was planning on coming to you after I freshened up. As you can see, I need to revise my statement," she said as she tossed a chip into her mouth.

"How come, were you coerced or something?"

"No, you see, when I got out of the hospital, my head was a little foggy. I did have a confrontation with Diana, but she had no malicious intent toward me. We've never met before, so why would she try to kill me now?"

"So, Mrs. King, what exactly are you trying to say?"

"I thought about it over the last few weeks while I was recuperating, and I'd like to drop the charges against her. It was my fault that I fell off the balcony. I am alive, and that is all that matters," she said, her gaze fixed on the older man.

"But..."

"We all make mistakes, and how can we live in this world if we can't forgive one another? You heard me, detective; I will not discuss this matter further."

"All right, I heard you on that. If that's what you want, I'll have you sign the paper. Now, let's talk about why you're here."

"Oh…. I almost forgot I wasn't here for my incident. So, why am I here again if it isn't about this?"

"I'm going to show you some photos, and if you see anyone you know, please let me know. Would you be able to do that for me?"

"That is very simple; please proceed. We need to get this done quickly or my husband will start worrying," she said as she closed the food boxes and waited anxiously for the photos she was about to see.

The detective began to show her photos, all of which she recognized.

"They're my employees; why are you displaying them to me?" She asked after taking a look at them.

"So, you've met them?"

"Yes, some of them are on my security team, saloon employees, and boutique employees," she explained to him.

"I am aware of that."

"So, why are you wasting my time by asking about my employees? Do you realize how much of my time you're wasting by calling me here to inquire about my employees? If you want to see them, all you have to do is contact the human resources or legal departments, or call them directly, and they will promptly respond. Did you have to intercept me in order to do this to me? Are you looking down on me just because I'm young?" Aurelia had started yelling at the older man.

She was clearly enraged. How can they treat her in this manner? She thought it was important, and here they were showing her photos of the people who work for her.

"You need to calm down, I'm not done yet," the man tried to reassure her.

Aurelia was so irritated that she had to take a sip of her soda and give the man a serious look. He was aware of what she was doing and moved quickly.

He showed her more pictures, and she just sat there, eyes wide open, not blinking, until she blacked out. She could hear her name being called, but she was a long distance away.

"I swear to you, if anything happens to my wife, you will be sorry. How can you scare the shit out of that pure soul?" Mark was yelling at the officer who had scared the hell out of his wife at the precinct.

"We are very sorry, we just wanted to confirm with her," the man tried to explain, but he wasn't buying it.

"You didn't even give her time to return home and change. You just have to show her those images after everything she's been through. Is your wife a detective?"

"Sir, yes, I do."

"Then you should have a good idea of how I'm feeling right now. For your sake, detective, I hope she wakes up soon, or you'll be sorry you did what you did today!"

How dare they frighten his angel, Mark sat next to Lila's soft body?