Chapter 3
My mind flashed through countless faces, but in the end, it lingered on Ethan's—gentle and filled with grief.
No way. It couldn't be him.
He was the one I loved most, my only vulnerability in this world. He had absolutely no reason to hurt me like this.
It had to be Sophie. She orchestrated this entire setup herself—she used her own death to frame me, to drag me down, and make sure Ethan would be haunted by her forever.
That crazy bitch.
The interrogation lasted the entire night. No matter how hard I tried to explain or defend myself, nothing I said could make a dent in the mountain of damning evidence stacked against me.
As dawn was breaking, the door to the interrogation room swung open.
My lawyer walked in.
He wasn't from my firm—I'd specifically told Ruby to hire someone from outside. In a situation like this, I had to avoid any conflict of interest.
It was a skilled lawyer named Mike Wallace, well-known in the industry for handling criminal cases.
Mike walked in, let out a heavy sigh, and handed me a stack of papers.
"Jessica, it's not looking good," he said. "The police found your fingerprints and trace evidence from Sophie—skin tissue—on the balcony of your studio. Your DNA was also discovered under Sophie's fingernails."
My heart completely hit rock bottom.
"I want to apply for bail," I said, my voice hoarse as I looked up at Mike.
Mike shook his head. "It's going to be tough. Intentional injury resulting in death is a serious charge. The nature of the case is severe, and the public backlash is huge.
"The media's gone wild. Your photos and personal info have already been dug up and exposed online."
I closed my eyes, my thoughts all over the place.
The media had already gotten involved.
It was like the end of the world.
For a lawyer—even one with a bit of reputation—once their name got tied to a murder case, their career was toast, no matter what the verdict was.
"Where's Ethan?" I opened my eyes, grabbing at my last lifeline. "Did he come to see me?"
Mike avoided my gaze, hesitating before he finally spoke. "Mr. Grant... he hired the best lawyer for you and posted bail, but... he's really shaken up right now and said he needs some time alone to process everything."
He needed some time alone?
At a time like this?
A cold wave rushed up from my feet, flooding my entire body in an instant.
I spent forty-eight hours in the detention center.
That was the maximum time the law allowed for holding someone without charges. If the police didn't have enough evidence to press charges within forty-eight hours, they had to let me go.
Those forty-eight hours felt like an eternity.
The cramped cell, the cold, hard cot, and that stubborn musty smell hanging in the air—it all pressed down on me.
Night after night, I lay awake, replaying every detail of the case in my mind.
There were barely any clues. The culprit had wiped away every trace, leaving nothing behind.
The only real shot I had was that fake text message.
If I could show the text wasn't sent from my phone, at least some of the suspicion would be lifted.
Right at the last minute of the forty-eighth hour, they let me out.
There wasn't enough evidence, so I was released temporarily—barred from leaving the country and had to stay on call for the police.
The moment I stepped out of the detention center, the sunlight stabbed at my eyes, making them burn.
The entrance was packed with reporters, cameras, and microphones pointed at me like sharks smelling blood, all surging forward.
"Jessica, did you really kill Sophie?"
"Was it jealousy that drove you to do it?"
"As a lawyer, you know the law, so how do you justify breaking it? Anything you want to say to the public?"
Camera flashes exploded in my face, and every harsh question stabbed right into my heart like a blade.
As the crowd was about to swallow me whole, a blazing red Porsche burst through the reporters, drifted with style, and screeched to a stop right in front of me.
The door flew open, and Ruby jumped out from behind the wheel.
She was decked out in a black leather jacket and pants, rocking a pair of Dr. Martens, her hair pulled up in a high ponytail. She looked both stunning and intimidating.
"Get the fuck out of the way!" Ruby shouted, charging into the mob like an enraged lioness, grabbing me and shoving me into the passenger seat.
"You nosy bastards, keep taking pictures, and I'll smash your cameras myself!" Ruby shouted.
Still cursing, she fired up the engine and floored it, tearing off down the street.
Even after we'd gotten far away, we could still hear the reporters yelling and their camera shutters clicking behind us.
I slumped back in the seat, my whole body trembling—not from fear, but from pure rage.
"Don't be scared. I've got you," Ruby said.
She reached over and squeezed my cold hand. "I've already got the PR team on it, and sent out legal letters to shut them up. Nobody messes with you on my watch."
I looked at her, my eyes grew hot, nearly tearing up.
"Thanks, Ruby," I said.
"Come on, you don't have to thank me," Ruby said, grabbing a tissue and briskly wiping my face. "Your place is probably crawling with reporters. Let's head to mine instead.
"I've already got Mike working on getting your call and text records. If we can prove that the text was forged, we're halfway to winning this."
I nodded, feeling a little calmer inside.
Yeah, if only we could prove that text was fake.
But for some reason, a sense of foreboding wouldn't leave me.
The car rolled up to Ruby's villa—a private place halfway up the hill, guarded so tight no reporter would ever get past the gates.
As soon as I stepped out, I saw a familiar figure pacing nervously at the front door.
It was Ethan.
He looked worn out, with a rough stubble on his chin and even his hair, always so neat, was a mess.
As soon as he saw me, he came running and wrapped me up in a tight hug.
"Jessica, you're finally out. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, I..." He buried his face in my neck, his voice trembling. "I was losing my mind these past two days."
Everything about him felt so familiar—the way he smelled, the way he held me.
My heart turned to mush.
All the suspicion and anxiety I'd been carrying faded away in his arms.