Chapter Two: The Suspect

"Listen to me, Miss. You can't act recklessly. We don't yet know for sure who the perpetrator is, so please, stay calm."

"Calm?" Julie immediately turned around, looking up at Mark, who was trying to calm her down. "What do you mean by calm? I just found my sister in a factory, half-naked, blood between her legs, and you want me to be calm, huh?" Julie's gaze was fiery with rage.

"Then what are you going to do? Are you going to confront Liam and accuse him without any evidence?"

Hearing Mark's words, Julie was silent for a moment, but she didn’t care. She shook her head and walked away, ignoring Mark, who could only sigh before deciding to follow her, eventually agreeing to her demand.

"Why? Now you want to come along with me?"

"I have a car. Come with me. You know where Liam lives, right?" Julie nodded, and they headed to the parking lot where Mark’s car was parked. Shortly after driving on the highway, they arrived at the apartment building where Liam lived.

"Listen, I just want you not to act impulsively. Let me handle the talking for now. Don’t reveal yourself just yet," Mark suggested. Julie nodded and followed behind him. Their footsteps stopped in front of apartment room 161. Mark knocked on the door, and shortly after, someone opened it from inside. Meanwhile, Julie stood beside the door frame, hiding from Liam.

"Can I help you?" Liam asked as Mark showed his badge and explained who he was. Liam furrowed his brows and asked, "Sorry, but I don’t understand. Why should I be dealing with the police?"

"Because you’re a bastard, you idiot!" Julie suddenly appeared and pushed Liam’s body inside the apartment. Mark was startled and could only sigh.

"Julie, hey, what do you mean? Why are you—"

"Shut up. Now answer me, what did you do to Elizah? Huh? What did you do to my sister, you bastard!" She pushed Liam again and again, while Liam looked confused about the situation.

"What do you mean, Julie? Can you calm down?"

"Please, Miss, let me talk to him."

"Yeah, you better do that, because if I do the talking, I’ll lose my patience and kill him!" Julie’s eyes burned with rage, while Liam was still utterly bewildered. He just stood there, seeking an explanation.

"Wait a minute, what happened? My God, I don’t understand anything."

"You raped my sister, you bastard! Don’t act stupid and pretend you don’t know!"

"What?"

"Miss Julie, please calm down, okay? Let me explain it to him," Mark said, still maintaining his composure. Liam, however, felt a terrifying pounding in his chest, though he knew he hadn’t done anything so heinous. Mark explained everything to Liam, and Liam tried to deny it, explaining his side of the story. 

"Yes, I invited Elizah yesterday. I told her I’d give her a ride home, but I never even got to meet her. I waited in front of the factory, but everyone had already left, so I didn’t take her home. My God, what do I have to say to convince you?" Liam appeared frustrated. "Julie, you have to believe me."

"We found sperm DNA on the floor. Perhaps you’d like to provide your sample later," Mark said calmly, and Julie widened her eyes, shocked by how casually Mark had said it.

"Oh, that’s fine. I can provide any DNA you need, but I suppose I have to ejaculate now, right, Julie?" His blue eyes fixed on Julie, who gaped in disbelief.

"Ah, I’ll kill you right now. How dare you look at me like that, huh?"

"I didn’t do anything to Elizah, believe me. This has nothing to do with me, and yes, I feel deeply sorry for her. But Julie, I don’t want this problem to ruin our engagement," Liam said with a tone of concern. Julie shook her head while Mark tried to end the meeting. 

"Alright then," Mark said while standing. "But, I’m sorry, Mr. Liam, I can’t let you go freely now. Since the victim mentioned your name, you are now a suspect."

Julie’s eyes welled up with tears. She clenched her fists, torn between her love for Liam and the possibility that he was the one who raped her sister. 

"What do you mean? I didn’t do anything! Julie, say something. You believe me, don’t you?" Liam pleaded, but Julie just sat there in silence, her anger bottled up. 

"You’ll provide your DNA at the police station, but unless evidence proves you innocent, you’ll remain in custody," Mark said, pulling out handcuffs. Liam smirked thinly, resigned, and extended his hands to be cuffed. Several times he pleaded with Julie, but she seemed to have lost faith in him. 

Yet deep in her heart, Julie thought Liam wasn’t guilty. She saw the sincerity in his eyes. She had known Liam for years and could tell when he was lying. 

"I don’t think it’s Liam," Julie said confidently after Liam was locked in a cell by Mark. 

"What do you mean? You were the most eager to arrest him, and now you say he’s not guilty," Mark said, averting his gaze. "Now, Miss Julie, it’s time for us to part ways. You can return to the hospital, and please inform me of Elizah’s progress. I’d appreciate hearing about it," Mark said, opening the door for Julie. Julie, confused by Mark’s behavior, reluctantly left the police station and took a taxi back to the hospital. 

"Julie," Richard, a nurse, approached her as soon as she arrived.

"Richard, what’s wrong?"

"Maybe you’d like to check on Elizah. She’s doing much better now, and she wants to see you." 

Hearing this, Julie smiled. Despite her inner turmoil about Liam, she couldn’t believe he would harm Elizah. But for now, she needed to support her sister fully. 

"Elizah." Julie entered the hospital room to find Elizah staring out the window with a tired and pained look. "How are you feeling now, sweetheart?" Julie asked softly, standing by the bed. Elizah turned to her sister with a weary but faint smile.

"I’m sorry, Julie."

"No, don’t say that. Please don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong. None of this is your fault. This is all Liam’s fault; he’s the one to blame," Julie said, lowering her gaze, regret evident in her voice. 

"Liam? What’s wrong with Liam? What happened to him?" Elizah asked, surprised. 

"What do you mean? Isn’t Liam the one who did all this to you? He did this, didn’t he, Elizah?" Julie asked in disbelief.

"What? Of course not." 

"Then why are you apologizing?" Julie leaned closer, stunned by Elizah’s revelation.

"Because... all this time, I liked Liam. I was so happy when he offered me a ride. Then... then all this happened," she cried, filled with regret. Julie froze, unable to believe what she was hearing. The misunderstanding had changed everything. Without another word, she stood up abruptly.

"Julie, where are you going?" Elizah called out, but Julie didn’t answer. She left the hospital, trying to contact Mark, but he was unreachable. So she decided to go to the police station to inform him about Elizah’s confession.

Julie eventually arrived at the police station, despite the heavy traffic, and insisted on meeting Liam before Mark returned.

"Have the results come in? I didn’t do anything, right?" Liam asked, hopeful, when he saw Julie approaching his cell. Only the bars separated them now.

"Not yet, but I know you’re innocent. Elizah regained consciousness and told me the truth. You didn’t do it, Liam."

Liam smiled, gently reaching for Julie’s hand. "Now you believe me? Of course, I’m not the kind of man who would do something so horrible, Julie."

Julie smiled back, nodding, and assured Liam to stay calm. Once Mark arrived, she would explain everything to him.

"Forgive me for doubting you, Liam. But don’t worry, I’ll fix everything," Julie said with newfound confidence. Moments later, Mark returned with the test results in hand.

"Miss Julie?" Mark called, holding the file. Julie quickly explained everything to him, and Mark listened quietly, occasionally nodding. Then he handed the file to her and said, "You should read the results yourself. But if you’d rather not, I’ll tell you: the DNA we found matches Liam Rudd’s DNA 99%."