CH.17

The harsh fluorescent lights flickered overhead, casting an unforgiving glare on the dingy interrogation room.

Serena's delicate features were etched with apprehension as she surveyed the bare walls and scuffed linoleum floor.

A battered metal table stood as the room's centerpiece, flanked by two unstable chairs that looked as if they could barely support her slight frame.

She lowered herself gingerly onto one of the chairs, back ramrod straight, every fiber of her being exuding the poise and elegance that had made her a beloved celebrity. Yet her eyes betrayed a tempest of emotions - fear, anger, and a deep sadness that pierced her usually impassive demeanor.

The door creaked open, and Serena tensed involuntarily. Her perfectly manicured nails dug into the sleek wooden armrests as she steeled herself for the onslaught of accusations to come.

A young officer strode in with file in hand, His gaze immediately locked onto her lithe frame.

"Miss Bolting," he acknowledged with a curt nod before taking the seat opposite her. "I'm Officer Davis. I'll need to get your statement regarding the events of last night."

Serena's lips tightened into a grim line. "I'll only speak in the presence of my lawyer." She stated.

The officer's brow furrowed, but before he could respond, the door swung open once more. A distinguished-looking man in an impeccable suit swept into the room with briefcase in hand.

"Jenkins," Serena breathed, relief flooding her features as her father's trusted lawyer took his place beside her.

Officer Davis eyed Jenkins with poorly veiled irritation. "We were just about to begin questioning Miss Bolting regarding the murder of Diana Delaney."

Serena stiffened at the blunt accusation.

Jenkins laid a calming hand on her arm before fixing the officer with a steely gaze. "My client will not be answering any questions until I've had a chance to confer with her privately."

Officer Davis opened his mouth to protest, but Jenkins swiftly overrode him. "This is non-negotiable. Unless you want anything my client says to be inadmissible?"

The officer's jaw clenched, but he gave a tight nod of acquiescence. As he stood, Jenkins leaned in close to murmur instructions to Serena. "Don't say a word. I'll handle this."

She could only nod mutely, her throat constricted with a potent mix of grief over Diana's death and anger at the vile accusations being leveled against her.

Gathering the tattered shreds of her composure, Serena forced herself to meet the officer's gaze as he began his questioning.

"Where were you between the hours of 10 pm and midnight last night, Miss Bolting?"

Serena's hands twisted in her lap, but she kept her silence as Jenkins had instructed.

Davis's eyes narrowed at her reticence. "An upstanding citizen like yourself surely has an alibi?" he pressed. "Or did your jealousy over Miss Delaney's dalliances with your boyfriend cloud your judgment?"

Fury blazed in Serena's eyes, but Jenkins laid a quelling hand on her arm once more. "My client has nothing to say at this time. Perhaps you'd like to share the evidence you've acquired?"

The smug look fled Davis's face as Jenkins deftly turned the tables. "Circumstantial at best..." he muttered.

As the two began trading verbal parries, Serena briefly retreated into her own whirlwind of thoughts and memories of the terrible night that turned her life upside down.

Her mind drifted as Davis and Jenkins went back and forth. She could hardly process Davis's harsh accusations through the haze of shock and sorrow enveloping her.

Flashes of that fateful night when everything fell apart replayed in an endless, torturous loop.

The look of pure hatred on Diana's face as she found her tangled up with Alex on his bed.

Serena had went there, intending to stun her husband with an unanticipated visit. She had envisioned herself sweeping him off his feet with her irresistible charm, only to have the illusions of marital bliss brutally shattered.

Since the inception of their engagement, Serena had harbored a deep-seated desire to consummate her relationship with Alex. Her confidante and best friend, Diana, however, consistently cautioned against it.

She insisted that Serena's untouched innocence was a trump card that could compel Alex into publicly acknowledging their love affair and confront the fury of her father head-on.

Following Diana's advice, Serena refrained from pressing for intimacy with Alex. Yet she wasn't a statue carved out of stone; she was a woman brimming with desires and yearnings. Her affection for Alex wasn't merely skin-deep; it was profound and all-consuming.

She craved not just his body but also his soul - every fiber of his being.

Serena was exhausted from nights spent in lonely self-pleasure and countless hours drowned in explicit content attempting to stifle her longing for him. She resolved to take matters into her own hands.

She made each time they met an opportunity seized to appear more enticing than before… like a seductive siren beckoning him closer.

She sent signals clear as daybreak yet he remained oblivious or chose to ignore them.

There came a point when Serena could no longer keep her mounting frustration under wraps. In a fit of desperation, she confronted Alex about it directly - questioning if she lacked the allure required to stir his passion.

His response was one cloaked in chivalry - he claimed he wished to respect her innocence until they'd settled their familial disputes and he'd formally requested her hand from her father.

She had allowed herself to believe in him and trust his words implicitly. Little did she know that while she dreamt of their future together, he was entwined in the arms of her best friend, betraying her trust in the most unimaginable way.

The screaming argument that followed still rang in her ears. And then...nothing. A blank darkness where the sequence of events should have played out.

Serena's head pounded as she struggled to make sense of it all. She knew with every fiber that she didn't harm Diana, but the scene before she rushed out of Alex’s apartment made her question everything.

She had lost control of her emotions as a result of their betrayal.

So… Did she truly kill Diana without realizing it?