Chapter 99Freya's POV"Billionaire Michael Smith Jenkins: Arrested for Murder of Sister." "Mom, could you read this... or probably my eyes are playing a trick on me?" I stammered, my hand shaking as I managed to keep the phone from falling. "It's been all over the news since yesterday. The country is making a fuss about it. I didn't want to call your attention to it, since all you do is confide in this place without even stepping an inch out," Mom blamed, but I wasn't really in the right mood to argue. I placed my hand on my chest to stop the erratic beating of my heart, at least to calm myself. "Michael is no murderer. There has been some misunderstanding, and I'll prove to everyone that he is not his sister's murderer," I said, determination evident in my voice. I scratched my hair, thinking of possible measures to take."You won't make any irrational moves. This is not your place, Freya. You'll be seen as an accomplice too." "What the hell does that even mean, Mom? Everything
Chapter 100Freya's POV"Death?" I asked, the words slowly escaping my mouth as my heart began to pound. Had they found out that my mom possessed one of the Jenkins' property ? I wondered, my heart beating like a drum."Freya, you have to open this door if you want to see Ambrose die. You have to open this door if you want to save Michael," Raymond's voice echoed as I blinked my eyes twice. Was this another part of his scheme to betray us again? No way!"I don't need your help. Without your help, I'll storm into Ambrose's home and find the evidence I need.""Evidence? You think Ambrose would ever leave any trace at his home? You're not that stupid, Freya," he said as I exhaled a chuckle. I had never mentioned knowing anything about the bracelet to him. Somehow, Ambrose would still have it in his secret room, and..."Ambrose has found a way to eradicate every trace. You can't do this alone, Freya," Raymond interrupted my thoughts as I closed my eyes deeply. I didn't trust him a bit, b
Chapter 101Jason's POVMy heart was deeply hurt as I gave Michael a reassuring look. I couldn't imagine a day when Michael would spend a night in custody. "I'll bring you out of here, I promise," I said to him. "Find Freya" were the only words he told me, and I nodded my head firmly. I couldn't give him a long, lasting stare; there was no way Michael would be guilty of Bella's death, an event that had left him traumatized for five years. I already knew Ambrose had a lot of evidence to make Michael appear guilty, but then, I'll do everything I can to make sure Michael's legal team works hard."Mr. Michael Smith." I turned around immediately as I saw Miss Natasha Choi, Michael's own lawyer, who was prominent for winning many cases. "How's he holding up, Mr. Jason?" she asked, walking towards me as I took a deep breath. "He's been framed. Please, do everything to reveal the truth," I begged, as she nodded, moving over to Michael, whose face had been down. "Michael, your lawyer is her
Chapter 102Freya's POV"Freya... only one of us can see him. Right now, I don't think Michael would want to see me. I'm partially involved in what he's facing right now," Raymond said, calling my attention as I stopped in my tracks. I turned around; his eyes were filled with regret and pain. "It's in the past now. Instead of regretting and dwelling on the past, why not do everything you can to help Michael?" I said, walking a bit towards his side as I placed my hand on his shoulder. "We'll be okay," I whispered, as he nodded continuously.The cops had told me visiting hours were over, but then Raymond had squeezed some money into the officer's hand, and his face lit up with a bright smile. "Just fifteen minutes," he said, as I nodded. Not long after, I was asked to go see him. My anticipation to see Michael disappeared as my legs began to wobble. "He's waiting for you," Raymond whispered, as I took a deep breath. I began to feel my strength return, and soon I found myself sitting
Chapter 103Michael's POV"Mr. Smith, get in the car; we have no time left to spare," the cop said to me as he opened the car door for me to enter. I took a deep breath, feeling embarrassment and shame wash over me. I never thought a day would come when I'd ride in a car like this – a police car, no less."What are you waiting for? Get in," the cop repeated as I did, trying my best not to rumple my suit. Jason had brought me a new pair of suit and made sure I looked presentable. I began to say a quiet prayer deep inside of me, hoping everyone who had promised to give their testimony would show up. My heart began to beat faster as I thought of Emma. I'd hoped she would stay true to her words; she had already received the money – a huge amount that would probably go a long way if invested wisely. But then, if it required payment to speak about everything that had happened on that fateful night, I'd pay the same amount over and over again............."Mr. Michael, do you have anything
Chapter 104Emma's POVAfter taking an oath and introducing myself to everyone in the court, I took a deep breath, getting prepared to answer all of the prosecutor's questions."Miss Emma, how are you related to the defendant, and how are you connected to the incident?" the prosecutor asked, as I bit my lips for a moment."The defendant happened to be my ex, and I was a victim and witness to the incident on that day," I replied, as he nodded."Miss Emma, can you please describe everything you saw on the night of the incident?""It was rainy, and the defendant happened to offer myself and his sister a treat to celebrate Bella's birthday by driving us around the town... I didn't notice anything wrong with the defendant's car, as it was his best car. Everything was going smoothly, and then... then...""Speak, Miss Emma. Remember, your testimony matters a lot, and we will ensure your safety," the judge interrupted, as I took in a deep breath. A new spirit embodied me, and I avoided giving
Chapter 105Freya's POVMy heart kept bleeding as I sighted Michael from afar, accompanied by a court officer. "We should go talk to him, Freya. The court rules don't go against it. We just need to ask how well he's holding up, nothing about the witness case," Jason said to me softly, as I nodded my head. "Let's go," I said, with each walking step closer to him making the knot in my chest tighter.As we got closer to him, the court official made a gesture showing he was ready to stop him from interacting with us. "Please, it won't take long," I pleaded. "Nothing must disrupt the witness process. I can't leave you two with him. I can't break court conduct," he said, as I closed my eyes for a moment, biting my lips."Hey, Michael," I called, not minding what the court officer was saying. All that mattered to me was getting Michael out of here; I didn't mind doing anything. Anything at all; just to make sure Michael was safe. "Hey, ugly Freya. You're still so ugly," Michael teased, reve
Chapter 106Michael's POVI watched Jason stand up as the first witness as I took a deep breath. I began to search for Freya with my eyes, but couldn't find her. I needed her testimony as much as I needed Jason's. The prosecutor had signaled for Jason to speak as I closed my eyes, fixing my gaze on him, but then Jason never gave me a glance for a second. "I was supposed to accompany the defendant, who happens to be my best friend, on that day, but then I had a lot of work on deck, and amongst them were the business schedule with Zenon Group of Companies, and I have every detail in here," Jason said, raising a file filled with lots of documents. "Mr. Jason, we want you to say everything you know about the incident on that day; it seems you've forgotten why you are being called," the prosecutor interrupted, as I felt forced to get on my feet and scold him. How dare he interrupt when he wasn't the judge? "I cannot agree to the claim that the defendant is indeed guilty of murder of hi
Chapter 137Ambrose's POV"You animal!" she fired as she struggled with my hand holding her tightly."Everyone's waiting... just say the damn yes!" My voice echoed as I dragged her towards the direction of a man who was seated quietly, holding a Bible and a cross."Reverend, bless our marriage... she said yes," I said, my voice coming out unsteadily as Freya battled with me to let her go."Let her go, Ambrose. That's enough."I turned around to see Raymond, barely on his feet with his eyes glued to mine."You, I thought my boys shut you up already?" I asked, moving closer to him as I released my grip on Freya."Surrender, Ambrose. The cops will be here and there's no way to avoid this anymore... you have to let go, Ambrose."I laughed loudly, giving him a long stare as I dragged his cheek with my left hand."You're being too nosy. This isn't your fight. Don't you dare act like you're better than I am.""Your son's watching, please..." he begged as I suddenly looked in the direction of
Chapter 136Raymond's POVThe weight of Freya's words kept taking my attention away. I closed my eyes for a while, thinking deeply about whether letting her go alone was the right thing to do. Somehow, I wondered if Jason was right about it all. I rolled my eyes, bringing myself back from the trance."You'll have a whole lot to explain to Michael. He just told me to keep Freya with me, that he was going to settle things with the officers," Jason said, his voice seeming to disrupt the awful silence that grew between us."Are you serious about what you said the other time?" I asked softly as he tried to play dumb. "Come on, Jason, you know what I'm talking about. Did Michael really come visit Freya alone and... the presents?" He nodded his head gently as I took a deep sigh."I mean... Freya had rejected the whole present, thinking it was from her mysterious husband. She even got into a fight with her mom... oh God," I said in deep regret. "But then... Michael only wanted to see her face
Chapter 135 Freya's POV"What did you say?" Raymond asked, his eyeballs suddenly widening as I took a deep breath with my eyes closed. "Wait, did you both..." He paused as I felt so shy about giving him a response. He turned around, trying to go back to Jason, as I grabbed his hand firmly, preventing him from moving."What the hell are you doing?" I asked, my voice shaking. "Of course, we need to tell it to Jason. I can't keep this from him.""What do you mean? Michael's getting married, and I really don't want this baby to... come into his marriage," I said, and somehow, I could see the resignation in his expression."You could hurt the baby, you know?" He whispered as I shook my head, trying to be strong. "I'll be fine. Just go be with Jason and wait," I said as he nodded. "Be careful," he warned before leaving as I wiped away the little tears that had plastered on my face.A few moments later, I found myself in front of a beautiful yet small house. I doubted this was where Ambros
Chapter 134Freya's POVI began to shake as we drove down a lonely bush path. Raymond held my hands in assurance, but it felt like that wasn't enough. I wanted more than just that... I needed Michael's warm embrace, I needed to feel his warm breath on me whispering to me that everything would be okay."Jason," I called as he replied with his eyes still fixed on the road as he drove with his cellphone mounted in front, which guided him with the direction. "Is... is... Michael coming already?" I asked, my voice so low, but I didn't think I needed to appear like I was fine without him. "Yes, Freya... Michael's coming." I nodded as I fixed my eyes on the wristwatch again as a private number appeared again as the caller ID. I picked it up immediately, fully aware that it was Ambrose."Hey... do you really not care about your mother? How aged she is that she can't even withstand the cold on her?" he mocked as he laughed loudly while my hand shook while holding the cellphone, but I tried
Chapter 133Michael's POVI couldn't stop myself from banging the laptop that was placed in front of me aggressively on the office desk, not caring about anything. The thought of seeing Freya so comfortable without me by her side, her sudden closeness with Raymond, and how she didn't even realize that I had stopped her from going out there because I still cared for her. "You're so stupid, so stupid," I muttered, closing my eyes to take a deep breath when Grandpa's call came into my phone. "Grandpa," I finally said after the third ring, as I heard him clear his throat from the receiver end. I wondered why he had called; it was always about the damn marriage."Haven't you seen the news? Where did Ambrose take the little boy and his grandmother to?" he asked, and I detected panic in his voice. "You should hurry over and do something quick," he said, as I let out a low chuckle. How on Earth did he get to know about it? "Grandpa, why do you suddenly care about the Rogers?" I asked, and
Chapter 132 The weight of my words Freya's POV "Yeah, that won't be necessary. I'm here already, and there's no way I'm going to sit back and watch you all go without me," I said, my eyes locking onto Michael's, who didn't say a word but kept his focus on Raymond. "Raymond, we need to get to Grandpa," I said, almost going closer, as Michael stepped in between. His towering height once more intimidated me as he gave me a long, piercing gaze. "I will not let you go on that road in search of them; I won't ever allow that," Michael said authoritatively, as I couldn't stop myself from laughing. "What on earth does he take me for right now?" I thought. I refused to be stupid, not to him nor Ambrose. "Dare me if you can, Mr. Michael Smith Jenkins," I said in gritted teeth as I moved closer to him, like I was daring him for a challenge. "May I have a moment with her, please?" he said softly, as the two nodded about leaving while I moved closer to Raymond, still locking eyes with him. "We
Chapter 131Freya's POV"Raymond," I called, my voice shaking as I staggered on my feet before I felt his hand holding me from falling. "Ambrose is a psychopath. We need to chase him...we need to go over to Grandpa and...""Freya, I'll do everything I can to make sure your mother and son are safe. Trust me on this," he assured as I paced around restlessly before going to check my phone, which lay motionless on the floor. "Oh, thank God. It isn't broken," I whispered, trying to call the same number as Raymond watched me with anger in his eyes. "Damn!! The number isn't going through.""We have to take this to Jason; he should find a way to track his location," he said as I paused for a while. "Will you be fine? I mean, some publication was made to show that...some..." I stammered on my words, not knowing how he was going to take it. "That I once worked with Ambrose," he said, nodding his head slowly. "It's just that...I don't want you out there for me, Raymond.""They're right. The med
Chapter 130Michael's POVI walked into my office for the first time in a while, smiling as I took a deep breath of the familiar air that greeted me. I wasted no time watering my very own plant that was placed beside my chair. Here I was, complete, as I closed my eyes for a while before retiring to the chair."Boss," Jason called as soon as he placed a knock on the door, and my expression turned sour. The word 'boss' was very foreign, hearing it from a friend I took more than a brother."Where is he? Have you found him?" I asked, my palm on my face as I took a deep breath."Have you reported the message he sent to you to the cops? I've tried tracking down the message, but somehow, I can't get any signal," he said as I stood, narrowing my eyes as I kept staring outside the window, like I could get a hint from there."And Raymond? Have you found him?""Since your release, we don't know where he is either. Somehow, dude hasn't forgiven himself about everything that had happened. He think
Chapter 129Alexis' POVIt's been two days since Michael's freedom, and the whole city was speaking about him. I couldn't stop thinking about Raymond's words to me; I found them ridiculous. There was no way I was going to surrender. Either way, I needed to speak with Ambrose; we needed to have a better plan. Michael's wedding was the talk of the town; we couldn't let him get married and reclaim the inheritance........................."What did you say? Do you mean Ambrose fled without informing me?" I asked as Mrs. Cooke nodded her head slowly few moments after I made ways into Ambrose's home. I tried everything I could to control myself."And Emma? I guess that bitch had probably flown to Hungary...""Mr. Ambrose left with his son. I haven't heard from him since the final trial. What do we do? I'm so scared," Mrs. Cooke shivered as I closed my eyes for a moment."We have no time left. Ambrose is gone. Have you tried calling Emma?" I asked, trying to act strong as Mrs. Cooke tried c