Louisa's p.o.v;
After hearing that Ace was arrested, I rushed to the police station and looked around. I walked among the police officers and found Raphael talking to the chief.
I ran to him and asked, "Where's he?"
"Who are you looking for?" He asked me back while the chief gave a confused expression on his face.
"Where's he?" I asked him again but with tears this time.
He grabbed me by my arm and took me away from the chief and brought me to the document room and asked, "What are you trying to do? Do you want the whole police station to know about your love affair with that mafia? Do you know what will happen if they find out? If the chief knows about the real reason you were relieved from the case, do you think he'll let you go just like that? The name you earned solving all these cases will vanish in a few minutes. You'll become nothing to them but a liar."
"I don't care about anything right now. I want to see him." I said while crying in front of him.
He pulled me into a hug and said, "It's hurting to see you like this, Louisa. Why did you fall for a bad guy?... They're still in the interrogation room. They won't allow you to see him now."
I wiped my tears and said, "He's changed over the years. He stopped doing those things he did in the past. I don't think he's the one who committed a murder. They're having the wrong person inside, Raphael."
He wiped my tears and said, "Save your tears. It was just an interrogation. There are so many steps ahead to put him in prison."
"For who's murder he was accused? Who died? How did you came to conclusions that Ace was the one who did it?"
He walked out of the document room and came back with a file while saying, "The dead person's name is Edgar. He joined the phantom gang as an associate and quit his job suddenly. After some information, we came to know that…"
Before he finished, I asked, "When did he die?"
"Four years ago. Why?"
That was the time when Ace got kidnapped and Paulo blackmailed me to bring the stone. It was the night when Ace disappeared from my life. What happened that day?
"What made you convince that it was Ace who murdered him?"
He showed me surveillance camera footage of that night, where there was proof that Ace and Edgar were in the same place.
I said, "How could you take this as evidence to arrest him? There's nothing like murdering him in this footage. It was just a clip showing they're entering the same place."
"Edgar was a spy who was sent to have an eye on Ace. Do you know who sent him? It's the Pandora gang leader, Paulo Cruz. It's obvious that Ace murdered him after knowing his real identity."
Why is he telling me the story which I already knew but filled with wrong perceptions?
While we're talking, Gabriel and Elisa enter the document room. Gabriel said to Elisa, "I can't believe we'll catch him with evidence this time. He shouldn't get out no matter what."
Elisa told Gabriel, "I can't believe that after all these this case would be reopened."
Gabriel looked at us and asked, "What are you two doing in here?"
I turned away because of my teary eyes. Raphael answered him by showing the file in his hands, "Came to fetch up the file."
Elisa teased us, "Does that file weigh a lot which needs two persons to carry it?"
I wiped my tears and walked to him and asked, "I heard that you caught a phantom gang leader for a murder. What did he tell you during interrogation?"
Gabriel, "When did you start getting interested in my cases?" And laughed at me.
I walked out of the document room and sneaked into the interrogation room after turning off everything. When I saw Ace inside the interrogation room, I ran to him and hugged him.
He broke the hug and asked, "Did you forget where we are? It's not good if someone found out about us."
I asked, "They're saying that you're the one who killed Edgar. He's still alive, right? He's somewhere livin' to hide his identity, right? Tell me it's not true. Tell me what happened after I fainted, please."
"Even if I tell you, it'll be like I was trying to save myself. Ask Valentine what happened that day. Say to him that I agreed to whatever he's about to say. And, I don't want to hide anything from you anymore. Mateo died too."
While I was in shock, Raphael walked in and took me out of the interrogation room and asked, "Why are you making it so obvious? Didn't I ask you not to meet him right now? He's still in the interrogation room, what about the cameras?"
I snapped his hands off me and when I tried to walk out of the office, Raphael stopped me and asked, "What did you two talk about in the interrogation room?"
"Why should I say that to you?"
"Fine. Just keep on hiding things. Did you see where it brought you now? Do you still believe he's not the murderer?"
I walked closer and said to him, "He's not a murderer. So, Stop saying it again and again. It was all in the past. Now, he has changed into a different person."
"How can you be so sure about it?"
"Because I was there too! Did you hear me? I was there when it happened."
I decided to see Bernie. He was the only person who popped into my mind. But I don't know how am I going to ask for help from him? I wonder how he will react after saying everything to him. Will he get mad at me as well for lying to him? If he knew I was in contact all these years with the person who kidnapped us both in the past, would he still help me? I don't think he will. My hopes shattered. No one can help me right now. Nobody knows about my relationship with him. How will someone step up to get a mafia out?
Raphael followed me behind and said, "Louisa, hold on." He held my hand and asked, "What happened that day?"
"Why do you want to know that? They already accused that he's a murderer. Telling you what happened that day doesn't make sense. Moreover, aren't you the one who wanted him behind the bars?"
"I still believe that he's the murderer and want him behind the bars. But at the same time, I know that you're not someone who randomly picks the bad guy to end up with."
I said, "I don't know what happened that night. All I knew was that, It was some conflict between two gangs. Phantom and Pandora. When I tried to help Ace, Pandora's gang leader, Paulo drugged me and tried to have sex with me. Since the drug was overdose, I fainted that day. The only thing I remember before fainting was Ace and his bodyguards were tied up. About Edgar…" I couldn't control myself and cried when I started to speak about him. I wiped my tears and continued, "Edgar was my friend. I was the one who brought him back. If i didn't bring him that day, he would have been alive right now. I was the reason for his death…" I took a breath and continued, "You mentioned that he quitted the job under Ace. Do you know why? Because he helped me to get out of Ace house when i was kidnapped. He joined as a spy but helped me. Who would help someone in that situation? He did! He did it for me. He didn't stop and continued to help me after that too. When I heard Ace was held captive by that guy Paulo, I brought Edgar to help me again. I shouldn't have done that. I thought he's alive somewhere. I didn't know that he died. Because of me… because of me…"
"Louisa…"
"I'm never good with any relationship since my birth. I didn't have proper parents, friends, or anyone in my life. When it comes to friendship, no matter what, I did get hurt in the end. Maintaining a friendship is the hardest thing for me. He's the one I didn't expect. I still can't believe he's dead. And, i strongly believe that Ace was not the one who murdered him. I'll bring him out no matter what." And walked away from Raphael.
After a while,
I sat at a bus terminal and started to think of a way to bring him out. If I can't do it legally then I don't have any other choice.
I took a cab and went to the Paulo warehouse. After checking me, they let me in as usual. I walked inside with the guard who's holding my hand backwards. He took me to a room where Paulo was covered in blood.
Paulo walked to me covered in blood saying, "Did you miss me a lot that you're often paying me a visit, Lou?"
"I need a favour from you."
He laughed and asked, "That's new. You always step here accusing me of some crimes I didn't do sometimes. What happened to you which made you beg for me for help?"
"Ace got arrested by the police."
He laughed and said, "That's old news. Do you have something new for me?"
"I know that you're the one who gave the video clip to the police."
He wiped the blood on his hands and face and asked, "Really? You are smart. Never failed my expectations. So what are you here for?"
I placed the video clip on the table and said, "I want you to take a look at this."
He asked his guy to play it. The video clip was something I retrieved from deleted files where it was clearly showing Paulo murdered Edgar with a gun.
After seeing the clip, he asked, "Are you here to arrest me then?"
"I'm not here to arrest anyone. I came asking for help in return for this video clip."
"You should have taken this footage to the police. Why bring it to me? Didn't you want me to be behind the bars so badly? Do you pity me?"
"Even though I'm a cop, I can't put trust in them just like that and submit the evidence. They were searching for evidence to put Ace behind the bars. I don't think this evidence will bring him out. They'll definitely do something because of the rage they have against him."
"If you find this evidence to be waste then why bring it to me?"
I removed the chain around my neck and took out the red stone from the locket and placed it in front of him.
"What do you want me to do?" He asked after seeing the red stone.
"I want one of your men to turn in for Edgar's murder."
"Done."
When i stood up, he said, "What if i ask for more?" He let out a laugh and continued, "I was just kidding. You may leave now."
After i came out of his warehouse, i headed to the police station.
The chief asked, "Do you think this is your house? Don't you know you have to inform us before you leave? Where were you?"
"It's my personal issues."
"Don't think you can roam wherever you want. I didn't get the report of Mr and Mrs Hill. Have you finished it?"
"No, Sir."
"How will you get time to finish if you're roaming around? Go and finish the report and submit it by today. You're not going to leave anywhere until I see that file on my table."
I headed to my desk and sat down.
Eduardo came to me and asked, "Where did you go? Chief got mad after finding an empty desk and asked us about you. Raphael was the one who got yelled at in the end."
"Why?"
"Raphael stepped forward and said he let you go when you asked permission from him. So the chief yelled at him very badly."
I looked around and asked, "Where's Raphael?"
"I saw him in the document room."
I got up from my seat and went to the document room.
When i entered the document room, i saw Raphael studying some file.
I walked to him and asked, "Why did you lie to the chief that you let me out?"
He kept back the file into the rack and said, "Someone has to cover up in the end, right? By the way, where did you go?"
"Ace is going to be released today."
"What? How?"
"I'm afraid i can't say that."
"Louisa, whatever happens break up with him. This relationship wasn't meant to happen in the first place but it did. Don't think you can't step back from it. To be honest, you can."
When I tried to leave, he said, "If you're not going to break up with him, then I don't have any other choice than to tell everyone about your relationship with him. Do you want everyone to hate you?"
I said before leaving the room, "It's not like I got loved in the first place. Getting hated by others wasn't new for me. There's a deeper pit underneath where you can never get away… The heart of the deep abyss."