Something Is Amiss
I approached him said, “Thank you for calling me.”
He had been kind enough to let me and Louis talk for as long as we needed in the interrogation room.
Smiling, he replied, “We’re obligated to contact their family. I guess your brother told you everything.”
I nodded dejectedly. Just then, a thought crossed my mind. “Can I meet that girl? My brother would never
do something like this. There must have been a misunderstanding.”
The whole situation felt off, and I knew that the girl held an important clue.
The policeman shook his head and informed me that she had gone home. I could only visit her residence
if I wished to meet her.
I wrangled her address out of the policeman despite his initial reluctance. He was probably worried that I
would pull some funny tricks.
I swore up and down that I would not harm her — I only wanted to talk to her.
Only then did he give me her address on a piece of paper.
I failed to bail Louis out, and I could only comfort him and assure him that I would be back once I cleared
things up. I vowed that I would save him.
At the exit of the police station, the policeman handed me a note and told me that I could contact him if I
needed help.
I learned that his name was Xavier Tyrrell.
The only thing I could do was to track down the alleged victim. Following the address the policeman had
given me, I hailed a cab to a quaint residential area called Landonville Gardens.
I found myself outside unit 407 of Tower A in the fifth block of the place. I knocked on the metal door and
heard a rustling sound.
Soon after, a girl’s voice drifted out, “Who is it? Give me a moment.”
I kept quiet, fearful that she would refuse to open the door once she learned of the purpose of my visit.
The door swung open and revealed a beautiful young woman.
“Who are you looking for?”
“Hi, are you perhaps Queenie Young?”
She hesitated before nodding, her face filled with suspicion.
My words came tumbling out in a hurry. “Well, here’s the thing. I’m Louis Zanetti’s sister. You said my
brother raped you, and I wanted to know-”
Before I could finish my sentence, the woman’s expression turned downright ugly, and she interrupted
me angrily.
“There’s nothing left to say. Your brother raped me, simple as that. Please leave.”
“That’s impossible. My brother would never do something like that. Ms. Young, perhaps there was a
misunderstanding?” I asked desperately.
Her mind was, however, made up. She insisted that Louis had raped her and slammed the door in my
face. No amount of knocking would make her reopen the door.
I settled down hopelessly at the stairs. Oh well, I guess I’ll wait out here. I’ve got to speak with her.
I had been sitting there for about half an hour when two policemen entered my sight, one of whom was
Xavier.
He looked at me awkwardly, and I realized with a jolt that they might be looking for me.
“Ms. Zanetti, you should leave. Ms. Young has reported you to the police for harassment. I’m sure you
don’t want to end up in the station yourself before freeing your brother.”
I did not expect Queenie to report me to the police over my visit. Though I was reluctant to leave, I knew
it was in Louis’ best interests for me to obey their orders.
Begrudgingly, I followed the policemen out of the building.
Once we were outside the residential area, Xavier advised me not to seek out Queenie again. Well, not
for that day, at least.
I agreed since any objections would be futile.
To stay near Louis, I returned to the vicinity of the Jadeborough Institute of Science and Technology and
got myself a room at a nearby hotel.
Once I checked myself in, I lay sprawled on the giant bed with my pile of tangled emotions.
As Jadeborough was a foreign place to me, I did not know who I could reach out to for help.
My confidence in Louis’ innocence grew after I met with Queenie; something was definitely up.
The woman had not behaved like a rape victim, and her rush to kick me out seemed like an act of guilt.
After some contemplation, I decided to get some help. I chose to call Benjamin. Even if he could not
travel to Jadeborough, he knew more about law and crimes than I did, and it would be good to seek his
opinion.
When I pulled out my phone to call him, I realized that it had remained off since the moment I boarded
the plane.
Switching it on, I immediately received a call from my mom. I pretended nothing was wrong, fibbing
about my rush to leave over some issues with my manuscript.
I called Benjamin after ending the call. To my dismay, my call went unanswered for a long time.
Impatient, I waited a couple of minutes before calling him again. Someone eventually picked up after the
line had been ringing for a while.
“Liliana? What’s wrong? Is your ex-husband giving you trouble again?”
I rushed into my explanation. “This has nothing to do with him. It’s my brother. He’s in trouble. You’ve got
to help me.”
Benjamin put me on hold for a minute before he returned to the call.
“Your brother? What happened?”
I felt myself calming down as I recounted the situation to him. It was possible that I felt reassured by his
profession as a lawyer and his excellent handling of my divorce. Instinctively, I knew I could trust him.
“Are you sure your brother is telling the truth?” Benjamin sounded exceptionally calm on the call,
bordering on the point of indifference.
His suspicions were unexpected, and my anger reared its ugly head once more.
“What are you implying? Do you think he’s lying to me? Lou is my brother, and I believe in him! If you
don’t want to help me, I’ll find someone else.”
I was about to hang up when Benjamin halted me. There was a loud sigh before he said, “Why are you
so agitated? When did I say I wouldn’t help you? Where are you now? I’ll come over. It’s better to have
this discussion face-to-face.”
“I’m in Jadeborough city. My brother’s enrolled in a university here.”
He paused for a moment before swearing. “Damn, couldn’t you have picked a closer place? Forget it,
wait for me there. Oh right, did you tell Dominic?”
My hope reignited at his promise to travel to Jadeborough. I was, however, perplexed by his question
about Dominic. I could only tell him that Dominic was unaware.
He hung up soon after, telling me that he would call me once he arrived in Jadeborough.
My gut instinct told me that Louis would be fine once Benjamin came to the rescue.
I spent the rest of the day waiting for his call in the hotel. The wait was excruciating.
At about four in the afternoon, I finally got a call from Benjamin. In response to my offer to fetch him, he
only asked for my address.
Half an hour later, there was a knock on the door. I jumped up and flung the door open.
I immediately froze in surprise. Dominic, Benjamin, and Mitch were all there.
Mitch’s arrival was not wholly unexpected since he was a lawyer like Benjamin.
Dominic, though, made me surprised. I stared at him and asked, “Why are you here?”
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