"Kristine, I know you are in there. And I know you can hear me. I am sorry, I really, really am. I didn't
anticipate that I'd have to put you through this." Andrew heaved a heavy sigh, and pleaded, "We both
know how cruel the entertainment circles are; it spares no one. No, I cannot afford to have my name
associated with any scandal. For the future of my career, I have no choice but to do this."
He was met with absolute silence. Luke and Alan sat on the couch, enjoying he scene playing out
before them. Faint smiles were apparent on their faces.
The room was pitch black with darkness. Cherry looked blankly, straight ahead of her.
Since her rise to fame, she had done many things just like this to others. There wasn't anything wrong
with others now treating her in the same way.
If she were Andrew, she would do exactly what he was choosing to do, too - perhaps, she would do it in
a way much worse, as well.
Further, in context of her life, what Andrew had done to her was absolutely zilch compared to that
which Alan and Luke had caused her to endure.
"Kristine, I know that you think I am despicable and a shameless human being. But I really have no
other choice in these circumstances. Please can you accept my decisions?" Andrew persisted.
Out of nowhere, the door was pulled open. Andrew saw Cherry, whose eyes were puffy and red. He
was stunned for a moment. He felt very sorry for her, seeing her in this state.
Before he had discovered her true identity, the twosome had been together for a long, long time. She
had so much influence in the entertainment circles he had wished to break into, not to mention that she
was also a very sweet person. How could he not have taken to such a woman?
If she had not committed the crime of killing someone in the past and if Alan was out of the picture,
Andrew would have genuinely wanted to win over her affection.
With a disheartened look on his face, he guiltily averted his gaze, lowering his head.
"What if I don't agree?" Cherry's voice was hoarse. It was clear she had cried a lot, and for a long
while.
Andrew frowned, considering her words. But he remained quiet, with eyes looking to the ground.
"Ha-ha..." Cherry jeered at him, and continued, "Whether I agree with you or not, you're going to go
ahead with your plans anyway. So why do you even pretend to be so apologetic?"
Without further ado, she slammed the door angrily in his face.
After a long while, Andrew lifted his head and looked at the door. He looked completely drained.
He felt an unexpected pat on the shoulder, out of nowhere. He turned around to see that it was none
other than Alan. "Andrew," he said. "You are an intelligent man and you have made the right choice.
This is in your best interest. Run while you can, get out of here now." Alan had a faint smile on his face.
This was the last trace of humaneness which Alan had in himself.
Andrew nodded and exited Cherry's home with a heavy heart. He made the important phone call.
Soon, the news began to circulate on the internet.
Andrew and Cherry had amicably called it quits.
Andrew had suffered a beating that almost caused his death in order to protect his dearest Kristine. Yet
now, he broke up with her so easily. Why?
The photos of two men coming home with Kristine was still rampant on the internet. Everyone would
wonder what the threesome would get up to at her home together. The speculation was wide-ranging.
Some stood firmly at their idol's side, denying that she could be up to no good. Others were heavily
critical of her. Andrew's fans were just as tizzy.
This man had almost died in order to protect his then girlfriend. Now, they were broken up and more
and more people were blaming Cherry. Her infamy was on the incline. The news was circulating with
unprecedented momentum across all media platforms.
When Anne came to hear of the news, she had been very busy with a runway fashion show. Reading
the reports, she just breathed an exasperated sigh and remained quiet for an inordinate period of time.
It was just Cherry's karma coming into effect after everything she had done. Anne had nothing to do
with it.
However, she did not expect to see Kevin's name in the news, especially not before Cherry's news had
dissipated.
It was pitch black that night. Kevin and Colin had gotten into a fight at the construction site. Kevin lost
his cool and picked a nearby brick up off the ground. He struck violently across Colin's head. Colin fell
to the ground, his head bleeding copiously. Kevin ruthlessly dragged his body across the cold, hard
ground.
Anne watched the video and started to perspire everywhere. She did not dare waste another second at
this show. She hurried back to home.
Now, Kevin was a prime suspect in this criminal case. Max and Noah would stay with him constantly,
not letting him out of their sight for an instant. He could not even go to his office to attend to pressing
work matters.
When Anne arrived at the house, Kevin's face was completely blank. She gauged that he too had seen
the video.
"Anne. Will you believe me?" Kevin raised his head and looked at Anne sullenly.
"Of course. You know I will always believe you," Anne said these words reassuringly, looking him
straight in the eyes, and holding his hand in hers tenderly.
Kevin smiled and nodded.
Noah and Max shared a look of suspicion. They had been with Kevin in his home for several days now.
They had got to know him quite well and were convinced he was not capable of such a thing. But they
could not ignore the video footage.
"The video is made during the night. It really is not clear. Although we can see the men arguing, there
is no audio to confirm what they were arguing about specifically. But... isn't the other man in the video
you?" Max frowned thoughtfully and directed this question to Kevin.
Kevin looked up and stared at Max for a moment. Then he confidently shook his head and replied,
"The night Colin disappeared, he had called me soon before that. See the time stamp on the video? I
was traveling in the car at that time. You can check the CCTV footage."
"But..." Noah looked at the video in confusion, "This man is you."
The man in the video was wearing the same black coat that Kevin had on that day. The face was not
clear but his side profile fitted Kevin exactly.
Kevin looked at Anne for comfort. She smiled at him, shaking her head, and said, "We used the exact
same tactic to catch Kim back then. We found a doppelganger to assist in our plan. Not to mention,
modern day makeup can do wonders. It's easy to make someone look exactly like Kevin using these
various techniques."
Noah and Max shared another thoughtful look. Kim's case had caused sensation nationwide and the
details of it were well-documented. Anne could not have made this up.
That was to say, it was very believable that Kim used a similar tactic by making the person in the video
look just like Kevin.
"Is Kim somehow still alive?" Noah looked at Anne in bewilderment.
According to Anne, Kim was very much alive and kicking. Further, the purported affair between Kim
and Colin was also created by him. The police detectives had given this information serious weight, but
after many fruitless days of investigation, there was nothing uncovered regarding Kim's involvement
herein.
Everyone really couldn't bring themselves to believe that Kim could have escaped considering the
circumstances surrounding his case!
"Yes!" Anne said firmly, "I would not make things up or joke about such a serious matter."
Max pursed his lips thoughtfully. He said, "It is imperative that we report this to our superiors."
"Of course," Kevin responded with a nod. He was still stressed about one thing though. "I wonder
whether Colin is alive or dead."
In the video, it was clear that Colin's head had been struck very hard, and blood covered the entire
ground around him. The head was a cardinal part of the human body, and if the head was injured this
badly... it could only mean one thing.
Furthermore, Kim was an absolute psychopath. Was there anything he wouldn't do?
At this time, Selma's voice could be heard coming from downstairs. From the level and tone of her
voice, it seemed that she was in the middle of a heated argument with someone. After a quick look of
concern among them, they rushed out of the study, towards the source of the commotion.
When they arrived downstairs, they were met by a frantic scene. Selma stood in the doorway, blocking
people out and shouting uncouthly, as if she was completely uncultured and common. "Let me just tell
you something, that video means nothing! My son isn't a murderer! Why are you framing an innocent
man?
If you want to arrest him, you need to provide an arrest warrant to prove you have evidence. If you
don't have any evidence, and still try to arrest him, I will ensure you will rot in jail and will have to deal
with my lawyers who will sue you for everything you're worth! If you dare..."
"Mom!" Before Selma could continue berating whoever was at the door, Kevin interjected.
Selma turned around, scowled and scolded, "Why did you come downstairs? Go back upstairs - now!
Since we are innocent people, there is no need for us to go to the police station."
Kevin looked at Anne, at a loss. She understood what he was trying to convey to her. So she took the
lead, walked up to Selma, tugged on her sleeve and explained calming, "Mom, since we are innocent,
we have nothing to fear of the police!"
Outside the door, a policeman stood, also at a complete loss. Whoever had the guts to insult the Fu
Family in this city? And who hadn't heard about Selma's fiery temper?
But... He had to do his job.
"Mr. Kevin, we are required to follow the proper protocol as per our profession. We have to request that
you come down to the station and give your version of events. We are not here to arrest you," the
policeman explained in a pacifying tone.
"No way!" Selma exclaimed. She continued, with a defensive scowl, "My son is innocent, so he
shouldn't have to go to the station. If you want to know any further details, you can tell your Captain to
come down here in person. You can just go back right now and tell him what I've said!"
The previous Captain had got a promotion due to his success with Kim's case, and was now stationed
in the capital. The first thing he had done once he had been promoted was gift the Fu Family a lavish
item. It was clear to all that the Fu Family had a very high-ranking status in this city.
This was the reason Selma was so confident, daring to try and stop the police.
The policemen looked at each other, taken wholly aback by the situation and how Selma was behaving.
They turned to Kevin for assistance.
Kevin smiled. He knew Selma's hotheaded ways better than anyone. He walked up to her and said,
"Mom, I did not kill anyone, so everything will be fine. But if we keep avoiding the police, they will have
to keep approaching us as it is their job as per the protocol in place. It will look very bad for our
company. It's better if I cooperate now and explain what happened, rather than later.
What's more, Sally and Simon are so young and still very impressionable. If they keep seeing the
police coming to me, they will begin to think that I am actually a criminal. It will not be good for my
image as a father."
Her grandkids had always been her weakness. As anticipated. Selma frowned but did not continue with
her rant. She threw the policemen a final loathsome look, before turning around and leaving.
The policeman breathed a sigh of relief, and gratefully addressed Kevin, "Thank you, Mr. Kevin."
Kevin had never in his life seen a policeman display such gratitude to a suspect. He nodded,
expressionless due to the shock, and turned to face Max and Noah.
"Mr. Kevin, it's fine. We don't need to accompany you." Although they had just spent a few days with
him, they inexplicably trusted him. They genuinely believed what he said. So they felt safe to let him out
of their sight, regardless of their mandate.
Kevin turned and left with the policemen at the door. Watching Kevin depart, Anne frowned slightly.
"Mrs. Anne, can you give us some insight into the history between you and Kim?" Max asked
expectantly. They had read the docket relating to Kim's crimes and understood the facts of the case.
But there was still so much which was not clear. Instead of speculating, he just wanted to get the full
explanation directly from the woman before him.
With a polite smile, Anne gave a small nod. She gestured with her hand towards the study. "It is a long,
long story. How about we go to the study and I'll tell you everything."
Anne knew that, after she told them the true story, the policemen would be on her side.
Noah and Max nodded and followed her into the study.
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