Ch. 76
The entire ride there had been quiet. Each of them was occupied with their own thoughts about everything happening right now.
Selene, as always, kept questioning the absurd plot twists her life kept throwing at her lately.
Nothing about this situation made sense.
From the old man at the mall to suddenly being dragged into a kidnapping investigation, it felt too convenient.
Beside her, Raze looked unusually serious.
He still couldn't understand how Selene had somehow become the prime suspect in the kidnapping of a girl named Lina Grey. Honestly, he didn't even know who Lina was in the first place.
Was she the girl who used to follow Selene around all the time?
Now that he thought about it... why hadn't he seen them together lately?
Meanwhile, Jaxen sat across from them, speaking quietly on the phone with his assistant. His voice remained calm and composed, but the atmosphere around him had noticeably sharpened. Right now, only one thought occupied his mind.
He needed to protect Selene.
The car halted in front of the Bureau of Investigation building. Selene's eyebrow arched slightly in confusion as she stared out the window.
Things were moving... surprisingly fast.
The moment they stepped inside the bureau, the intensity of the place immediately hit them.
The entire office was busy. Phones ringing nonstop.
Officers walking back and forth carrying folders and documents.
Conversations overlapped with hurried footsteps, creating an atmosphere thick with pressure and urgency.
The officer escorting them led Selene toward an interrogation room deeper inside the building.
But before she could enter, she stopped.
Someone familiar appeared from the opposite hallway.
Ethan.
Selene's eyes widened slightly in shock.
He looked terrible.
Haggard and exhausted. Like he hadn't slept properly in days.
His usually neat appearance was disheveled now, dark circles visible beneath his eyes.
Their gazes met instantly. For a brief moment, neither of them looked away.
There were questions in Ethan's eyes. Relief too.
But before either of them could speak, the officers immediately moved.
"Inside, Miss Valen."
Selene was ushered into the room while Ethan was simultaneously led away from the area by another officer. The door nearly closed between them before either could say a single word. Raze frowned deeply while Jaxen's eyes narrowed slightly as they both watched Ethan disappear down the hallway.
The two men were stopped before they could follow Selene inside.
"We'll take it from here, sirs."
Raze clicked his tongue in irritation but stepped back anyway. Jaxen remained silent, his expression unreadable as his gaze lingered briefly toward the direction Ethan had gone.
Then, for the first time since arriving he spoke directly to Raze.
"Do you know that guy?"
Raze glanced sideways at him before answering seriously.
"Kinda. I saw him with Selene before. I think he's Ethan?"
"Stay here. I need to talk to someone." Jaxen said it casually to Raze before turning and walking down the corridor without waiting for a response. Raze stared at his retreating figure for a second before his face twisted in disbelief.
"What the hell? He's seriously ordering me around now?" he complained under his breath, clearly offended. Then he clicked his tongue and crossed his arms.
"...And why did I actually listen?"
Inside the interrogation room, Selene was guided toward a chair across a large table. The room itself was clean, minimal, and suffocatingly formal. And sitting across from her was a woman.
So beautiful and elegant. The kind of beauty that looked dangerous because it came paired with intelligence.
Detective Kiana Laurent.
One of the bureau's youngest but most skilled investigators. Kiana calmly closed the folder in front of her before finally lifting her gaze toward Selene. Without further delay, she spoke.
"Let's get this started since I'm a busy person." Her tone was blunt, almost impatient.
Kiana had every intention of ending this kidnapping case as quickly as possible. She already had another major investigation demanding her attention, and frankly, this case initially looked like a waste of time.
At first, she thought the investigation would become complicated. Like someone high-profile family is the missing child where it required media pressure and somewhat political involvement. But the moment she saw the name of the primary suspect, she nearly dismissed the entire thing immediately.
Seriously?
A Valen?
As the prime suspect in some petty kidnapping case? Nonsense.
Yes, the Valen family was undeniably one of the most powerful clans in the city. But involvement in a kidnapping case like this? Kiana doubted it immediately.
Why would a girl like her kidnap a fellow student in the first place?
For what reason?
What would she even gain from it?
Kiana leaned slightly back in her chair as she observed Selene carefully. The first time she met Selene was during the Vale banquet months ago. Even then, she could already tell the girl was observant, smart and composed for her age.
No... someone like this wouldn't make sloppy mistakes not for something this amateur.
Of course, Kiana wasn't undermining the seriousness of Lina Grey's disappearance. A missing child was still a missing child.
But looking at Selene now?
Kiana highly doubted she was the abductor.
"Not even close. Tsk," Kiana muttered quietly under her breath as she skimmed through the documents again.
"Pardon?" Selene asked calmly.
Kiana immediately looked up.
"Nothing, Miss Valen." She closed the folder halfway before continuing in a professional tone. "Allow me to introduce myself properly. I'm Kiana Laurent, the investigator assigned to this case."
Selene observed her silently.
Kiana looked young probably in her late twenties but there was something sharp about her eyes.
So calm...
The kind of person who noticed details others overlooked.
The woman crossed one leg over the other, fingers lightly tapping against the thick folder resting on the metal interrogation table.
The fluorescent light above cast a pale glow across the room, making the atmosphere colder than it already was.
Outside the glass window, Selene could faintly see silhouettes moving through the hallway.
Officers. Staff. And probably Jaxen and Raze somewhere nearby causing headaches for everyone involved.
Kiana finally opened the file again.
"Let's start simple," she said evenly. Her eyes lifted toward Selene.
"What exactly is your relationship with Lina Grey?"
Selene leaned slightly back on the chair, expression calm despite the growing irritation underneath.
"We weren't close," she answered simply.
"Yet somehow, you became the primary suspect." Kiana watched her carefully. Selene didn't respond immediately. Kiana opened another file before continuing.
"There have been multiple rumors involving you and the victim. According to several witnesses, Lina was often seen making bracelets for you." She paused briefly.
"One witness even stated the girl kept making them despite injuring her hands in the process."
"I never told Lina to make bracelets for me." Selene's brows furrowed slightly.
"But someone saw you accepting them." Kiana nodded once as if expecting that answer. Without breaking eye contact, Kiana turned the laptop toward her.
"There are photographs."
Selene's gaze shifted toward the screen. The image displayed there immediately triggered her memory.
The bracelet.
The one Lina nervously handed to her the first time they properly encountered each other after accidentally spilling her drink. Selene stared at the picture for a second before quietly sighing.
"I accepted it because she was apologizing after spilling a drink on me."
"But that wasn't the first bracelet she made for you." Kiana remained expressionless.
Selene was beginning to feel annoyed now, though her face barely showed it.
"That...." she answered flatly, "....is because Lina said they were gifts."
Kiana stayed silent, waiting. Selene crossed her arms lightly.
"Are bracelets seriously the reason I became a prime suspect?" she asked with a straight face. "Honestly, I can buy tons of gold jewelry myself. Why would I force Lina to make bracelets for me? That's ridiculous."
For the first time, the corner of Kiana's lips almost twitched upward.
Not because the situation was amusing but because the logic was fair.
Still, she continued professionally.
"No," Kiana said calmly. "The bracelets are only part of it."
She tapped a few keys on the laptop.
"Because CCTV footage caught you with several unidentified men abducting Lina Grey."
Selene's eyes narrowed slightly. Then Kiana rotated the screen fully toward her. The footage began to play.
The video quality was grainy, clearly taken from a distant hallway camera, but the figures were still visible enough.
A young girl, Lina with several men surrounding her. And beside them is someone who looked exactly like Selene.
The room fell silent.
Even Kiana's eyes sharpened slightly as she observed Selene's reaction carefully. But Selene's expression didn't immediately change into panic. Instead...confusion flickered across her beautiful face.
Because the girl in the footage really did look like her. From the same height.
Same hair even the posture was disturbingly similar.
"...What the?" Selene muttered quietly.
The footage continued.
The "Selene" inside the CCTV appeared to guide Lina toward a black vehicle before disappearing from the camera's view entirely. Kiana paused the video.
"Now," she said calmly, folding her hands together. "Would you like to explain why someone who looks exactly like you was seen with the missing girl hours before her disappearance?"
Selene finally looked up. Instead of answering immediately, she asked calmly,
"How many days has Lina been missing?"
Kiana paused for half a second.
"...Three."
Selene's brows furrowed instantly.
Three days?
That was impossible.
Because during those days, she had either been at school, with her family, or—
Her thoughts suddenly halted.
Wait.
In her dream.
Raze was supposed to report Lina's kidnapping case but that never happened. Because Raze had been with her almost the entire time recently.
Selene's heartbeat slowed dangerously.
Then who reported it? Damn!
"You seem surprised by the timeline." Kiana watched her carefully.
Selene ignored the comment for a moment, her thoughts spiraling rapidly. She looked back at the paused footage again. The girl looked exactly like her.
Almost intentionally similar, but something didn't sit right with her. Selene narrowed her eyes slightly.
"...Can you replay the footage?"
Kiana silently pressed play again. The grainy CCTV continued moving.
The fake "Selene" stood beside Lina while several men surrounded them casually. But the more Selene watched, the stranger it became.
No struggle.
No fear.
No resistance.
Lina simply walked with them. Like she knew them. Like she trusted them.
"...Pause."
Kiana did. Selene leaned forward slightly.
"If this was a real abduction," Kiana said slowly, "then why does Lina look calm?"
Selene eyes flickered.
Exactly.
That was one of the reasons why Kiana doubted the case from the beginning.
There was no panic visible from the victim.
No attempt to escape.
No visible coercion.
It almost looked... voluntary.
Selene met Kiana's gaze directly, her expression calm despite the tension thickening inside the interrogation room.
"I can assure you," she said clearly, voice steady and unwavering, "the person in that footage is not me."
A brief silence followed.
Selene continued without hesitation.
"I'm not the one who kidnapped Lina."