Chapter 84: Thank You For Coming
Selene was surprised and then also looked deep in thought for a while until she realized that Austin wasn’t wrong.
He’s been in front of me all of these years, and I didn’t even consider it.
Austin smiled happily, and a tear came to Selene’s eye. “Let’s give it a go.”
“Really?” Austin couldn’t believe her words and hugged her.
Selene put her face on his shoulder and enjoyed the moment.
Suddenly, Selene’s phone rang, and she patted Austin on the shoulder. “Give me a second.”
Austin ended the embrace while Selene answered the call.
“Hello, Miss Morris. This is Officer Dixon from the Houston Police Station. The case for the store fire has been reopened. We’ve found new evidence. Please come down to the station at your earliest convenience so we can discuss the matter face-to-face.”
“Okay. I’ll come tomorrow.” Selene answered, deeply surprised.
Austin was curious about Selene’s sudden look of surprise and excitement. “What’s wrong?”
“The police have found new evidence for the fire case.”
“Did they find the real culprit?”
”I don’t know. I need to go to the police station to talk to them.”
“Maybe they did.”
“I really hope so.”
The next morning, Selene went back to Houston and went to the police.
”Hello, Officer Dixon.” Selene greeted excitedly as she stepped into the investigation office.
“Hello, Miss Morris. Please take a seat.”
“Did you find the real culprit?” She asked as she sat down.
“Could you please repeat the names of the two persons that you’ve suspected before?”
“Dan and Jennifer, the same two who were responsible for the thugs attacking us.”
“Have you had disputes with them before?”
“I have with Jennifer. Dan is her close friend.”
“Why is it that you suspected them of starting the fire?”
“I was a finalist in a design competition, and so was Jennifer. But she was disqualified, and she thought I was the reason for that. All the designs I had for the competition were in my store, and she knew that. Besides, she’s an incredibly vengeful person, so I really think that she’d been capable of doing that.”
“I see. So, she has a motive.”
“What evidence did you find, officer?”
“We have a recording of her friend, Dan, admitting that he hired someone to start the fire.”
“Did he really admit to it on record?”
“Yes. His statement matches your story. We’ve now sent a warrant for arrest. We’ll conduct a proper investigation after we pick them up from Coastal City and get them in our custody.”
Selene had suspected since the call the previous day that a similar sequence of events had transpired. But she hadn’t expected the police to have acquired a verbal record of Dan admitting to the crime.
It was a big shock to her. She couldn’t believe that Jennifer would finally get punished for what she did to her.
“How did you acquire the recording?” Selene suddenly asked.
“It’s not the right time for us to tell you.”
Selene suddenly remembered something. “Was it Clint Denovan?”
In her mind, she couldn’t really believe that Clint would give up his two good friends to the police.
She simply couldn’t believe it!
But the police smiled when she mentioned Clint’s name.
When Selene left the investigation office, she felt a little dizzy and shocked about what she had heard.
She went back to her apartment and sat on the couch until it was 11 p. m. when her phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number, so she felt hesitant to answer it.
But the phone kept ringing, so she finally decided to answer it. “Hello.”
“Hello, Miss Morris. This is Johnson Keller speaking. I’m Jennifer’s older brother. We’ve met before.” Then came a very polite male voice.
“Hey. Can I help you?” Selene answered with surprise.
“I guess you know why I’m calling. It’s about the case of the fire in your store.”
“Then you should speak to the police, not me.”
“I’ve only found out about it today. Regardless of why she did it, I fully apologize for what my sister did. I was hoping we could talk face-to-face.
I’m at the cafe next to your apartment right now.”
As the call ended, Selene was left with a whirlwind of thoughts. She pondered over the recent events, her mind oscillating between anger and a desire for closure. After much deliberation, she made up her mind, and she was going to the cafe.
She had previously met Johnson twice and had a good opinion of him.
When she arrived at the coffee shop, she saw Johnson sitting at a table by the window.
Johnson stood up to greet her. “Hey, Selene. Thank you for coming to meet me.”
Selene smiled and sat down on the opposite side of the table.
“Selene. I know that the fire destroyed your store and nearly killed you, but I truly didn’t know that Dan and my sister were responsible for it. I sincerely apologize to you. Our family will do everything we can to make it up to you.”This is property © NôvelDrama.Org.
“So, you are here to apologize and talk about compensation?” Selene glanced at him with a half-smile.
“I know it’s Jennifer’s fault, but she didn’t expect it to get so out of hand. I spoke to her today. She only intended to burn your designs and not you. No one knew that you were in your warehouse. They thought the store was empty. It was an accident.”
“What do you mean it was an ”accident”?” Selene sneered.
“Regardless of what happened, Jennifer did not mean to hurt you. And, thank God, you are alright. But, if Jennifer is sent to prison for this, her whole life will be ruined.”
“So, in your mind, your dear sister just made a tiny mistake?” She paused for a while and continued, “Johnson, I also think that your sister only started the fire to burn my dresses, but that doesn’t change the fact that she nearly killed me, and she doesn’t feel any guilt for that. Maybe life in prison will change that.”
“Selene… I…” Johnson begged.