The Apple of My Eye

Chapter 1809 He'll Be Fine

As Nick walked, he noticed several police officers in plainclothes standing in and around the station. He

strode over to one and asked him the same question he had been asking everyone.

When the officer heard that Nick was looking for Sheryl, he tensed up and looked at Nick from head to

toe. "What's your relationship with her?" the policeman asked curtly.

"I'm her younger brother. I've come here from China. What has happened to her? Is she okay?" In

Nick's concern, he did not notice the grim expression on the officer's face.

"Go in and wait there. We're currently investigating the matter." After speaking, the officer gestured for

the man next to him to take Nick into a nearby room. The other man stood up, not needing further

instructions.

Meanwhile, in another room, a different officer was interrogating Leila.

"What's your name?" came the man's first question.

Throughout the interview, he knew that it was of utmost importance to follow correct procedure. No

question, no matter how seemingly easy or difficult, was left out, and to achieve this, the officer was

willing to take his time.

Leila, however, was not. Anxious, she interrupted the officer, and exclaimed in one breath, "My name is

Leila Zhang. I'm a tourist from China. Charles and I came here for the party. I saw Sheryl push Charles

into the sea!"

After gazing at her intently, the policeman drew in a deep breath and scribbled away on his notepad.

When the sound of pen on paper had ceased, he asked her, with more intensity this time, "Did you see

it happen yourself?"

"Yes, I have said so several times. Why do you ask me the same questions over and over? Don't you

believe me?" The investigation was driving Leila mad. It frustrated her to no end that she had to answer

the same questions again and again. Moreover, when she finally did, the officer seemed to doubt her

honesty.

The policeman, no longer surprised by these outbursts, said calmly, "I understand your frustration,

Ma'am. It's just that we have to double-check the information we gather. Plus, we cannot charge

anyone with intentional assault based only on one person's story."

"What else do you want then? Am I not a witness?" Leila asked. There was a slight tremble in her

voice. Upon hearing what the man had said, she realized that the evidence they currently had against

Sheryl was not enough for a conviction. This made her nervous.

"Answer the questions and leave the rest to us, Ma'am. You don't need to worry about the case. That's

all for now. Please, give me some time to prepare your account of what happened. Once the report is

ready, please, read it carefully and sign where your signature is needed. It'll only take a short while.

Then, you're free to go." Just like the man had said, it didn't take long. After compiling his report, he

asked Leila to review the document and sign it once she deemed the information in it correct.

The pen swept across the surface of the paper in the form of Leila's signature. Once she had signed

the document, she looked up at the officer and opened her mouth to speak, but the unfriendly look on

the man's face deterred her.

Offended with what she thought was unjust treatment, Leila kept quiet and stormed out of the room.

She had insisted that Sheryl had done it—that woman had pushed Charles into the sea. Leila had

phrased it as clearly as she could for the police, yet they didn't seem to take her seriously. Meanwhile,

in another room, Sheryl remained silent. She didn't say even a single word to defend herself.

The police had assumed it was due to shock, which they saw all the time in witnesses, victims, and

even in perpetrators. Following protocol, the officers kept Sheryl in the room overnight, waiting for her

to calm down.

They didn't get a peep out of her.

Somewhere in the same building, a grainy video was playing on a monitor. The investigators had

acquired video footage of the night in question. In it, Charles and Sheryl could be seen quarreling

moments before Charles fell into the water. It was unclear, however, if Sheryl had pushed him

overboard or if the whole thing was an accident.

"Ma'am, we've reviewed the video. You'll be happy to know that there's not enough proof on there that

you pushed Mr. Lu into the sea. If you're feeling better now, you can help us by telling us what

happened." The officer in charge of Sheryl's interview spoke gently now. The barrage of questions the

previous night had rendered Sheryl speechless. It was clear now that acting tough wouldn't get the

police anywhere.

Sheryl looked at the policeman. Her pale face and sunken eyes had an unsettling quality to them. She

also reacted sluggishly and seemed detached the whole time.

When it became clear that she wasn't ready to cooperate with the police, the officer nodded his head

slightly and rose from his seat. He decided that this strange woman needed a break. Maybe he needed

one, too.

At that very moment, one of the other officers barged into the room. He held a stack of papers in one

hand.

"You'll want to see these papers from China," he said, almost out of breath. As he spoke, he handed

the documents to the officer who had been interviewing Sheryl. Upon realizing that he had caught the

first officer just as he was leaving, the new officer couldn't help but smile. The interviewer needed to

see this information before he left the room.

Sheryl's interrogator, who had planned to step out of the room mere seconds earlier, now studied the

documents carefully. As he read, he stole the occasional glance at Sheryl.

After a while, he sat back down on the chair opposite hers.

He had had no idea that Sheryl's relationship with the victim was like this.

"Are you Charles Lu's wife?" he inquired.

Charles' name caught Sheryl's attention. Instantly, she was no longer as sluggish as she had been

earlier. Her eyes shone with concern and curiosity as she nodded slowly. "Have you found Charles?"

she asked hoarsely.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Xia. We haven't found him yet, but many of our people are out there right now, looking

for him. I'm confident that we'll find him soon." Now that he had learned about Sheryl's actual

relationship with the missing man, his tone grew softer.

"Make sure that you find him. Please," Sheryl croaked. She shook as she spoke. Charles had been in

the water for such a long time, and, until now, he remained missing. All of a sudden, tears began

streaming down Sheryl's cheeks.

The police officer felt conflicted. While he wanted to comfort her, he also didn't know what to say. He

nodded gently.

"Don't worry. Rest assured that we are doing our best."

"Okay. Thank you," Sheryl mumbled as she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. Afterward,

she lowered her head again.

In the room closest to the police station lobby, Nick had been waiting for quite some time.

He was growing anxious. The officers had told him he should wait there, but nobody had told him for

how long. Being alone in a strange place and wondering about Sheryl's safety had made him restless.

Suddenly, an officer pushed the door open and walked into the room. "Are you Sheryl Xia's brother?"

the officer asked tersely, not bothering to exchange pleasantries.

Nick nodded and stood up straight away. Nervously, he asked, "How is she?"

"We're done. The two of you can go," the policeman answered.

The man, having fulfilled his duty, promptly left the room and waited outside. Nick followed without

hesitation.

The door of a nearby room opened, and a policeman walked out, leading Sheryl gently by the arm.

Nick felt a mixture of excitement and relief upon seeing her, but something was wrong. He walked over

to her.

When he got close, it became clear that his sister wasn't doing well. She was so pale that it looked like

she was recovering from an illness.

The relief and excitement that Nick had been feeling now turned to concern. Immediately, he asked,

"How are you doing now, Sher?"

"Why are you here?" Sheryl asked, her voice just above a whisper. She hooked her arm around Nick's

and walked feebly.

"I was worried about you. Are you okay?" ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

"Yes, I'm fine," Sheryl answered softly, but Nick wasn't convinced.

He had never seen his sister like this. The most important thing to do now was to get her back to her

hotel to get some rest. Acutely aware that he was in a police station, he cautiously approached an

officer to confirm if they could go. Arm in arm, he and his sister left the police station.

Because Nick had stayed overnight at the station, he had heard snippets of the story from different

people. He pieced these snippets together, and now, he had an idea of how things had supposedly

happened on that ship. But there was no way that that story was true. There was no way that Sheryl,

no matter how provoked, would push Charles into the sea. The idea was absurd.

Sheryl kept silent, lost in her own world. Everyone who saw her felt sorry—even those who didn't know

her.

"Sher, relax. He'll be fine. They'll find him. He's a lucky man, and God won't take him away just yet. It

isn't his time,"

Nick assured his sister. He knew that, even though Sheryl and Charles were in the middle of a messy

divorce, she still cared deeply about him. Why else would she end up looking like this?

Sheryl nodded absent-mindedly.