Debbie tried her best to stay calm. "Officer, may I ask how Megan was murdered?" she asked.
The policeman looked at her warily and answered, "She was raped and then stabbed with a knife. She bled to death."
Debbie was confused. "She was raped. How could I have done that?"
"We've already caught the rapist. He had left the spot after raping her, but then returned after some time. He claims that he saw you stab Megan Lan multiple times."
Saying that, he produced a transparent plastic bag and placed it in front of her. "Is this yours?" he asked.
Inside the bag was a knife.
Debbie's eyes widened in horror. "This is mine! But I was getting married today. Do you really think I would go out and kill someone several days before my wedding?"
The policeman stopped taking notes and lifted the pen from the notepad. He looked her in the eye and asked, "How was your relationship with Megan Lan? Did you get along?"
Debbie wondered how she could explain her relationship with Megan without making it sound like she had always wanted to murder her. "I admit that Megan and I were not getting along well, but I had never thought of killing her."
"Why weren't you two getting along?"
The interrogation lasted a long time.
Debbie was on the brink of a meltdown. She kept repeating the same words—"I didn't kill Megan. I need my lawyer. I will find evidence to prove my innocence."
Three-odd hours later, another policeman entered the interrogation room. "Debbie Nian, your lawyer is here."
She saw Xavier and Ivan walk in.
Ivan was acting somewhat strange. Xavier said, "Debbie, things have become a bit complicated. The surveillance video from that night shows that Megan was taken out of the city in your car."
Debbie's breathing hitched. A cold shiver ran down her spine. Someone was deliberately framing her!
'Who did this? Who raped and killed her? Why?' she wondered.
Xavier told her more about the case. It was an engineer who had raped Megan. The man had already been caught by the police. He admitted shamelessly that he had raped her because she was pretty and he couldn't hold back his desires.
Ivan retorted, "No, he's lying. Someone must have hired him to **** her." He had a hunch as to who might have hired the man to **** Megan.
Xavier cast a sidelong glance at Ivan and said, "Well, that's what he said."
Not long after Debbie had been taken to the police station, some of the news outlets reported that she and Ivan had held a secret wedding ceremony, and that the police had taken her away because she had apparently killed someone.
Carlos had lost no time in tearing those articles down.
There were always malicious rumors about Debbie on the news. As a result of that pattern, the netizens didn't take the murder accusation seriously. They thought that it was just another piece of fake news.
After leaving the police station, Ivan and Xavier went in different directions. Ivan got into his car, but he didn't start the engine. Instead, he took out his phone and called someone. As soon as it connected, he said angrily, "That engineer is your man!"
A man's voice came from the other end of the line. "Yes, he is. So? Ivan, are you saying that it was me who had asked him to **** that woman?"
Ivan's hand tightened around the steering wheel. "You broke the law!" he yelled into the phone.
"I am well aware that asking someone to **** a woman is against the law. So, obviously I didn't do it. Ivan, you've let me down! How can you not trust me?"
Without answering, Ivan hung up and sighed helplessly. He immediately called Carlos. "Mr. Huo, someone has framed Debbie. And the police aren't granting her bail. Someone powerful is behind this. Mr. Huo, will you please help her out of this?"
Carlos didn't respond.
Ivan closed his eyes and pleaded, "Mr. Huo, Debbie is your ex-wife. She was depressed when she thought that you were dead. In order to give b—" He almost blurted out, "In order to give birth to your baby…" Luckily, he stopped in time to avoid the blunder and instead said, "She had been working really hard in order to teach those who had hurt you and her a lesson, and to put them behind bars.
She has done so much for you. You may not know it, but I do. And now, she is being framed. Mr. Huo, you aren't just going to sit and watch, are you?"
Carlos lit a cigarette and took a drag. After exhaling the smoke, he said, "She's your wife now."
"So you are not willing to help her?" Ivan was a little disappointed in Carlos.
"I will help her. But you have to divorce her," Carlos said indifferently.
Ivan's mouth flew open. After a long pause, he said, "I swear I won't lay a finger on her. But I can't divorce her right now. I have my own reasons. Is that acceptable, Mr. Huo?"
"Fine. You have to divorce her within the next three months," said Carlos.
"Deal!"
Carlos hung up and walked out of Megan's apartment. He then called Frankie. "Someone framed Debbie. Look into it."
"Yes, Mr. Huo."
"Bail her out at all costs and take her to the manor. Appoint some men to protect her at all times," he added.
"Yes, Mr. Huo."
At that moment, the elevator arrived on the floor with a ding and Wesley walked out. Upon seeing Carlos' gloomy face, he asked with a solemn expression, "Is it true?"
Carlos nodded.
Wesley banged his fist against the wall and cursed, "Son of a bitch! I swear I will make him pay for what he did to Megan!"
Carlos took out a cigarette and gave it to him. "The rapist is in police custody now. But he claims that he saw Debbie kill Megan. What do you think?" he asked.
Wesley was shocked, but then he shook his head. "Although I hate Debbie, I don't think she would do such a thing. Besides, she is one of the most popular singers in the world. Why would she destroy herself by killing someone?"
Carlos took a drag on his cigarette and looked at the policemen in Megan's apartment, his eyes darkening gradually.
From the very beginning, he had not believed that Debbie had killed Megan. 'Even a cat scares her out of her wits. She doesn't have the guts to kill someone. All this time, she had been racking her brains to get me back and to take vengeance on Dad. Plus, it's impossible that she would go and kill Megan right before her wedding!' he thought.
What he needed to do now was find evidence to prove her innocence.
Although Carlos had done a good job in quashing those rumors about her arrest, many netizens still left comments under some posts of Star Empire and Debbie on Weibo, asking her to prove that she was not in the police station.
That evening, Debbie took a video of herself and posted it on Weibo with the words, "I'm still working, even at this late hour. Look at these dark circles! Gosh! My eyes are killing me."
It was like a slap in the face to those media outlets that were trying to defame her.
And rumors associated with the incident were deleted in the blink of an eye.
Debbie's loyal fans expressed their heartache for her being the target of cyber-bullying again. They even said that they would support her no matter what happened.
At East District Manor
Debbie was standing next to the bedroom window, reading her fans' comments. She was deeply touched by their love. She swore to herself that she would work harder and write more songs for them.
The bedroom door creaked open.
Carlos stood at the door with a serious look on his face.
She turned around to look at him, but said nothing.
He didn't say a word either. After a few seconds, he turned around and left for the study.
She was safe and sound; he was relieved.
Debbie was surprised by his silence. 'Should I go and thank him?' she wondered.
