Chapter 285

Elena With a heavy heart, I almost dragged myself down the stairs as I made my way to the living room.

The sun had risen, meaning there was no running away.

“What the…”

I stopped for a second after hearing multiple voices in the living room and wondered what was going on. What were Victoria and her dad doing here?

Full of curiosity, I hid behind the wall so I could eavesdrop on the conversation. “So she sent him an email without knowing it was him.” I heard my dad’s voice. “She didn’t do it on purpose?”

Anger took over as I realized Victoria had been telling my entire household my business without my knowledge. Maybe it was for the best, I mean-at least I didn’t have to say to him myself.

“So this is what you’ve been doing instead of working?” Cyrus Schmidt spoke in his unfriendly tone.

“Daring someone as mentally unstable as Elena to message an inmate?”

As mentally unstable as Elena?

That man was even more judgmental than my own dad and kept poor Victoria as his hostage. “No offense, George. We all know Elena has been through a lot.

“None taken.” My dad and Alex spoke at the same time. As if things couldn’t get any worse, they had apparently wrongfully diagnosed me as well. “It’s like I can’t even recognize my own daughter anymore… “Sir, I am so sorry-and I take full responsibility Victoria apologized. “After I realized who he was, I texted her, and she left straight away. She explained. “She told me that she wouldn’t talk to him anymore, and she was pretty serious about it-so I think the wedding is just an unfortunate coincidence and—”

“Yes, yes it was.”

All heads turned towards me as I entered the living room, and Victoria got up from the sofa. “E-

Elena, you’re here.”

“Yes, it’s my house.”

“S-sure,” Victoria spoke. My dad and Alex shot me unimpressed looks while Cyrus raised his eyebrow. He cleared his throat. “Elena, don’t be like that-we’re all trying to figure out how to help you after you’ve announced to the entire universe that you’rehis—”

“His name is Marvin.” I corrected him.

“His wife.” Cyrus finished his sentence while rolling his eyes. “Come on, just sit down and tell us what happened because the wedding being a coincidence is no good explanation for how you ended up being his wife.”

The sight of Cyrus was enough to make me drink bleach.How did he get involved anyway?

I could not stand him and had never liked him. He was the perfect example of the kind of people I hated the most. People with power, who tended to be too overconfident and ordered others around.

“With all due respect, sir. Can I please know what you’re doing here because I don’t think this is your problem?”

My dad slammed his fist on the table and jumped up from the sofa. “He’s here because of you!” He pointed his finger at me. “This is all your fault!”

“How is this my fault? I’m the victim!”

“V-victim?”

With his hands on his head, he paced back and forth while Alex calmed him down. “Elena, I’m not here for you-I’m here for Victoria,” Cyrus spoke.

“Believe it or not, I don’t care what you’re doing with your life, but I will stick my nose into your business when my daughter is involved-and you followed that man to the hospital, so I’m making this my problem.”

“Oh, because Victoria’s life is so difficult, right?” I spoke sarcastically. Someone as privileged as Victoria could move on with her life without a single issue and would not understand why I did what I had to do. She didn’t have anything to do with this, and I had no choice but to go to the hospital, not after what Marvin had done for me.

Without saying another word, I sat down on the sofa. “I’ll only explain it once, and that’s it.”

I went through the entire story without missing most of the details, from our first meeting, to the wedding, to his offensive words and the shooting. The only thing I had left out was the situation about Anya’s key. “So there you have it, after following him to get some answers-Marvin protected me from those bullets…and he saved my life.”

“He saved your life because it would look bad for them if a normal citizen died, Elena,” Alex spoke.

“These people would give their lives to protect their family. He didn’t do it for you.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know, Alex. His reaction seemed sincere.”

“He’s a killer, Elena!” My dad raised his voice. “Did you really forget about Stevie?”

Stevie..of course I didn’t forget, how could I? But that didn’t change the fact that Marvin saved my life. “No, I didn’t.”

My dad had a broken look on his face, the same expression which had always terrified me. I always seemed to disappoint him. “Then why!”

“It doesn’t matter anymore, dad. It’s not like I’ll be seeing him again.”

Embarrassed, I turned my head so I didn’t have to face him. “I have to go,” I spoke with a lump in my throat. “I need to get to the police station, and I don’t want to be late.”

“Elena, I’m coming with you!”

Before my dad could take a step, Cyrus stuck out his hand to stop him and shook his head. “Let her go, George. You don’t want to anger her right now.”

I grew a grateful smile on my lips and nodded in response. “We’ll discuss this later, dad.”

With sweaty hands, I looked at the officer in front of me and was close to passing out. Strangely enough, it felt as if I was the one getting investigated, and it was undeniably because of the small room we were in.

Other than a window, a table, and two chairs, it was completely closed off and not the most ideal setup for someone as claustrophobic as myself. “Are you okay?” The officer cleared his throat, looking just as tensed as he did yesterday.

The young man didn’t appear to be that much older than I was. Even then, his gaze was enough for me to realize that he planned on getting some answers out of me, which was not all that surprising.

“Yes, I’m sorry-what was the question?” I spoke with a dry throat.

Officer Lucas Nunes, as I got to know him pushed a cup of water in my direction. “T-thank you,” I muttered, taking a sip. “I want to know why you said you were Marvin Castillo’s wife…that was the question.”

“W-wife?”

The sweat was nearly dripping from my forehead as I thought of the correct way to fix my mistake.

One wrong comment could put everyone’s life in jeopardy. “As I told you, he took a bullet for me–

and I worried for his life, so I did what I had to do.”.

“Hmm.” Lucas hummed. He brushed his dark brown curls to the side and looked at me with his emerald eyes. The sides of his lips curled suspiciously, showing that he didn’t trust me. “So, for how long have you known him again?”

“Not that long. We were penpals. That’s all.”

“And your dad, George Torres, and your brother. Alex, did not know about this?” Lucas continued.

“How about Anya?” He questioned. “You were with her until the end. Did she say something?”

She did, about the key.

“I don’t know, and I don’t know why you’re treating me like a suspect,” I spoke, startled. “Do I need to get a lawyer?”

Although I had never experienced something like this, it seemed unlikely that this was just an innocent interview for a statement.

Lucas chuckled and threw back his head for a second. “As expected, you’re George’s daughter, so you must be well educated-”

“Are we done here?” I raised my brow. “Because I told you everything I know, so are we done here?”

Apparently, this guy knew my dad and brother, which was not all too crazy considering they worked in the same field. If anyone could put two and two together and realize that I was George Torres’

daughter why couldn’t Marvin?

“So, let me get this straight.” Lucas breathed. “Marvin happened to be your pen pal. You had no idea who he was, cut off contact-happened to meet him by fate, became a bridesmaid, followed him to get answers -and then this man who claimed to be a Hernandez shot him and Anya?”

“Yes.

Lucas squinted his eyes. “Oh, and you were not aware of any cartel ties?”

“That’s right.”

There was a short moment of tension between us as we stared at each other without saying a word.

This time I did not move my gaze and glared through the overconfident look in his eyes. “If they threatened you to give a clear statement, all you have to do is tell me, and I’ll protect you,” Lucas stated.

“Who are they?” I asked obliviously.

“They…you know who I mean. The system is corrupt, the DEA has put a killer back onto the streets, and any information can help us put him back in prison. Elena, this business is not a joke, and an innocent girl has died-”

“I never gave you the permission to call me by my first name, and are we done here?” I ended the conversation. I had to keep my mouth shut, Panther made it clear. Officer Nunes was starting to sound an awful lot like my dad, so the two would undeniably get along. Judging by his tone, whatever thing he had with the Castillo’s-seemed to be personal. Lucas pushed a small card in my direction.

I picked up the business card and frowned at the phone number. “Don’t worry. I’m not asking you out on a date.” He smirked. “You’ve been through a lot, but if you suddenly decide to remember something and want to do the right thing…give me a call.”

Suddenly decide to remember something? What did that even mean?

Lucas shrugged. “We’re done here.”