Chapter 351

Chapter 0351

“What do you mean?” he asks, clearly not believing what | was saying.

Before | could answer, a knock on the door interrupted. Brian excuses himself and goes to open the door. For some reason, I’m

not surprised when Rowan walks into the room.

“You're just in time, Rowan,” Brian tells him. “Ava was just about to tell me who she thinks shot her. She believes it isn’t Emma,

as the evidence clearly states.”

Rowan doesn’t say anything; he just turns and looks at me. In turn, | glare at him. | was still pretty angry, but slowly my anger

was starting to fade.

“Look” | begin. “It’s not a matter of belief but of proof. | saw who shot me, and it’s not Emma. In fact, | believe she’s using Emma

as a scapegoat.”

Rowan studies me before speaking: “You remembered something.” He says it more like a statement than a question.

| simply nod my head. Something flutters inside my heart. How did he read me so well? | didn’t even have to tell him anything.

He just knew.

“Who was it?” Rowan asks almost in a pleading voice.

(

“Christine.” | breathe out, still trying to come to terms with the revelation. Right before | blacked out, she lowered her mask a

little. Her triumphant and evil smirk is something | will never forget.”

There is a moment of silence. Both Rowan and Brian have unreadable masks on, but | can tell that this new development has

taken me by surprise.

“Are you sure?” Brian asks after a while.

| know for him, it's hard to believe. Every evidence was pointing towards Emma. Every line was pointing at her. Of course, it

would be difficult for him to believe otherwise.

“Yes. | mean, think about it: there is no one in this world that hates me as much as Christine. She’s wanted Rowan for a long

time, but Rowan never paid attention to her and never took her as a mistress.”

Rowan glares at me for that. As much as he wanted to deny and ignore that fact, it was glaring. Christine wanted him, and she

didn’t mind, even if he took her as a mistress. As long as he took her.

“That’s one thing she’s always been bitter about. She couldn’t understand why,

than taking her as a mistress. We've had a few altercations, and it wasn’t once or twice that she threatened to make me pay.

Especially after Rowan fired her because of her treatment of me.”

Thinking about it, every interaction I’ve had with Christine has left me with chills and a deep sense of foreboding. The woman

was batshit crazy. | don’t know how nobody ever saw that before.

Rowan was about to say something, but | interrupted him. | needed to finish this quick so | could go home and take a long

fucking nap.

“Like | told Rowan, Emma might be a lot of things, but a killer isn’t one of them. | knew that from the moment you arrested her.

The issue kept bugging me, and for some reason my mind knew that she’s innocent. | didn’t understand why | believed so until |

got my memories back this morning.”

“| don’t doubt you now, but the big question is: how did Emma's fingerprints get

you?” Brian asks no one in particular.

on the weapon that almost c

I'd already figured that out, so | don’t waste any time explaining things.

“The moment Emma came back, Christine befriended her. Of course they bonded over their mutual hate for me, but | believe

that Christine had an agenda. Their friendship might be how she was able to frame Emma, but in order to confirm that, you'll

need to call Emma in.”

I can see the reluctance in his gaze. Finally, he sags in defeat before picking up his phone and making a call. He requests for

Emma to be brought in before hanging up.

We remain in silence until the door opens and Emma walks in, an officer trailing behind her. She looks worse for wear. This is the

worst I’ve ever seen, Emma. She looked broken and lost. Like someone who’d lost everything and every will to live.

Seeing her like this leaves me feeling like a tight fist is squeezing my heart. The woman standing before me was a shadow of the

girl | used to know. That knowledge broke something inside me.

“Are you okay?” | don’t know what pushes me to grab her hand and squeeze in

comfort.

She looks at me, shocked and confused, before tears start filling her eyes. She doesn’t say anything, but she squeezes my hand

back.

“Emma, Ava believes you're innocent, but | need more information before | can release you,” Brian informs her, and her eyes

widen in shock.

“I need you to think really hard, Emma, because this is important, okay?” | tell her, and she nods her head.

Right now, she reminds me of a lost little girl.

“Christine is behind my shooting, and | believe she framed you because she knew that you would probably be the first suspect

because of our issues.”

“W-what?”

“Now | need to know: is it possible that Christine may have had access to your clothes?” | ask gently, shaking her. She’d gotten

lost in thought.

“Yes,” she answered. “She has a key to my apartment. We used to hang out sometimes.”

Brian takes over. “Good... and is there a way that you might have touched a gun she gave you?”

She thinks for a while, and she’d just begun shaking her head in denial when she stops.

“Oh my god,” she breathes in disbelief. “That fucking bitch”

“Im assuming you remembered something?” Rowan pushes.

She nods her head. “There’s this one time a few weeks ago, | think, when she invited me to her family ranch as a way to help me

get out of my head. She was giving me a tour of the house when we came across a glass case full of guns. She told me that her

family loved hunting. She asked me if | would like to hold a gun. loved the guns during the time we were practicing shooting, so |

agreed. She wore white clothes and pulled a gun out of the case. | was too lost in my sad and depressed state to notice anything

weird or to question why she wore gloves yet let me hold the gun without a pair.”

Damn. Christine was a clever bitch. She knew exactly what she was doing. She knew what she wanted when she invited Emma

to that so-called ranch.

“Can you describe to me the gun she gave you?” Brian turns to her, his eyes shining with expectancy.

Without missing a beat, she describes the gun that she was given. When she is done, we all turn to Brian.

Sighing, he looks to the ceiling before facing us. “It seems you are right, Ava. The gun she described is the exact same one that

was used to shoot you. Only me and two of my officers know the model of gun that was used. Emma was able to describe,

meaning she’s innocent, and we need to catch this Christine before she