“You’ve been emphasizing your relationship with Evan all this time. Now that he’s in this state, you don’t show any signs of sadness. Instead, you’re in a hurry to leave. Are you really close to Evan?” Haley sneered.
Dina narrowed her eyes, stared at her for a few seconds, and finally held back her words, choosing to walk away. Because she knew that arguing or explaining with Haley was pointless. The best way was to make her shut up, forever.
Haley was dissatisfied and wanted to say more, but Orion grabbed her arm and explained on behalf of Dina, “Haley, we’re all upset about what happened to Evan, including Dina. She works for Elijah and has always remained calm even when she’s upset. She may not show it, but it doesn’t mean she doesn’t care. She’s just good at hiding her emotions.”
Haley felt a bit suspicious, thinking that Orion knew too much about Dina. “You know her so well? But she doesn’t seem like a good person to me.”
Dina, who hadn’t walked far, overheard Haley’s words. An intent to kill rolled in her eyes. Just then, she remembered the mysterious person who had been sending her messages.
Did that person also want to harm Haley?
She took out her phone, attempting to send a message to that person.
“Do you have a way to get rid of Haley?”
After two minutes, a document was sent to her. Dina furrowed her brow and opened the file. The document contained Haley’s information and her family background. Dina carefully examined the detailed information and quickly replied to the message, testing the waters, “Do you have a grudge against her too?”
If there was no grudge, why would they investigate Haley so thoroughly? Now Dina strongly suspected that this person wanted to use her to get rid of Haley.
But who could this person be?
Haley’s enemy?
The response didn’t directly answer Dina’s question, instead saying, “Haley cares the most about Orion. You can start with him.”
Dina stared at the message. She knew the other person was avoiding the topic. Her brain quickly came up with a plan.
“Thank you for providing the information.” Dina sent a message.
There was no reply. Dina put away her phone and walked away briskly.
…
Country M.
Freya was being questioned once again.
“What did you do with the data you obtained?” the person questioning her had a fierce appearance, their sharp blue eyes fixed on her. It seemed like they wouldn’t stop until she confessed.
Because the situation had become serious, it had escalated into a power play between two countries. If Freya admitted to stealing the data, Country Z’s reputation would be damaged, and they would label her a spy. She would be disposed of as a spy and used against her.
“I took the item, but no one instructed me. I just wanted to use it for personal reasons and accidentally lost it,” Freya explained.
“You’re lying. You clearly handed it over to Country Z’s largest research center. You’re a thief. You were sent by Country Z as a spy. If you confess now, we can let you go.”
They were trying to extract a confession.
Freya firmly denied, “I’m not a spy. I wasn’t instructed by anyone. I’ve said it many times. That item was for my personal use, and I lost it by accident.”
“Are you trying to be stubborn? Do you really expect someone to come and save you?” They were displeased with Freya’s refusal to fall into their trap.
“I never expected anyone to save me. I take responsibility for my own actions. I know I’ve damaged the research results of the research center, and I’m willing to face any punishment they give me. But I absolutely deny being a spy or being instructed by anyone.”
Facing their relentless interrogation, Freya didn’t back down or show fear. Because she knew that if she showed weakness, they would throw all sorts of accusations at her. This incident had taught her a lesson. While Sivin Peters was indeed trustworthy, not everyone he associated with had a broad perspective. Some people would make wrong choices for petty gains. In the future, she would be cautious to prevent such things from happening.
“If you refuse to speak, do you know what kind of punishment awaits you?” The person in charge of questioning her stared sharply, “You’re pregnant. Don’t you care about yourself or your child?”
Freya clenched her hands tightly, “I admit that I caused damage to the research institute, and I am willing to accept whatever punishment they give me.”
The institute’s punishment would likely be her dismissal and compensation. But the government here wanted to make a big deal out of it. They wanted to escalate the situation. Freya knew in her heart that if she spoke up, they would use her to launch a public opinion attack against her home country.
The two men in charge of the interrogation whispered to each other. Freya couldn’t hear what they were saying, but from their expressions, she knew it wasn’t good. Soon, Freya’s thoughts were proven right. They couldn’t get the information they wanted from her, so they decided to break her spirit in other ways. And the other way was through psychological torture. Freya had been locked up in the detention center due to the charges brought against her by the research center. They had already interrogated Freya five times and they were running out of patience. So they resorted to more aggressive measures.
“Where are you taking me?” Freya realized that this wasn’t the route back to her own room.
Instead of answering her, they scolded her, “Shut up.”
Freya felt a bit frightened. She carefully held her belly, worried about harming the child inside. The corridor they passed through grew darker and quieter and more secluded. When an iron door slammed open, Freya’s nerves tensed. Before she could see clearly, she was pushed from behind and involuntarily entered the room due to the momentum.
The room was small, narrow, like a tiny alleyway. With a clang, the door closed, followed by a click as the lights went out. Complete darkness surrounded her. She couldn’t see a thing. Footsteps echoed in her ears, most likely the person who brought her here leaving. Freya had no idea about her surroundings, so she dared not move and simply crouched down on the ground. The floor was cold, and the room was frigid. She tightly hugged herself. Her body couldn’t stop trembling. The air was cold, the environment was cold, and her heart was cold. Suddenly, she longed for Elijah. She wondered if he had worried about her disappearance again.
Had he been anxious because she was gone? Had he come looking for her? She was so afraid that she might never see him again.
“Elijah…” For the first time, she weakly wanted to cry.
In this space of darkness where no one could pry into her emotions. How she wished to wake up and find herself at home, with Kai and Elowen, with Elijah by her side. How she wished taht everything she was experiencing right now was just a nightmare. Little did she know, that was only just a beginning.