She felt like knocking her head against the wall.
The more she tried to hide her relationship with Jasper, the more she was afraid of being caught red-handed.
She couldn’t bear it if their secret was exposed. She was worried, but did not know where to turn to for help.
“Inspector Grace, were you with Mr. Milton when we were on the train?” Benjamin’s assistant asked in surprise.
Stella kept her head down and did not respond.
“Yes, she was with me,” Jasper answered for Stella.
“Don’t tell me you’re her boyfriend, are you?” Benjamin’s assistant asked as if she just uncovered the secret of the century.
Jasper went silent.
Stella could not stand the pressure anymore.
She needed to bounce back and explain. “No, he is not. I knew him because my best friend is working as a doctor at the military base.”
Jasper looked at Stella coldly. His eyes were as deep as a lake, and his tightly pursed lips showed his displeasure.
“Oh. Let’s talk about the case in detail then.” Benjamin switched to a serious tone. “I watched it. Although we do not know when it was filmed, it definitely can’t be done with the technology from 25 years ago.”
“You’re right. We uncovered the identity of the person in the video through facial recognition.
Her name was Dolly Summer. She was 35 years old. She was from a town in Riverside City.
She once had a sister who went to the city for work twenty-five years ago and went missing after.
Her sister was the first female victim, Hale Summer.
They were very close, having lost their parents when they were young.
They looked alike, Dolly Summer even underwent plastic surgery to look like her sister,” Mr. Cher said.
“So is Dolly Summer the murderer? How did she kill them?” Benjamin’s assistant asked.
“The problem is, she was filming at another place when the Chyls were killed, there were many witnesses at the filming site. She has a solid alibi,” Mr. Cher frowned.
“She must be the murderer. She must have used an accomplice to create an alibi. Get her and we will see how things go,” Benjamin ordered.
“I have a question. Did we not find any connection between the deceased before this? It seems that they knew each other very well for 25 years,” Benjamin’s assistant asked.
“Computers and the internet were not common twenty-five years ago. People communicated through letters and most of the time, they had pen names.
We focused too much on the Internet and the mobile phone, but we forgot the primitive means of communication, the letter.
These people are all in City A now, so they should be in touch with each other by using letters,” Stella observed.
Jasper ordered Mr. Cher, “Go to the military base and check if Zackery Chyl and Zion Chyl contacted each other through letters.”
“And, the three murderers from 25 years ago are the deceased, Jae Chyl, Zion Chyl, and Zackery Chyl. All of their last names were Chyl. Are they actually related to each other? We can ask Jae Chyl’s sister, Nina Chyl,” Stella suggested.
“We can arrest Dolly Summer now. Let’s talk to her first,” Benjamin said. He then got up and walked towards the door.
Stella got up too as her phone rang.
Jasper was giving her a death stare. She was afraid, so she picked up the call without looking at the caller ID.
Suzi Shine’s voice came from the phone. “Stella Grace, Nina said you were back.”
Stella was stunned for a moment, then quickly walked out of the conference room. “Yes.”
She walked towards the rooftop garden.
Suzi got straight to the point. “Don’t see Jasper. You know you can’t bear the consequences.”
“I’ve seen him,” Stella said in a deep voice, staring into blank space.
“He doesn’t remember you anymore, and he has forgotten what had happened between the both of you. If you want a good life for yourself and him, you should forget about it,” Suzi said earnestly.
Suzi’s warning reminded her of the past. They were screaming at each other and hurting each other.
It was like she had sunk to the bottom of an ice lake, freezing her blood and dulling her vision.
“I have a friend by the name of Eli Wayne. She is now a doctor at the military base. I need her to be 100% safe. If she is not, I cannot guarantee what I will do next. Can you make sure that she is safe?”
“Don’t worry. As long as you let Jasper go, I can promise you that,” Suzi promised.
“Give me some time,” Stella said and closed her eyes.
She felt like her heart was being crushed by an avalanche.
They had to separate before they even started.
Was this fate?
When she opened her eyes, they were cold and sad.
She turned around.
Jasper stood behind her.
She was shocked. How long had he been standing there and how much did he hear.
She looked down, feeling guilty.
Jasper walked up to her and looked at her. His gaze was sharp. “Look at me.”
Stella took a deep breath and looked up.
Her clear eyes reflected his handsome features.
“You have been avoiding me since early morning,” Jasper said.
She did it on purpose because she didn’t want their relationship to be exposed.
Once their relationship got exposed, Suzi Shine would come after her.
Even though their relationship was still under the covers as of now, but Suzi had taken the initiative to look for her first. She must be very concerned about Stella’s existence.
“Chief, who I am to you?” Stella asked directly.
“You’re the only woman I slept with before. What do you think?” Jasper said coldly, with his sharp gaze fixed on her.
“But you have a fiancee. Your fiancee’s father is the Deputy Commander of the Discipline Inspection Committee. He is powerful and influential. If Zoah Davis finds out what happened between me and his son-in-law, what do you think would happen to me?” Stella asked.
“I won’t let them hurt you,” Jasper promised.
Stella’s eyes reddened and tears started welling up.
Jasper had said the same thing to her in the past, and that was why she stuck with him despite everything.
But…
She sacrificed everything only to be betrayed.
He only had Bettany Hadley in his heart. It had never been her.
He would never know how heart-breaking it was for her at that time.
“Talk to me only after you have decided if you have feelings for me. Otherwise, you’re no better than an adulterer,” Stella said bluntly, walking past him.
Jasper held her wrist and squinted his eyes. His gaze was deep. He pursed her lips but did not speak.
Seeing that he wasn’t going to speak, Stella smiled and said, “Don’t tell me that you fell in love with me after we had sex a few times.”