Chapter 347

Chapter 347

Paula and I exited the police station and waited for a ride outside.

Since we'd arrived in a police car, I pulled out my phone to call an Uber. Just then, Paula suddenly grabbed my hand to stop me.

"What's wrong?" I asked, confused.

Paula pointed to Jason, who was getting into his car nearby. "No need to bother with that. This is called efficiency—we'll catch a ride with him."

Jason had maintained an icy demeanor from the moment he saw us until he finished handling the situation. His cold aura was so intense that just passing by him would probably give someone frostbite. The thought of being near him made me shiver.

"Maybe we should—" I started to suggest we find another way, but Paula had already walked over to his car and knocked on his window.

As Jason rolled down the window, Paula greeted him with a cheeky smile. "Mr. Cook, you wouldn't mind giving us a lift, would you?"

She wasn't really asking for his permission. Before Jason could respond, she had already pulled open the back door and ushered me inside. Then she slid into the front passenger seat next to Jason and quickly shut the door, all in one smooth motion.

"Let's go, Mr. Cook," Paula said with a confident smirk.

From the back seat, I didn't dare say a word. The atmosphere in the confined space felt glacial.

"Why the long face, Mr. Cook? You look like we owe you money. Smile a little," Paula said, unfazed by his coldness.

"Bobby wasn't lying!" Jason's voice was ice-cold, implying that we had been the aggressors.

Paula shrugged. "Yes, and your point is?"

She admitted it so casually that I felt the temperature drop even further. I had to mentally applaud Paula's courage.

Jason let out a cold laugh. "No remorse. You're not afraid of actually ending up behind bars?"

"That's why we have you, Mr. Cook," Paula countered. "I'm confident you can protect us. Besides, Bobby is trash. He harassed Melinda—he deserved what he got."

"I'm a lawyer, not God," Jason scoffed. "With behavior like this, I need to reconsider our arrangement."

Paula remained fearless. Perhaps she knew that while Jason was typically rational, anything involving Marlowe could cloud his judgment.

"If you had better options, you would have abandoned us already," she said. "Don't act so self-righteous. You'd do anything for her. Too bad she doesn't seem to trust you—she's keeping more than a few secrets."

Jason's expression hardened. "If you can't speak civilly, then shut up. Next time, don't expect my help. I'll let you rot in prison for a decade."

Paula seemed to bristle at this. "Now you're all about justice? Did you know that Marlowe and Bobby have been keeping secrets from you?"

"Shut up!" Jason snapped. "What do you gain from slandering Marlowe?"

Paula fired back without hesitation, "You know I'm right. You feel it too. With Marlowe's skills at manipulation and her vindictive nature, she could easily have used her media connections to expose the Owens family for how they treated her. It would've been both journalistic integrity and perfect revenge. Why hasn't she? Because Bobby must have leverage over her."

"How dare you make such malicious assumptions about her?" Jason defended. "She's being blackmailed because they have compromising photos of her. As a woman, you should empathize with her situation, not attack her!"

Jason seemed trapped in a loop, desperate to believe Marlowe wasn't as calculating as Paula suggested. Perhaps believing this validated his years of protecting her.

Paula pushed harder. "Stop deluding yourself. The Owens family knows you've been trying to find dirt on them for years. Those photos are in the hands of the original perpetrators. Lyric would be the first person wanting to destroy all evidence. Why would they use photos to threaten Marlowe when that would just hand you ammunition?"

Jason frowned, silent for a moment before countering, "Even strong-willed celebrities can be broken by such things. Marlowe is sensitive—the Owens family only needs to hint at exposure to devastate her. Your accusations are cruel!"

Paula's derisive snort made Jason's argument sound ridiculous.

"Why keep lying to yourself? Melinda barely crossed Marlowe, yet she arranged our kidnapping. After how the Owens family humiliated her, how could she possibly keep their secrets for so many years?"

"Enough!" Jason suddenly slammed on the brakes. "Get out. I'll call you a car."

Thankfully, I had fastened my seatbelt in the back, or I would have hit my head.

"Come on!" Paula protested. "We were just talking. Don't be so sensitive!"

Jason ignored her, got out, and opened our doors, waiting for us to exit.

I was actually relieved—the atmosphere had become too tense, and I feared their argument might escalate into something worse.

Paula tried to say something more, but Jason had already shut the door and driven off.

Paula stomped her foot in frustration. "That Jason—he knows the truth deep down. He just refuses to accept it."

"Jason has stood by his principles for years," I said, feeling the need to defend him. "He values loyalty and evidence. Of course he's reluctant to believe otherwise."

Paula stared at me intently.

I gave her an innocent look. "What's this?"

"Melinda, why do I get the feeling you're taking his side?" Paula looked annoyed.

"I'm not defending him specifically," I explained. "He helped me with my case, so I guess I see him differently. Besides, what I said is true."

Paula waved dismissively. "Fine. I'll just wait for him to regret it later."

Soon, my phone pinged with a message from Jason about the car he'd called for us.

The car arrived shortly after. "I have a meeting to get to, so I can't join you. Go ahead," Paula said, practically shoving me into the car before I could object.

I asked the driver to take me to the office. When I'd heard Paula was in the hospital, I'd left work without even requesting time off. I needed to catch up on my responsibilities. Vincent and the team had been covering for me lately, and they'd been incredibly understanding despite my frequent absences.

I needed to get back and handle some work. To my surprise, as I arrived at the office, I ran into Christopher, who was just leaving Vincent's office.

"Mr. Collins!" I greeted him quickly.

Christopher seemed to know about Paula's fainting episode and immediately asked with concern, "How's Paula doing?"