Chapter 111: Investigation III

ISABEL.

The door opened and Bennett preceded mom. "Where are you taking my daughter?" Mom asked in a commanding voice just asked the uniformed men were about to escort me out of my office.

The men halted, turning to face her. "We're taking her in for questioning, ma'am," one of the cops replied. "It's regarding a serious matter."

Mom's eyes narrowed. "What kind of matter?"

Officer Desmond stepped forward. "It's about the accusations she made against an old friend of hers. We've received evidence that suggests she wrongly accused her of stealing an expensive necklace from her Mall, thereby, trying to tarnish her image."

Mom's expression changed from concern to confusion. "What are you talking about? Who is this friend?"

Officer Desmond hesitated before responding, "A certain Estelle. It seems your daughter has an animosity against her, and we need to clear up the matter."

Mom's voice was firm. "My daughter will never lie, are you very sure of that fact? That she wrongly accused her?"

Officer Desmond nodded emphatically. "Yes, ma'am. We're quite sure. They lack the evidence to convince us, her manager claimed the footage has disappeared."

Mom's eyes locked onto mine, searching for answers. I shook my head, trying to convey that it wasn't true, but she looked uncertain.

The man's words had sown a seed of doubt in her mind, I thought.

Mom's voice was fierce, her eyes blazing with determination again. "Still, I won't let you take my daughter anywhere. Her stepfather, Mr. Mulan, single-handedly sponsored the newly recruited cops when the government ran out of funds. I'll personally have him take his influence off of your matter if you embarrass my daughter one more time."

The men exchanged uneasy glances, clearly intimidated by Mom's words. Just then, the door swung open and my stepfather walked in, a confident smile spreading across his face.

"Ah, perfect timing," he said, his eyes locking on the cops. "I see you're still trying to harass my stepdaughter. I think it's time I had a word with your superiors."

Mr. Mulan's presence seemed to fill the room, his authority and influence brought things under control. The cops took a step back, their demeanor changing from confident to cautious.

"We are sorry Mr. Mulan, sir," the cop began, "we're just trying to do our job—"

"Your job?" My stepfather interrupted, he was trying to control his anger. "Your job is to protect and serve, not to bully and intimidate innocent citizens. I think it's time for you to leave."

With a nod, the man took the cuff off of my wrists and retreated. My stepfather turned to me, a wink still playing on his lips. "You okay, my dear?"

I nodded, still trying to process what had just happened. Mom turned to her husband, a look of gratitude on her face. "Thank you, dear. I don't know what we'd do without you."

He smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "You'll never have to find out."

"How did you know about this?" Mom asked my stepfather, still trying to process the way the activities played out serially.

"I received an urgent note from Mavis the moment I arrived in San Francisco for a conference, I'm even late but there's nothing to worry about. He said Isabel was in trouble and needed my presence."

I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Mavis? But why would he...?" I paused seeing that Mom turned in my direction.

Mom's gaze locked onto mine with an unreadable expression. I stole glances with Bennett whose reaction by interpretation meant that she was also perplexed as to why Mavis would want me out of trouble.

"Mavis and Isabel go way back to high school," Bennett said finally hoping that my mother would take her eyes off my face. "Let's just say he owes her a favor. Or two."

"I don't understand what you're implying, but they're step-siblings; they look out for each other. Isn't it? Although he made a statement afterward that left me dumbfounded for a moment." my stepfather said, as he gently grasped Mom's wrist.

Mom's tense expression eased slightly, and my stepfather released her hand, his eyes locked on hers with a deep understanding.

"The police are still waiting outside," he continued, "but I'm confident they won't dare to bother you again, not after I've made my position clear." He said guiding Mom out of the office.

Bennett's gaze conveyed a silent message, and we nodded at each other with smiles on our faces.

"Thank you for coming back, Bennett," I said.

"I can do anything for you, you got my back anytime."

Looking out of the window, we found Mavis standing with the cops.

My mind racing, I turned to Bennett and whispered urgently, "What's going on? What's Mavis showing them?"

Bennett's expression turned grim. "I don't know, but it can't be good. We need to prepare ourselves for anything."

They turned in unison and headed towards the stairs, with Mavis leading the way. He was full of determination and we waited with bated breath for what felt like an eternity.

The anticipation was suffocating, and I couldn't help but wonder what Mavis had in store for me. His eyes seemed to burn with a newfound resolve, and I steeled myself for what was to come.

I felt a chill run down my spine as the footsteps outside grew louder. The door burst open, and the two officers strode in, their eyes fixed on me.

"Miss Isabel, we're still investigating the theft at the Mall and the mysterious appearance of the necklace in your friend's bag. Mr Mavis mentioned that there are some discrepancies in the testimonies and we need to ask you a few more questions to clear up the matter," the investigator said, in a measured tone as if he was trying to maintain a professional demeanor due to my stepfather's earlier confrontation with them

"Mavis has presented some... interesting revelations," one of them said with a smile. "It seems we're nearing the end of this investigation, but I need to clarify a few more details," he continued, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Was Estelle left alone at the security unit yesterday after she was caught with the necklace? We need to know if she had any opportunity to manipulate the footage or communicate with anyone, maybe the security officer."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. A member of my security team, involved in a scandal like this? It didn't add up.

"That's not possible," I protested. "I have dedicated employees here. None of them would ever compromise our security like that."

As he spoke, the other officer held out a piece of paper and a pen, poised to record my statements. "Please, Miss Isabel, provide your account of events. Your statement will be crucial in wrapping up this case."