Chapter 176

Chapter 176
Renée's POV

Naturally, Alex was confused about the whole “she's not my sister” situation.
So, he had questions.

“What exactly did you mean earlier?” he asked as I downed a glass of orange juice.

I set the glass down and turned to him.

“Exactly what I said” I answered and he cocked his head to the side.

“Wait. Goddess, what happened the other day with your father? I just realized I never asked. I'm so sorry… That day was just…” he trailed off and I shook my head.

It wasn't his fault. It's not like I was expecting him to ask me about my drama father in the middle of crying his eyes out.

“We both know that's not your fault” I said and he sighed.

“Still… I should have” he said.

“Could you tell me what happened now?” he asked as I poured myself another glass of juice.

I hadn't talked about it since it happened.

I filled him in on everything that happened. And when I got to the necklace part, he glanced at my neck before looking back at me.

“It's beautiful” he said and I shrugged.

He studied me for a second and I pretended not to notice as I swirled the juice around the glass.

“How do you feel?” he asked and I shrugged yet again.

“I'm good. I don't really feel anything. It's not that serious” I said, my tone nonchalant, like I didn't cry my entire lungs out that day.

“Renée,” he called my name, causing me to freeze before finally meeting his eyes.

“It is something serious. Don't brush it off. It is a big deal” he said and I swallowed past the lump in my throat.

“How do you feel?” he asked again.

I looked away for a second, then sighed, before dropping the glass on the table.

“I mean, it sucks. We weren't even related and they treated me like shit. I don't even care about how they treated me. I care about the fact that he treated me terribly because of them.” I explained.

“And now, he's trying to play father again? I don't remember how to play daughter, Alex” I said, letting out an angry huff.

“I wish I could wave a magic wand and take all your pain away,” Alex said and a soft giggle escaped my lips.

He moved closer to me.
“Listen, I know it's hard, I might not be able to feel it but I can understand how it must feel. Just take your time. I'm sure he's not expecting you to forgive him right away either, or even at all. Don't force yourself into suddenly laughing with him again.” he said and I smiled softly.

His words were like a soothing balm to my massive headache.

“But remember, this is all you've always wanted. Your father… you wanted him back. Maybe, at least, let him work for your love again?” He said and it hit me.

He was right.
It was all I wanted. I wanted my father back.

“Okay, I'll give him a chance” I said softly and he smiled brightly, before planting a kiss on my forehead.

“Thank you” I whispered and he shushed me with a kiss on my lips.

………………………………….

I was right. Of course, I'm always right.

“Cocky much?” Hera teased and I almost rolled my eyes.

They did find Sabrina at Gregory’s and they were currently questioning Gregory since they couldn't get anything out of her.

I was currently on my way to the station. I convinced Alex to stay behind. They were people I knew, I felt responsible for the whole thing, because if not because of me, they wouldn't ever dare come close to the palace. And Stella would probably still be alive…
It wasn't exactly easy to convince him, but since he had some urgent official duties to attend to anyway, he reluctantly agreed.

I was going to drive answers out of them if it was the last thing I did.

My anger rose the closer the driver got to the station.
Finally, he pulled up to the front of the massive building, immediately getting down to open the door for me.
I allowed it because now that I was going to be Luna, I had a reputation to uphold.
Besides, that was the least I could do. Left to Alex, I would have an entire entourage behind me.

I thanked him and straightened my dress as I stepped out of the car.

Detective John was there to welcome me. I almost scoffed. Was Austin scared of me now? Or embarrassed because I was right?

As we walked into the station, he filled me in on the case.

“Mr William keeps saying he knows nothing about it. He insists Sabrina is just his girlfriend who came to spend some time with him” John said.

I scoffed.
“Throwing her under the bus? How manly”

“And Sabrina?” I asked and he sighed.

“She didn't say much. Only that the reason we found her DNA was because she was forced by Gregory.”
I scoffed again and rolled my eyes.
Typical. They really do suit each other.

“She's completely frightened. I think she might be telling the truth” John said.

“Oh no, not you too. She has you completely fooled. I've never seen a better actress” I stated.

He cleared his throat and we finally stepped into the main building.

He led the way as we passed by dozens of people who kept on greeting me.
It was odd, I wasn't used to it.
But I embraced it with a smile.

Finally, we were there.
We stopped at Sabrina's interrogation room first and I watched her through the two-way mirror.
Her tear streaked face had black mascara running down. She had her arms wrapped around herself and she genuinely looked like she was about to disintegrate.

I watched as Austin stormed out, clearly frustrated.
When he saw me, he froze before greeting me.

“I really think we have it all wrong. She's not the culprit. Just look at her, she's literally shaking and crying. She's just a victim in all this. She was clearly forced.” he explained.

“So, you won't consider the fact that she might be lying?” I asked.

They both went quiet.
It wasn't their fault, she was just such a crazy good actress.
I could bet my life on it that she was lying.

“Look, I know her more than any of you do. And I'm telling you, she's lying” I said.

Then Austin decided to open his big ass mouth and put his entire life on the line.
“Are you sure this isn't about some personal grudge you have against her?” he asked.

A wry chuckle escaped my lips. This had to be a joke. This dude was seriously getting on my nerves.

“Austin!” John cautioned him.

“Are you saying I'm bringing my personal issues into a criminal case?” I questioned.

“Who knows? Women can be dramatic.” He said.
He didn't just say that.
John's mouth fell open, like he didn't recognize his colleague.
What made it worse, there were other people there.

“This is about you doing your job properly. You call yourself a detective and you believe a suspect’s words so blindly?” I said, managing to keep my anger at bay.

“It is because I am a detective that I can say that I know she is not lying,” he argued and John yelled his name.

“Your Majesty-” John started but I raised a hand and snapped my eyes shut for a second.

I knew if I didn't find a way to get rid of this anger, I would probably spontaneously combust.

Three.
Two.

My eyes snapped open again.
I took two steps to close the distance between me and the audacious man.

I saw the flash of fear pass through his eyes, but he suppressed it and didn't move an inch.
Oh, I'm definitely going to make you move more than an inch.

He didn't see it coming. Literally.

I clenched my fists and punched his square in the jaw.
He yelled and staggered backwards, tripped over his own feet and fell on his ass.

Okay, maybe I added a little bit of a certain special power.

His colleagues moved to help him.

“Don't you dare” I warned with a glare and they all bent their heads.

He looked at me from the floor, his expression fearful as he cradled his now bleeding mouth.

“If you dare disrespect me again, I'll make sure you wish you didn't exist” I said as I looked down at him.

“This is the best thing I'm ever going to do to you,” I added.

The tension in the air was palpable. It could almost be sliced with a straw.
But most of all, the instant respect I felt was insane.
They needed to know not to look down on me.

I already tried the easy way. He called for the hard way.

“Get up” I ordered and he immediately scrambled to his feet, instantly bowing his head in apology.

He apologized, shaking like a cold mouse and all I could muster was an irritated face.

Whatever.

“So, where were we?” I said, instantly turning back to the matter at hand, like the last five minutes didn't just happen.