Chapter 84 The Fall Begins
"What? Who?" Wills asked. He had yet to receive his answer when a shadow fell over the room as the doorbell rang. A series of authoritative knocks followed. Wills paused mid-dial, looking at Amanda with wide eyes.
"They are here already," Wills said softly.
"This can't be real," Amanda muttered, her voice barely audible. She clung to her mother.
The knocking intensified and a stern voice echoed from the other side of the door, "Open up! Police!"
Wills and Amanda exchanged a frantic glance. Amanda signaled to her mother to handle the kids. Mrs. Roberts ushered the children to a room, trying to prevent them from seeing what will happen next.
"Don't make me repeat myself" Mrs. Roberts yelled softly when they protested.
Wills, gripping his phone, approached the door. Amanda, fear etched on her face, stood still.
"Open the door now!" the voice outside commanded.
"Almost there" Wills called out loudly so they could hear him. At the door, he hesitated for a moment, then slowly unlocked the door. It swung open, revealing two uniformed police officers, a fellow detective and his commander, stern expressions on their faces.
"What took you so long to open up?" The detective asked.
Wills was about to answer but was shocked with the commander's response. "You don't want to do that right now. You will be questioned about the conversation later"
"What! I don't understand." Wills protested.
"Amanda Roberts?" One of the uniformed policemen asked.
Amanda nodded, her throat tight. She, trembling, gripped the edge of the table close to her.
"You are under arrest for the murder of Mabel Turner," the officer stated, producing an arrest warrant.
"What? This is a mistake!" Wills protested, his eyes darting between Amanda and the officers.
"Save it for the station," the other officer remarked.
What? What do you mean?" He charged against him aggressively.
"Wills," the commander called out, "Don't do that."
"Fine. She will come with me" Wills said, grabbing his car key on the table.
"Not when you are also under arrest" the detective answered.
Wills halted immediately. "Wait.. What? I haven't done anything to warrant that." He protested.
"I know, '' the detective said in empathy but met the gaze of the commander and she kept quiet.
"At the moment, if you ask me, I would say I believe you are innocent. And I hope it stays that way even after investigations" the detective said. "Now let's get to the station.
Amanda, panic-stricken, didn't oblige. She was handcuffed and led away by the police. Wills followed.
At Rowan's mansion. He had not stepped out of the house in days. He woke up that morning to missed calls from Jack and Johnny. The doorbell would not stop making sounds but he deliberately ignored it. His phone flashed again and he checked. It was Jack.
"What's it, bro?" he said, still grumpy but Jack responded with a loud yell. "I'm at the door, man"
He dropped the call immediately and lazily got out of the bed. When he opened the door, the reaction he got shocked him.
Jack pushed him out of the way, "what the hell is wrong with you man? You even changed your passcode and you didn't get my calls?"
Shocked and confused, Rowan stood at the door, watching Jack as he reached for the television remote.
"What is this all about?" Rowan asked, still confused.
"There is no need talking about it," Jack muttered as he searched the T.V station. "Perfect!" He exclaimed when he found a station.
The news anchor's voice filled the room as the headline displayed: "Wilson Xi accuses brother's ex-girlfriend, Amanda, for the Murder of Mabel."
Rowan's eyes widened, his heart sinking as he absorbed the shocking news. The news detailed Wilson's accusations and the image of Amanda's face flashed on the screen.
"She's been accused of murder?" Rowan muttered, disbelief evident in his voice.
Yeah," Jack replied. "And it's spreading like wildfire. Social media is buzzing with it. Wilson claims she's a serial killer."
"Wilson is out of his mind" Rowan exclaimed.
"The media does not know that" Jack responded.
Rowan's mind raced, torn between emotions. "I need to get to Amanda before the police. They will place an arrest this way. I need to get her away." He said reaching for his keys, forgetting he had his robe on.
"Rowan" Jack called him several times before he could get his attention. "It's too late for that. The police have arrested Amanda and even Wills.
"Oh, that's bad. Wait..what? Wills too" Rowan said, pacing the room. "This is ridiculous.
"Wilson is selling his story as a victim and he is getting all the empathy in the world right now. He claimed Wills is an accomplice."
Rowan scoffed. "First, I am going to have his head. I should have done that a long time ago." He stormed out of the house. Jack ran after him.
"Rowan, wait. You can't see him in this state, you need to calm down."
Rowan did not respond. He walked hastily towards his car. "At least, put on some clothes," Jack said, giving up on convincing him not to go.
"Let's get you a shirt" Jack said, turning back to the house but the door closed before he could get back in. He realized he can't open it since he doesn't know the passcode.
"I will just come with you." He concluded, racing towards his car. He sped after Rowan.
Rowan, consumed with anger sped towards Wilson's house with Jack closely trailing behind. The tires screeched as he pulled into the driveway, hastily exiting the car and stormed towards the entrance.
"Rowan! Rowan!" Jack called after him.
"Wilson! Open up!" Rowan shouted, banging the door, anger and frustration evident in his voice.
The door eventually creaked open, revealing Wilson standing there, an air of superiority about him.
"Hey" Wilson said sarcastically but before he could say anything more, a blow landed on his face.
"What the hell, Rowan" Jack yelled, trying to interfere.
Rowan dragged Wilson into the house and grabbed his collar, his back pinned to the wall. "I can make you a victim that you claimed to be in a second.