Chapter 215 Your Statement
>>Riona
My heart pounded as I approached the main door, half-expecting it to be locked or alarmed. Every step felt like a thunderclap in the silence of the massive house, and my fingers trembled as I reached for the handle. I turned it slowly, barely daring to hope, and to my surprise, the door clicked open
!!!
I froze, the realization taking a moment to sink in—it opened. I hadn’t thought it would be that easy.
Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the black wolf sitting quietly at the edge of the foyer, its black eyes watching me. It hadn’t made a sound or moved an inch since I reached the door, and something about the way it stared made me hesitate.
I didn’t know if it was warning me, judging me, or simply waiting to see what I’d do next. Its steady gaze felt almost too knowing, as if it understood every thought racing through my head, every hesitation, every shard of fear.
But this was my chance. I actually followed the wolf out of the basement, it had led me to the foyer. So I guess he wants me to leave, right?
"And um, what about the money?" I asked the wolf and it looked like he was staring back at me with an unamused expression. I pursed my lips at him and he let out a sigh. Which was surprising, I didn't know animals did that. He then pointed at a table and wall mirror with his face and I turned to look at it.
There was a crystal decoration bowl there with some money in it.
"Oh," I went and grabbed it, “Thanks,” I looked at the big wolf and then around the house. It was eerily quiet. No one was in sight. Which was odd but it was also an opportunity for me.
I bolted out of the house, my bare feet hitting the gravel of the long driveway as I rushed toward the open road. The cool early morning air cut across my skin, sharpening my senses as I fled. Part of me was scared that Demos or Riker or someone would come after me.
But no one came. No shouts or sounds of pursuit broke the silence. Only the faint whisper of the wind.
As I reached the road, I saw a taxi coming my way, and I waved my arms frantically, relief washing over me as it slowed down. I climbed in quickly, not giving the driver time to ask questions, and gave him the hospital’s name—the one from the file. The place where Milo was supposedly admitted.
All of Milo’s info was on that file, one of the reasons why I made this bold move and ran.
The car pulled away, the engine a soft hum as we sped down the street. I glanced back once, half-expecting to see the large, silent house fading away behind us or maybe even the dark shape of the wolf at the gate, watching me leave. But there was nothing—just quiet, empty road.
I turned my gaze forward, my hands were clammy, and my heart raced, but I kept my focus on where we were headed. I was going to find Milo. I needed to know if it was true.
If he had really...if he had really been the one to betray me, to sell me like I was nothing. The thought tightened like a fist around my chest.
>>Demos
I shifted back as I watched her get into the cab from the window. Riker walked over to the lounge while I kept my eyes on her
“Hmm,” Riker nodded, “Looks like even your wolf form didn’t work.”
“...” I glanced at him, “There’s something wrong here,”
“What?”
“I haven’t put my finger on it quite yet,”
“You’re just going to let her leave?” He asked
"For now," I replied, “She should see for herself that she has nowhere else to go but back to me.”
>>Riona
As the taxi pulled up in front of the hospital, my nerves surged. I slipped out of the car and steeled myself and made my way inside, keeping my head down, trying to look like I knew exactly where I was going.
Milo was on the fifth floor, in room 507.
At least that was what was written on the file. A part of me wanted to burst in there, confront him, demand answers. But then Demos’ words echoed in my mind
He sold you
The realization made my stomach twist with both fear and disbelief. Could Milo—the person I trusted so much—have truly betrayed me?
I forced my feet to keep moving
If Demos was right, Milo wouldn’t just be able to explain it away. But I couldn’t risk him seeing me, recognizing me right away. I needed to have some distance, a disguise that would allow me to get closer, observe him, figure out what was going on before making my presence known.
I took a steadying breath and continued down the corridor, glancing around to find a way to blend in. Toward the back of the hospital, past the long stretch of patient rooms, I spotted the staff area. The hallway was empty, probably because it was too early.
It was six in the morning, I’d say.
I moved quietly, my footsteps muffled by the tile, and slipped into the staff room, the air smelling faintly of coffee and antiseptic. My fingers fumbled as I tried several lockers, hoping one would be open. Finally, I yanked at a door and it clicked, swinging open.
Yes!
Inside, a folded nurse’s uniform lay on the bottom shelf.
I grabbed it and hurried to the nearest bathroom, my heart racing. Locking the door behind me, I slipped into the light blue uniform, adjusting the hem and pulling my hair back to look somewhat professional. I checked myself in the mirror, my nerves still making me jittery, but I had come this far, I couldn’t back away now.
I looked down at my feet. I had no shoes on.
…
I grabbed the mask and put it on my face. Let’s just hope no one will notice.
Exiting the bathroom, I straightened up, forcing a confident expression onto my face as I made my way toward the fifth floor. The elevator ride was tense, and I fought to keep my breathing steady, trying to stop my mind from spiraling.
Stay focused.
I stepped into the room, clutching the clipboard I randomly picked up from the table outside. Keeping my voice low and slightly altered, I greeted him, “Hello, Mr. Milo. Just checking your vitals.” It was surprising that he was up so early when the rest of the hospital was asleep.
He acknowledged me and I moved in further.
But then I froze. As my eyes adjusted to the soft light of the room, I saw her—Ava.
She was seated right beside Milo, her face alight with laughter as she leaned close to him, her hand resting on his arm. He was smiling back at her, relaxed and joyful, as if they didn’t have a care in the world.
The sight hit me like a blow. It was a good thing I chose to wear a mask because my expressions would have given it away that I was in shock. I moved around the bed and pretended to inspect his IV drip. My hands shook slightly, but I kept my head down, afraid they’d notice my shock even under the mask
But they were too busy amongst themselves.
What were they doing here together, laughing like that? I’d known they were friends, but this… Why?
Right then another person entered the room. A detective.
"Niall" Milo called his name, "Took you long enough to visit, I get discharged today."
I glanced at him. Niall was Milo's younger brother. Niall’s gaze came to me and I looked away.
!!
That surprised me.
He came and sat down at the edge of Milo's bed, "Yea, well I've been busy." He had a stern expression on his face, “Had a lot of stuff to deal with.” He looked at his brother, “I need to ask you something,”
“Yea?” Milo answered casually.
“It’s about Riona’s murder case,” Niall said and then glanced at me again. I knew I couldn’t stay in the room for long, but I’ll try and stay as long as I can. I tried not to look at Niall and started to focus on the file I had in my hand but I could feel his gaze.
Ava and Milo both stiffened and Niall continued as he looked away from me, making me relax a little.
“There was no CCTV footage. It was turned off beforehand."
"So, you're saying it was definitely planned?" Ava asked
He nodded, then looked at his brother, “You said you don’t know what exactly happened.” He stared into Milo’s eyes, “You said you heard weird noises in the bridal room, like people were fighting in there, so you went to check, but as soon as you entered the room, someone attacked you from behind, immediately knocking you out.”
“Yea,” Milo said, “I woke up when I was stabbed in the gut, because of the pain.”
Niall stared at his brother and so did I. Both of us realizing the same thing, probably
“Milo, you said Riona stabbed you.” He asked and my heart skipped a beat. It took all of me to stop myself from blurting out, ‘It wasn’t me’
“Yea,” Milo nodded, “There could be no one else but her,” The tone of his voice was angry. Was he angry at me? He must be… But … I didn’t do it… Why would I?
“Are you sure, you saw no one else in there?” Niall asked while Ava watched them both quietly.
“Niall, I’m not blind.”
“But did you actually see her stabbing you?” Niall folded his arms.
“It could be no one else but her.” Milo sounded confident.
Niall made a face as he nodded, “She was your fiance,” He said, “Weird how fast you named her as the killer.”
My heart had dropped to the pit of my stomach and I felt like there were knots all over my stomach. They hadn’t talked much, yet I started to feel nauseous. And I knew the prime reason was because of how Milo was behaving.
“So?” Milo talked back as if he didn’t feel the slightest bit of remorse and it hurt me a lot. Like needles stabbing my heart over and over again. But what Niall said next made me lose it
“You do realize, it was your statement that made Riona the killer, right?”