Chapter 155
The moment Stella and Jordan entered, they heard Anna crying her heart out, her face buried against Emily’s body. Monroe was trying to comfort her, but Anna just kept crying.
Anna said, “Emily, it’s all my fault. If I had been faster when you called for help, I could have gotten there in time. You wouldn’t have died like
this.
“Why? Why did you have to die so tragically? You were my only friend in this world. What am I supposed to do now without you? Emily, I’m so
sad.”
Stella’s hands were already balled into fists.
Anna’s tears fell in a steady stream, and anyone watching would be touched by the bond between the two girls. But Stella just felt that every word Anna said was fake; every bit of her performance was an act.
“Emily, now that you’re gone, what am I supposed to do? My family’s going through such a huge crisis right now. Without you, I really can’t
hold on. Emily,” Anna continued.
Monroe comforted her. “What’s done is done, Anna. Your health has never been good, so don’t get this upset. Emily wouldn’t want to see you
like this.”
Stella locked her eyes on Anna. “Anna, would you mind telling me exactly where you were and what you were doing at this time yesterday?”
That brought Anna’s tears to an abrupt halt. She stared at Stella, tear tracks still on her cheeks.
Monroe was displeased, pulling Anna tightly into his arms, protectively holding her. “Stella, what are you trying to say? After all, she’s your
twin sister. Are you actually suspecting your own sister?
“Besides, you’re not a cop. Why are you interrogating her like this?”
“I’m talking to her. Who are you to butt in?” Stella shot back.
Stella’s presence was so overpowering that it made Monroe flinch.
Anna quickly stepped in. “Monroe, don’t argue with Stella. I get how she feels. She was really close to Emily. After what happened, it’s only natural for her to be suspicious of everyone. It’s fine; I’ll talk to her. Stella won’t blame me for it.”
Monroe still looked uneasy. “You were close to Emily too, but you’re not acting like she is.”
Anna reached out and gently reassured Monroe. And then she stood up, walked right over to Stella, looked at her and then at the cops.
“I know you guys are going to question me, and that’s fine. I’ll tell you everything. I want to catch whoever killed Emily as soon as possible. Officers, let’s get started with the statement,” Anna said.
The officers glanced at Stella, but she said nothing.
The room suddenly went quiet. Emily’s body couldn’t be left there any longer, so it was taken away.
Anna sat down and told them everything that had happened. “I was at home at that time. Monroe knows where I live. If you don’t believe me, you can ask around at my place, or check the security cameras. There’s plenty of footage.
“Around 9:55 yesterday morning, I got a call from Emily. I remember the time so clearly because I’d scheduled a phone reminder for 10 a.m. to collect reward coins from a short video app event.
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“I was just bored, scrolling through my phone, when Emily suddenly called. I picked up right away, and she was freaking out, yelling, ‘Anna, hurry, help me. Please, help me.‘
“I started panicking too. I had no idea where she was, so I kept asking her as I rushed out the door, but Emily just couldn’t make it clear.
“And then, all of a sudden, the call cut off. I was so scared that I immediately called Monroe. Monroe, you remember that, right?”
Max nodded. “Yeah, I remember. I’ve got the call log on my phone.”
The officers took Monroe’s phone and checked it. Sure enough, there was a call from Anna at 9:57 yesterday morning, and Monroe had answered it.
ང་ ར་ང་ ཅ ། ཆང་ཐང་ རང་ ང་
Monroe explained, “I was at work at the time, and I had no idea what was going on. Anna sounded really panicked. She told me something had happened to Emily, but when I asked where Emily was, she said she didn’t know.
“She was freaking out, saying she didn’t know what to do, so I rushed over as fast as I could.”
One of the officers asked, “Was she at home during that time?”
“She was at home the whole time. She never left,” Monroe confirmed.
Anna nodded in agreement.
“We kept trying to call Emily, but her phone just wouldn’t connect. We had no idea where to even look for her. Her house burned down
before. Do you think maybe her family pissed someone off?
“We reported it to the police back then, but you guys still haven’t figured out what was going on,” Monroe added.
The officers exchanged glances, and one of them spoke up. “All the security cameras nearby were out of order at the time. We did confirm it
was arson, but haven’t found out who set the fire.”
The officer glanced at Anna. “Since you two were such close friends, you must know a lot about her. Why don’t you tell us everything you
know?”
“Of course, I’ll tell you everything I know,” Anna replied. She was more than willing to cooperate.
She continued, “Emily’s parents were sick and never really got better. She didn’t have much money, and after I got to know her, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. I figured, since I had the money and the means, I should help her out.
“She was really grateful to me. When Max got sick and had to stay in the hospital, she was always there, helping to take care of both Max and my dad. She even brought them meals every single day.
“The villa she lived in was actually mine. Her family was basically gone. She’s all alone now, and she likes Max. Even if she never becomes my
sister–in–law, she can still be part of our family.
“But I never imagined something like this would happen to her. As for her other relatives, she told me her parents had some issues with the rest of the family, so they just stopped keeping in touch.”
The officer asked, “What happened?”
Anna thought carefully. “I think it was some kind of business partnership that went bad. The rest of the family wanted Emily’s parents to take all the responsibility for the losses, but they refused. That’s how I remember it.”
At this point, Anna turned to Stella. “Stella, you were pretty close with Emily too. Did she ever tell you anything about this?”
Stella kept her eyes fixed on Anna. Anna met her gaze, her expression perfectly calm. There wasn’t a hint of anything off about her.
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The officers seemed to be waiting for Stella’s response. When Stella finally looked away from Anna, she turned to the officers and said, “Yeah, they really did go into business with their relatives.
“At first, everyone agreed to invest together. But when things went bad, the family members suddenly claimed it wasn’t an investment, buta loan to Emily’s family. Emily’s parents were so upset that they fell seriously ill.”
The officers listened carefully, jotting down notes as she spoke.
Stella continued, “After that, Emily’s relatives kept coming after her, demanding that her family pay back the money. They even threatened that if they didn’t pay up, they’d sell the house Emily’s family was living in.
“That house was actually under Emily’s grandfather’s name, and in the end, he agreed to sell it. After that, they ended up having to rent a place to live.”
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