Chapter 173 - Guilty

Zaria stared at Theodore for a while as her thoughts ran wild. He wanted to ignore her and leave, but she stood in his way to stop him. "Dad, wait."

He stopped and looked at her indifferently.

The more she faced him, the more her suspicion intensified. Why wasn't he shocked about the appearance of a child in his villa? With the kind of scene that the Qins had almost caused with their arrival, he should have asked her innumerable questions. Even if he was keeping calm so outsiders would not know what he was thinking, they were alone now. Why was he still not giving any sort of reaction?

"You knew about her presence here, didn't you?" She asked, but her tone was affirmative. As soon as she asked, she frowned at a thought. Kidnapping a child was one thing. But why the hell would he keep her in his own residence? Was it because he thought that the Qins would never think of searching his home because they would assume that he had hidden her in some warehouse or factory?

Before she could ask the next question, she heard his snicker.

"This question, do I have to answer it? What's the point?"

He pushed past her to leave, but she grabbed his arm. "I'm asking you a question, dad. Did you kidnap her and bring her here? Was it you? You have to answer me!" She demanded.

Theodore swatted her hand away before looking at her coldly. "You took matters into your own hands without asking a word. What gives you the right to question me now?"

historical

"I have to know what's going on." She insisted.

"Whether or not I answer you, you will believe whatever you have already concluded. Explaining anything now is a waste of my time."

This time, she didn't stop her. Disbelief clouded her face. Putting the glare aside, this was the first time Theodore had responded so coldly to her question.

What did his unwillingness to answer her mean? Was he disappointed in her for not trusting him, or was he unable to say a word because he knew deep down that he was guilty?

"Dad.." She mumbled with a hand over her mouth, swallowing a bitter gulp. All she wanted was his denial. As long as he said that he had not abducted Laia, she would believe him no matter what evidence pointed against him. She would help him prove his innocence.

But his reaction made her heart sour, her suspicion only deepening.

___

It wasn't long before Zaria found the answer she was looking for. Unfortunately, her fears were confirmed when she arrived home to a commotion. She had worked overtime today and it was already 10pm when she arrived, which made her stare in confusion when she saw a police car in front of her house.

She glanced at it in shock and rushed into the villa, just in time to see a policeman show his badge to Theodore.

"What's going on?" She asked.

No one answered her, but she clearly heard it when they spoke to Theodore. "Mr. Williams, you are under arrest for abduction and attempted murder. Please come with us to the police station. You have the right to remain silent."

"Dad?" She looked at him in shock. He swept a glance at her and averted his gaze. He neither struggled nor asked a word, silently letting them lead him away.

"Wait!" She jumped in their way. "Why would you barge into someone's home so late at night and arrest people?"

"There isn't a time limit for the police to do their work. After all, criminals have no time limit either." The policeman looked impatient. "Ma'am, please get out of the way."

"No! You will not take him anywhere without an explanation." She glared at them, using her arms to block their path.

"If you have anything to say, please do so at the police station.

We will arrest you for obstructing the police if you do not get out of the way." One of the policemen nudged her out of the way. Just like that, she watched Theodore being led into their car which immediately drove off.

"Dad!" She called in vain. Just now, he had not even spared her a glance. If she had asked him why he was being arrested, he would definitely have ignored her.

She wiped the glistening moisture from the corners of her eyes using the back of her finger.

No! She could not let him spend a night in jail! No matter what he had done, they would let her bail him out, right?

Unfortunately, she could not bail him out before he was interrogated so she had to wait until the next day.

She went back to her car and sat to wait. Part of her hoped that the police would pity her and let her see him even if she couldn't bail him out. However, they didn't budge for a second. She was already tired from attending meetings at different locations all day so she soon fell asleep in the car. Because the position was uncomfortable and she didn't have a blanket, she felt sore and cold when she woke up.

She stretched and didn't dare to complain. Her father must have had it worse. She had vaguely heard about what happened in interrogation rooms. Sometimes, the police would deliberately torture suspects in the name of obtaining evidence, and sometimes it was so gruesome that some of the suspects did not leave the interrogation rooms alive.

"No!" She jolted at the thought. Without second thought, she ran all the way back into the building and met the police officer who had handcuffed Theodore just as she walked in. He must be changing shifts, so he didn't bother with her and continued striding past her.

"Sir, please let me see him. Just for one minute, please." She held her hands together in front of her chest in a pleading gesture.

Probably because he knew she would continue clinging to him, he shot her a look. "Jacob will explain the details to you."

"Thank you, sir." She hurried in to find Jacob, a young policeman.

"Have a seat." He led her to room near the interrogation room and explained Theodore's crime in detail.

It turned out, the Qins had sued him for kidnapping their daughter as well as shooting the mayor's wife on the night of the banquet!

Her eyes widened in disbelief when she heard him. Even though she had suspected him for a while, she didn't truly believe that he really did it. Not to mention, shooting the mayor's wife too?

"He refuses to say a word." Jacob explained. "All you can do now is get a lawyer. If you cannot get one, the court will randomly assign him one."

She bit her lower lip forcefully and tried not to break down. She thought through everything that Jacob had said and a frown formed between her brows. "You just said...you believe that he is the culprit behind the kidnapping because the child pointed him out?"

"Yes. Here is the illustration." He retrieved a drawing which was probably made according to Laia's description of the man who grabbed her. From the major features, there was no denying that the man on the drawing was Theodore.

She closed her eyes in denial. "What if there is a man who looks like him? Besides, she's just a child. How can you rely on her testimony? What if she remembered one detail wrong?" She argued.

"Miss Williams, she is the hostage. She told us everything she remembered. Not to mention, this is not the only evidence." Jacob patiently continued to explain. "He was already a suspect before the hostage was rescued but we didn't have enough evidence to arrest him. Besides, there is a witness. One of your neighbours saw Mr. Williams sneakily bring a blindfolded child into your villa."

"I understand." Zaria was defeated. She now understood why the Qins had repeatedly confronted her. So it was not entirely because they suspected her. On the contrary, they thought that she was either an accomplice or a witness to the kidnapping, being the closest person to Theodore.

She was lightheaded by the time she was allowed to have a word with him.

He was handcuffed and she was not even allowed to hug him, making her heart clench. She could only sit opposite him.

"Zaria," He looked surprised to see her.

"Dad, how are you?" She scrutinised him with her eyes. There were no wounds or injuries on him—at least not visible ones. But she couldn't be relieved yet.

"Dad, I will get the best lawyer possible. Hang in there okay?" She had wanted to demand answers but seeing him looking pale and sad, she couldn't bear to. "If they torture you, you must tell me, okay? They don't have any right to harass you."

"Don't." He finally whispered when she finished rambling.

She looked at him in confusion.

In the next second, he reached to hold her hands between his own cuffed ones. "It was for the best. Zaria, don't get me a lawyer. I am guilty."