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Shocked,I knew we had to catch them,or society would pay the price.
I called Daniel immediately.A woman however answered.
"Looking for Daniel?He's asleep."
"Who are you?"
I trusted Daniel—he wouldn't cheat on me—but it was 10 p.m.,a man and woman alone together.Hard for anhyone not to wonder.
A melodious laugh came through.
"You're Anna Clarke,right?I know you."
"Let me introduce myself.I'm Sophie Lane,I went to Daniel's college—and I’m now fiancée."
"I just returned three days ago.Thanks for looking after him while I was gone."
My head spun.I hadn’t closed eyes for 17 hours straight for the case.
"What did you say?"
"It doesn't matter what I say.Just know Daniel's mine."
She chuckled,hanging up.
Doubts flooded in.
The locked drawer in his study,his vague family background he never told me abiut...
As a journalist,I had sharp instincts and my guesses always went in teh right direction,but with Daniel,I trusted him blindly.
He knew everything about me;but I barely knew him.
Two days later,I met his"fiancée."
Sultry eyes,tall and striking,they looked perfect together.
Seeing me,Daniel stepped away from Sophie,approaching to wrap an arm around my waist.
"This is my girlfriend,Anna Clarke."
"And this is,Sophie Lane, we went to the same college."
Daniel lied.He hadn't told me the truth.
I hid my disappointment,nodding politely at Sophie.
Learning only recently that he got a fiancee left me exhausted,while our leads agaikn led nowhere as if a hidden hand controlled everything.
"Anna,how's things going with you?"
In the office,Daniel pinned a photo to the noticeboard,marking an X beneath it.
I shook my head—our separate leads had both gone cold.
"I've got some intel."
Sophie presented a stack of reports.
"I have friends in politics.These are private financial records of a few suspects."
Daniel's eyes lit up with approval.
"Nice work,Sophie.You've grown sharper abroad."
"Of course.We learned from the same teacher,after all."
They talked so intimately and casually,making me feel like the outsider.
Later,I learned their families were old friends, and they were engaged since childhoos.
Compared to them,I was the intruder.
My thoughts snapped back to the present,I hung up the phone,tearless.
Two years in prison,I'd cried myself dry through countless abuses.
"Is Felix awake?"
Felix was a key witness against the corrupt politician,but an accident left him comatose.
In that same accident,Sophie died,and I was imprisoned.
"He's awake."
After the accident,Nathan secretly sent Felix abroad for treatment,claiming he had died to protect him.
"Good.The evidence can finally come out."
Nathan nodded,hesitant.
"The politician's about to be caught.Should we tell Daniel the truth?"
I shook my head.Two years,730 days.
If he had visited even once,I could've fooled myself into believing he still loved me.
But he never came—not once.
After Nathan left,I staggered back to my cell,leaning on the wall all the way for support.
"Well,look who's back.Our star reporter still dreaming of “clearing her name”?"
