Chapter 710 Clear My Name
Azure would rather place her trust in Emilia than Christina, as she had suffered in the hands of the latter many times.
“Present your evidence, and I might believe what you say.”
Little did she know Emilia was waiting for this very moment. “You want evidence, right? Wait here. I’ll fetch it for you.”
Emilia turned around and strode into the bedroom. Azure watched as Emilia searched high and low inside the room, not knowing what Emilia was looking for.
Noticing that Emilia was coming out of the room, Azure quickly withdrew her gaze, feigning an air of nonchalance as she looked askance at Emilia.
“Have you found it?” she asked, reaching out to Emilia. “Let me have a look.”
Emilia shoved a phone into her hand. “This is the surveillance camera footage from the scene. You will understand what happened once you see it.”
Azure played the video and realized that it was footage from an accident. Captured within the footage was Anya’s car veering out of control, then crashing into the roadside before exploding.
Soon, three figures appeared not far from the explosion site. Two of them she recognized were Christina and Nathaniel. However, the third was a familiar face yet she couldn’t remember.
Stoking the fire, Emilia added, “Even if Christina couldn’t commit such heinous acts like murder and arson, her husband, Nathaniel, could. They’re birds of a feather, both deplorable.”
Azure’s hands holding the phone trembled violently. Had she not seen this footage, Christina might have successfully fooled her.
“Since you hold such evidence, why not hand it over to the police? What are you waiting for?” Azure questioned Emilia, her tone full of hatred.
“I wish to seek justice for Anya, but I am powerless.” Emilia displayed her impeccable acting skills, her voice choked with sobs. “The Hadley family owns the entire Jadeborough. They have eyes on me at all times. If I hand this evidence over, I’ll surely be the next victim. I am living in perpetual fear. It’s not easy for me.”
Azure felt that something didn’t add up. However, her thoughts were a jumbled mess, and she could not see through the hidden secrets within.
“Then what about your plot with Anya to kidnap Christina? How do you explain that?”
“I did not participate in that. I’m usually busy, so I rarely contact Anya. Usually, she’s the one seeking me out.” Emilia sounded so convincing that she managed to hoodwink Azure with her silver tongue. “I won’t interfere with how you choose to handle this evidence. My only condition is that Christina and Nathaniel must not know the evidence came from me. Can we agree on that?”
Azure regarded Emilia in silence.
Emilia pleaded, “Please, I beg you. Since I helped you, help me out just this once. I have a deep grudge against Christina. She’s itching for a chance to teach me a lesson.”
After a moment of silence, Azure said, “Very well. You have my word.”
A wide smile stretched across Emilia’s face, but her eyes held not a shred of warmth.
She personally escorted Azure to the door and laughed smugly. “What a fool. The Gibsons are such fools to fall for such a ruse. Christina, let’s see how you get out of this one!”
After exiting Emilia’s house, Azure hailed a cab to head to the police station to hand over the evidence.
The police treated the matter with high priority and dispatched officers to Scenic Garden Manor immediately.
Christina was jolted awake by the butler. She sat up groggily, and upon listening to the butler’s report, she asked in disbelief, “What did you say? The police want to question me?”
She couldn’t recall any transgressions she might have committed.
“Yes. The two police officers refuse to disclose the reason,” Raymond said.
Christina rose from the bed and changed into a set of comfortable clothes before descending the stairs.
“Mrs. Hadley, we meet again,” greeted one of the officers, who was a familiar face.
Christina flashed the two police officers a polite smile. “I apologize for keeping you waiting I was resting. Please ask anything you wish. I’ll cooperate to the best of my abilities”
Gracefully, she took a seat, then had Raymond serve two cups of hot tea
Without mincing words, the senior police officers asked, “Mrs. Hadley, we’ve received a report suggesting your involvement in the attempted murder of Anya Gibson. We would like to know where you were and what you were doing on the day of the incident. We hope you can tell us the truth”
So, they’re here for the case concerning Anya….
“Officer, I, too, am a victim in this case. On the day of the incident, I was kidnapped by Anya and locked up in an abandoned school. My husband arrived just in time to save me, or I would have been killed by Anya that day.”
up on the
Sebastian had dealt with the aftermath of the incident, so Christina did not follow investigation. However, she was certain that no matter how crafty Azure was, the latter wouldn’t be able to touch her.
“Anya was desperate to escape, resulting in a severe car crash followed by an explosion. Officer, I want to know who killed Anya more than you do. However, I a*sure you that it wasn’t me,” Christina declared with conviction. “I am a pregnant woman. Even if I don’t think of myself, I have to think of my child. I would never engage in murder or arson.”
The senior police officer exchanged a glance with his partner. “Thank you for your cooperation, Mrs. Hadley. This is a major case, and we may have further questions. We hope you’ll stay in the city until the investigation concludes.”
Christina nodded in agreement. “No problem. Please let me know when you reach a conclusion. I am implicated in this matter and I wish to clear my name.”
“All right. We will take our leave for now,” the senior officer said before he exited with his
partner.
The two police officers went back to the car parked at the mansion entrance. The younger police officer asked in puzzlement, “Sir, we already have the evidence in our hands. Why didn’t we take Christina Steele in for questioning?”
The senior police officer took a puff of his cigarette, then gave his young partner an expressionless sideways glance. “You’re still too green and lack appropriate training. Don’t you know who Christina Steele is? The evidence we have alone doesn’t explain it all. If there’s something wrong with the evidence, the Hadley family will not let this slide.”
“But I have watched the footage multiple times. I didn’t identify any other valuable clues,” the younger police officer said. “The man who drove the car to stop Anya’s escape in the video is Christina’s bodyguard. If she wants to silence anyone, she doesn’t need to lift a finger herself. Moreover, we found a remote control at the crime scene that has Christina’s fingerprints on it.”
The senior police officer was silent for a moment before he said in a solemn tone, “There’s something off about that footage. I remember the surveillance cameras at the crime scene are in disrepair and they’re practically non-functional. If that’s the case, where did this footage come from? Let’s return to the crime scene and search again.”
Christina stood before the floor-to-ceiling window on the second floor and watched as the police officers drove away impa*sively. She turned to Lyle who was
ordered, “Bring Emilia to me. I have questions for her.”
