Chapter 44: Chapter 44

When Val got home, she slammed the door to her apartment behind her. She casually threw her bag on the sofa and went straight upstairs to fall in bed.

Slump!

She stared at the ceiling quite without a concise thought as the scene of what had happened at work earlier jumbled over and over again in her mind. She just couldn't stop her heart from pounding uncontrollably as she experienced everything all over again in her mind. It was a fresh memory that scarred her for life, and only time could heal the wound.

Despite the fact that she had been vindicated from trouble thanks to Kaitlyn's intervention and Harry Caister's dedication to his work. Val still experienced a sense of trepidation nonetheless.

Quite contrarily, she didn't even hate Mark for what he'd done or tried to do in this case. Mark had become a total stranger to her now, and she saw him as nothing but a lowly bum who only got what he deserved. Nothing less, nothing more! She couldn't care any less...

Val didn't hold a grudge against anyone, rather she suffered a miserable aftermath from the unfortunate event.

Val had this perplexed feeling of insecurity, inferiority, fear and anxiety, mixed with a certain feeling of dread in her. She felt that what happened wasn't all because Mark wanted to revenge.

' It has to be since that time he confronted me... something must have triggered him' Val couldn't help but think back to that time. Regardless, Val didn't understand how he could even think to do such a thing to her? Did he not have a single droplet of humane attribute left in him?

' There is a grander scheme to things that I do not understand ' Val, however, thought to herself. Whoever had instigated Mark to implicate her was still at large, and she made a mental note to inform attorney Chris of this the next time she meets with him.

Although, Val wanted to get away from all of this, fearing that her dreams would be ruined and shattered right before her eyes if she still persisted. But, she realized she'd actually gotten attached to this life and was actually scared of giving it away. Val couldn't deny it at this point.

What was this feeling? Wasn't she scared for her dream? No, Val was actually scared that the future she envisioned wouldn't be realized if she ran away now.

Was it her willingness to help Bob? No it wasn't. Val wasn't a philanthropist, even though she had a loyal side to her personality.

Despite having signed a contract with Bob to seal the agreement, she still had the choice to opt out. She had made certain that she could before signing the contract in vision of situations like this afterall.

So, why? Shouldn't she be running away from this whole as much and as fast as she could now? A lot of things were going on that Val didn't understand. The whole thing was a strange entanglement that Val had gotten herself into, and now she's stuck.

"Haaah! And Bob is... unavailable" She sighed out loud.

Speaking of Bob, she hadn't spoken to him in ages. She wondered what Attorney Chris meant by "something grave had occured" earlier when she'd spoken to him.

Nonetheless, the attorney said they would talk in a few days after he was back in San Francisco. Val anticipated that all her doubts would be cleared out only then.

She was also comforted by the fact that they had concrete evidence to use in court now. She had ultimately played her part, and she could only toughen herself up to see this tussle of wealth to the finish line so she could finally get what she truly desires.

Another thing that bothered her every minute of the day.

Val slowly sat up and sighed again. She unbuckled her heels, having already made up her mind to take days off of work. She made a mental note to call in and inform that she wasn't in the right state of mind to work after all of that.

...

" Alright, Mr Richardson. You're released on the condition that you make yourself available for any further questioning" Inspector Roosen informed. She looked especially imposing in black blazers, under which she wore a black blouse, tight jean pants, and wedged boots.

Detective Taylor shook his gaze from Inspector Roosen to Bob and added " It's not evidently established that you're innocent yet, even with the audio recording you've provided. I wouldn't be at rest if I were you"

Inspector Roosen gave the detective meaningful glance and he cleared his throat before saying. " Ahem! But for now, you may leave..."

" Inspector, detective, you have my thanks. I'm willing to offer everything in my capacity to assist you in this case. It might not seem like it but Adam Mash's death matters alot to me as well..." Bob said with a sincere expression. He wasn't lying when he said that Adam Mash was important to him. After all, there's a high possibility that he is Charlotte's biological father.

Of course, he wouldn't trust that Courtney hadn't set him up with a completely random person, and not Charlotte's biological father.

" Inspector, you have nothing to worry about. I assure you that we're willing to comply" Attorney Chris who stood beside Bob stepped forward to say with a professional smile worn on his handsome face. He looked from detective Taylor to inspector Roosen.

The inspector nodded and extended an hand to shake Attorney Chris. The lawyer was a very well respected personality.

Attorney Chris nodded towards detective Taylor who only rolled his eyes to the side and walked away towards the bustling station where men and women in black police uniform roamed busily.

" We have work to do inspector!" he informed.

Inspector Roosen shook her head, and soon followed behind the detective after bidding Bob and attorney Chris farewell.

She caught up with him and walked by his side as they discussed inaudibly.

" Thanks a bunch attorney Chris, I can't imagine how I would have gotten out of this otherwise" Bob smiled bitterly as he rubbed on his wrists. He was still in the same suit he had worn the day he was arrested, the smooth lines were slightly cramped up from days of wearing.

It had been three days since Bob had been arrested, and his slightly disheveled appearance was trivial.

" No worries, Mr Richardson. That was a close call though." Attorney Chris replied as they both walked out of the police department.

" Well... I made a grave mistake." Bob frowned. " I shouldn't have trusted Courtney so easily... No, actually, what baffles me is how I've been married to a monster for years and I hadn't realized" Bob said with a melancholic expression. He still didn't understand what made Courtney to have transitioned into such an imp.

" ..." Attorney Chris wisely stayed silent.

A car was already waiting outside, so he waited for Bob to gather himself so they could both leave with it.

" I guess I have tried to be calm and understanding enough with this woman..." Bob muttered and caught hold of his bearing. He moved towards the car and pulled the car door open by himself.

Bob lived a simple lifestyle, he didn't do things to put suspicious eyes on himself.

What about having a personal driver? Isn't that extravagant enough?

However, it wasn't too much of a big deal either. That's the reason why cameras and press members weren't standing before him, taking pictures as he walked out of the police station. Matter of fact, this wasn't Bob's first time in a police station, and it had never become a scandal. Even if it ever did, he had sufficient means to permanently hush it down.

" Haaa!" Bob let out a deep sigh as he sat in the car. Attorney Chris followed in just after. And thus, the driver instantly drove off without waiting for an order.

" I didn't want to tell you in there until we were alone. It seems Ms Valerie was faced with an unfortunate encounter recently..." Attorney Chris recounted staring at the windshield of the car.

" What happened?" Bob asked, a bit alerted.

" Mark happened. He tried to frame her of theft using some means he had at his disposal in some way or the other" Attorney Chris didn't want to call Bob's company a little loose in their professionalism. That would be an insult to the business founder.

" In the end, Kaitlyn stepped in to save Ms Valerie's skin. She seemed to have seen Mark with the missing jewelry. Thankfully, the assistant chief security was able to provide an evident footage to expose Mark and his associates. Apparently, his superior was Mark's accomplice" Attorney Chris slowly added when he saw Bob's ruesome expression.

Bob assimilated the information in silence for a while. As to Attorney Chris's source of information, Bob had no doubt at all. After all, he knew about the source as well. He gave access to the same very source of information to attorney Chris by himself.

" Anyway, I have to stay in town now. I won't be able to go to San Francisco until Adam Mash's murderer is found. Could you please go assure that the matter is settled and that Val is safe?" Bob reasoned a while after. He begged attorney Chris to see to the matter in his stead and ensure Val's safety. He'd promised the fine lady that he'd protect her at all cost, and he knew he'd failed to keep up his promise to do so. It was his fault that Val had to go through all of that and he intended to make it up to her.

" Of course, I already told Ms Valerie that I would be coming to San Francisco instead of you, and already told her why you're unable to protect her as of that moment. Although, she had questions..." Attorney Chris smartly poised with his trademark professional smile. In context, the attorney was trying to imply that he had to explain what had happened to Bob to Val in order to gain her favor, and was asking how he should go about this.

" ..." Bob was silent for a while as he gave thought to attorney Chris' word.

" Tell a safe detail of what had happened here. There isn't a need to keep it a secret from her. But too much details could prove problematic" Bob said. Obviously, telling Val that he'd fallen for Courtney's seduction and lies, leading to him being framed of murder wasn't ideal. As to how much attorney Chris was going to tell Val about the incident, he let the lawyer decide. Presenting briefing of a case was the attorney's expertise afterall. But believed he knew just what to do.

" On the other hand, I'll pull resources to fish Courtney's evil acts out. She's really getting on my nerves." Bob clenched jaw.

"Alright. I'll take the next flight to San Francisco" Attorney Chris said.

Bob nodded and reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. He adjusted his tie with one hand as he texted Val a message.

He didn't know if his phone was tapped so he decided to not make a call.