"Erica Watson, will you admit your crime?" The officer turned to Erica, emphasizing the question.
"What crime did I commit?" Erica asked innocently.
"Have you seen her wild, hostile attitude? It's a terrible thing. It's really disrespectful. She is ungrateful. No father, no mother, no education." Kora's mother immediately gave Erica a negative review.
Erica was furious at the insults from Kora's mother. Her hands instinctively clenched, as if she wanted to crush something. Everyone in the room was watching Erica's behavior, including the police, who were curious about what she might do. After a few moments of silence, Erica regained her composure, surprising everyone. She chose to endure the situation instead of letting Kora and her mother achieve their goal of portraying her as the villain. By provoking Erica, Kora and her mother's false accusations against Erica would be more convincing.
"Erica Nelson, I'll say it again. Do you admit the accusations against you are true?" The police asked a second time.
"It's completely a blatant fabrication. There are bad guys who want to slander me." Erica calmly asserted, "I was the one who was hospitalized with blood running out of my head. The hospital could confirm my injury. Think about it: Who is the one who assaulted others? Is it me or them?"
Looking at Kora and her mother, Erica gave them a look of extreme hatred.
"You're lying. Your injury was caused when you fell down the stairs while trying to escape. It's your own fault." Kora's mother interrupted, pointing her finger straight at Erica's face.
This script didn't surprise Erica. It must be admitted that Kora and her mother were very good at acting.
"That's just a statement from one side of you. What grounds do you have to accuse me?" Erica reasoned, with a firm attitude, "Who dares to guarantee that your words are not a lie?"
Neither side would back down, both giving each other deadly, hostile looks. The situation had become much more stressful than originally predicted. The senior inspector intervened, restoring balance to the situation.
"Miss Erica. We have evidence and witnesses. You'd better be honest." The police reminded Erica.
"Evidence, witness? What are you talking about? It sounds strange," Erica said, raising her eyebrows skeptically. "Are these arrangements to frame me worth believing?"
Seeing Erica's evasive attitude, the police officer lost his patience. The man with the senior inspector position, who had a close relationship with Kora and her mother, decided that it was time to resolve the matter once and for all.
"We'll show you evidence and witnesses against you."
After speaking, he signaled for his subordinates to invite the person considered a witness to enter the room. Erica patiently waited, then was a little surprised when the familiar figure who walked in was none other than Max.
"Max Murphy. The damn bastard," Erica muttered unconsciously. She couldn't believe her eyes as the man she had loved now stood on the side of the enemy to fight against her. Erica's reaction indirectly lets the police know that she knew Max. Even though both sides had a relationship, as Kora had previously mentioned,
"Max Murphy, can you tell us more about the fight that happened in your house between Miss Kora and Miss Erica?"
Max Murphy, the person in question, sitting on a chair next to Kora and facing Erica, opened his mouth to speak. He didn't look at Erica when he said:
"Around 7 p.m. last night, when I was out shopping, Erica suddenly burst into my house. Erica went crazy and caused chaos. She kept shouting and cursing, even holding a weapon to threaten Kora. When I arrived, I saw Kora lying on the floor with a lot of injuries. Erica ran away when she saw me. I chased after Erica, and while running, she slipped and fell down the stairs. Then I called an ambulance to take both of them to the hospital."
"Do you know what led to the incident last night?" The police continued questioning.
"It's all my fault." Max Murphy sounded remorseful as he spoke. "Erica had feelings for me; she would often follow me around. Even though I had rejected her advances time and time again. Yesterday, I told Erica that the person I love is Kora. Kora and I are expecting our first child together. I hoped she would understand and stop bothering me. But I never expected that after learning the news, Erica would come looking for Kora. Yesterday, it almost ended in a tragic way."
Erica listened to the whole story carefully, which was woven to turn against her in a subtle way. She didn't show any expression other than a bitter smile. Everyone in front of Erica was a genius actor, and the writer of the deceitful script truly deserved recognition from Erica.
Too shocked. Too horrified. Too painful. Erica felt an anger she had never felt before surge fiercely within her. But the flames couldn't leak out. There seemed to be an invisible force that stopped it just in time.
Now, what should Erica do? She wanted to scream out that Max Murphy and Kora were liars and deceivers. All of it was made up to frame her. But would anyone believe Erica? Probably not. So why bother trying in vain? Erica felt like even the so-called police officers were standing with Kora, trying to push her into a corner.
After Max Murphy finished speaking, the police turned to Erica and asked a confirming question: "Erica Watson?" Did you attack Kora Watson out of blind jealousy?'
'Where is the evidence? I want to see it." Erica, instead of answering the question, made a very obvious request.
Everyone present was surprised at Erica's attitude, which was not what they expected. Why isn't Erica hysterical, frenzied, and chaotic? Why doesn't she throw insults and curses at them? Why doesn't Erica behave like last night? Erica now knew Kora's intentions. Never will Erica fulfill Kora's wish. After going through a period of loss of control, Erica doesn't want to be the scary character she was yesterday.
In response to Erica's request, the police immediately played back the footage recorded in Max Murphy's private room. It turned out that Kora had installed a camera in the room from the beginning, waiting for the moment Erica came to find Max. Looking closely at the footage, Erica did not show any signs of worry or fear. She was only amazed at Kora's skilled editing work. The video showed a woman assaulting Kora, but that person was definitely not Erica. It was just a character who looked like Erica. Moreover, the person turned their back to the camera, so their face was not visible. Additionally, Max Murphy did not appear in the footage. All of these details were enough for Erica to come to the definite conclusion that she had fallen into Kora's dangerous trap.
"Now, do you have anything else to say?" The police asked Erica.
"Is that all that could incriminate me?" Erica asked gently, "Has this proof been verified? Is it the product of some creation?"
"Don't deny it in vain. It's not your turn to give opinions to the police." The policeman yelled at Erica.
"Does that mean you totally believe in it?" Erica asked calmly and objectively.
"The evidence and witnesses are sufficient; please obediently confess." Instead of answering Erica's questions, the police wanted to force her to admit her crime.
Staring at the policeman, Erica then glanced at the others sitting in the room. Erica could see the triumph in Kora and Kora's mother's eyes. Meanwhile, Max lowered his head, not daring to look at Erica. Max is aware that he made false statements, which constitute a very serious crime. However, he was manipulated by Kora and compelled to obey her orders. Truly, he is a despicable man. Erica deeply regrets falling in love with the wrong person.
"I want to hire a lawyer to defend me."
That's all Erica said, and then she fell silent.