Broken Memories, Intertwined Hearts

Chapter 173

After the police station received the news that Ines was sober, they came with a photo of the criminal and asked Ines to make a statement and identify him, but Ines said that she did not know the criminal. News of Ines's injury spread like wildfire, and loads of people came to visit in the morning. Some were her colleagues from the firm, but most were Ethan's business partners. Ines didn't know most of them and she was feeling out of sorts, getting zonked out easily. Ethan barred most of them, only letting the Meyer family and a few close friends into the ward.

Ashley's family also swung by, but Jacob had to split after a bit due to work. Lauren and Ashley stayed to take care of Ines, telling Ethan to go home and get some shut-eye before coming back.

Ashley was quite the crack-up, and laughter would often fill the room. Poor Ines had to hold in her laughter, which was a bit of a pain. Lauren couldn't stand it any longer, so she gave Ashley a good knock on the forehead, saying, "Stop running your mouth, your sis-in-law is having a hard time holding in her laughter. She just had surgery, laughing might make her stitches hurt."

Ethan didn't go home, but went straight to the police station. As soon as he got there, Mr. Brooke was all smiles, saying, "Mr. Meyer, good to see you."

Ethan just gave a small nod, "Where's the guy? Take me to him."

Mr. Brooke led Ethan to the interrogation room. Before long, a cop came up with a man. The guy looked scared shitless, trembling in his seat. He tried to get up but was pushed back down by the cop.

The guy got so scared he was shaking like a leaf, trembling on the table.

The cop forced Toni's head up. Toni kept shaking his head, his eyes filled with fear.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

Ethan took one look at him, he was pissed. Seeing Ethan's expression, Mr. Brooke quickly explained, "Mr. Meyer, the perp's name is Toni. He's not a local, but from a village nearby. He has a criminal record, did time for assault a few years back. He was released three years ago and was selling fruits in the city. We took Mrs. Galeana's statement this morning and she confirmed she doesn't know him and there's no bad blood between them. Toni claimed he put all his earnings into Huner Corporation's stocks and lost everything, and his mental state is bad due to this resentment, which led to the assault."

Ethan frowned. This ridiculous explanation didn't convince him at all. According to this, Toni's main enemy should be Huner Corporation. He didn't believe that an illiterate person could understand the relationship between the law firm and Huner Corporation, let alone that the firm hadn't done its supervisory duty.

There were many executives in the law firm, but he only attacked the clerk Ines. And he rushed at her after the cops had dispersed the crowd, clearly he had been lying in wait to kill Ines.

"Do you guys buy his story?" Ethan looked at Mr. Brooke.

Mr. Brooke laughed, "It does seem a bit far-fetched. We're not ruling out the possibility of a hired hit, so we'll keep investigating. Mr. Meyer, think carefully, have you pissed anyone off recently?"

Ethan gave it a thought, but he didn't have any leads. He had so many enemies in the business world, he couldn't narrow it down at all.

"I don't care how you investigate, just give me an answer ASAP." Ethan glared at Mr. Brooke.

"Of course, we'll definitely give you an answer as soon as possible." Mr. Brooke was sweating bullets, his superiors had already put pressure on him first thing in the morning to crack the case.

Ethan glanced at Toni, asking, "Have you confirmed whether he was mentally unstable at the time of the crime?"

"Well, not yet. His family has a history of intermittent mental illness, but we'll have to wait for the mental health experts to examine him to know for sure. His current state doesn't allow us to continue the interrogation, as we keep getting the same excuse."

Ethan scoffed. The law has a lot of protections for the mentally ill. If Toni is found to have been having a mental breakdown at the time of the incident, he won't be charged with intentional assault, at most he'll be forced to undergo treatment.

Even if the truth is indeed so, it's not the outcome he wants.

If not, then someone behind the scenes has set up an elaborate trap. Just a day after the Huner Corporation incident, they had already set this up, showing their meticulous planning.

But even if Toni is punished, if the person pulling the strings behind him isn't caught, Ines could still be in danger. Ethan walked up to Toni and after a pause, said, "Toni, the mental health experts are very smart. They'll find out if you're mentally ill. If you're willing to rat out the person behind this, you might get a lighter sentence. Otherwise, you might have to spend a few more years in the slammer."

At Ethan's words, Toni started shaking, but he still pretended to be dazed.

Before leaving, Ethan turned to Mr. Brooke, "If you guys figure out who's pulling the strings behind this, report to me immediately." Ethan went home for a shower before returning to the hospital. Ashley and Lauren had already left, and Phoebe and Noel were now by Ines's side. Phoebe was chattering away, "Izzy, why've you been having such bad luck lately, with such a serious incident happening. Should we go to the church to pray?"

"I guess I really should go to the church."

As soon as Noel saw Ethan, he came over, "I heard from sis-in-law that you and Aaron made up?"

Ethan nodded, "You could say so."

"That's great, we should all go out for a drink sometime. I've been waiting for this day for so many years."

Ethan was just about to nod when he caught Ines's gaze. He had no choice but to say, "I'm on the wagon now."

"Since when? I didn't know about this." Noel asked, puzzled.

"Not long ago." The last thing Ethan wanted was to be kicked out to the couch by Ines again. Once was enough. Following Ethan's gaze, Noel caught sight of Ines's amused smile. He instantly understood and couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "Is being married really that terrifying?"