Chapter 127: The Night Before
The investigation continued long after the rescue.
At the headquarters of the Aurelia City Police, another interrogation room had become the center of attention.
Across the table sat Albert McAdams.
The former trainee of St. Claire Entertainment looked exhausted. Dark circles surrounded his eyes, and his hands trembled as he held a cup of water.
Two investigators sat opposite him while Victor Reyes and Sarah Clifford observed through the one-way mirror.
"State your name."
"Albert McAdams."
"Do you know Harry Finn?"
Albert frowned.
"I don’t."
One investigator slid a photograph across the table.
Albert looked down before shaking his head.
"No."
"I’ve never met this man."
Another photograph followed.
This time it showed Harry wearing thick glasses, black hair, and heavier clothing.
Albert’s eyes widened.
"...Martin."
Victor immediately leaned closer to the glass.
"Who is Martin?" the investigator asked.
"Martin Wilson."
Albert swallowed.
"That’s the man I met."
He explained that several weeks earlier he had been approached by a man introducing himself as Martin Wilson, who claimed to be a talent manager with connections to luxury brands across Europe.
"He knew I used to be a trainee," Albert said. "He told me he had seen my old audition videos and believed I deserved another chance."
According to Albert, Martin promised to introduce him to executives from an international fashion brand.
"He told me to meet him after midnight because the representatives were arriving early the next morning."
The investigator continued taking notes.
"When I arrived..."
Albert hesitated.
"The place didn’t look like an office. It looked abandoned. There were broken windows, old furniture... almost like a house no one had lived in for years. I wanted to leave."
"So why didn’t you?"
Albert looked down.
"I had already spent what little money I had traveling there. I thought maybe it was temporary. I thought I had nothing to lose."
He explained that Martin apologized repeatedly the following morning, claiming the meeting had been canceled unexpectedly.
"He handed me one hundred dollars."
Albert looked embarrassed.
"He said it was for transportation and food. He told me not to worry because he’d contact me again."
"So you left?"
Albert nodded immediately.
"I walked straight to the bus station. I never went back. I never saw him again."
He looked directly at the investigators.
"I swear... I didn’t know there was anyone else inside that house. I didn’t know Liliana Sterling had been kidnapped. I would never have stayed there if I had known."
Victor and Sarah exchanged a glance.
Whether Albert was telling the truth remained uncertain, but his statement matched several details already established during the investigation.
...
Meanwhile, at Aurelia Medical Center, Liliana slowly opened her eyes.
The room was quiet.
Morning sunlight filtered through the curtains.
Chris was asleep beside her bed, still sitting in the same chair where he had remained throughout the night.
His hand was still gently holding hers.
A soft knock interrupted the silence.
The attending physician entered with two police investigators.
Chris immediately woke.
"What is it?"
One investigator bowed respectfully.
"We apologize for disturbing her. We only have a few questions while the memories are still fresh."
Chris frowned.
"Can’t this wait?"
Before anyone could answer, Liliana gently squeezed his hand.
"It’s alright."
She offered him a small, reassuring smile.
"I’ll be okay."
Reluctantly, Chris nodded.
The investigators pulled their chairs closer.
"Liliana, can you tell us what happened during the final morning?"
Liliana remained silent for several moments before speaking.
"Harry became different. He had always spoken about us having a future together. But that morning, he was frightened."
She remembered him returning from the Sterling ancestral house the previous day.
"He said he had discovered something unusual. He believed people were getting close. He kept saying Chris would never find us."
Her voice became quieter.
"He told me... that if he couldn’t keep me, he wouldn’t let anyone else have me."
Chris instinctively tightened his grip on her hand.
The investigator waited patiently.
Liliana took a deep breath.
"When he came close to me I realized I might not get another chance."
She looked down at her bandaged hands.
"I had hidden a small kitchen knife the day before. I kept praying I would never need it."
Tears gathered in her eyes.
"But I was afraid. I thought... if I didn’t protect myself I might never come home."
She didn’t describe every detail. She couldn’t. Some memories still felt too painful to put into words.
"I only wanted to stop him long enough to survive."
The room remained silent.
No one hurried her.
After composing herself, she continued.
"He kept saying he had loved me since we were children. He believed we were supposed to marry. He talked about a future that never existed."
Chris gently brushed his thumb across her hand.
Liliana looked toward him before continuing.
"He also told me he planned to use Albert as a distraction. Albert wasn’t supposed to know. Harry only wanted someone who could make people believe he had already left."
She closed her eyes briefly.
"But after Albert left, everything changed. He became more desperate. He tied my hands and feet again. He covered my mouth so no one would hear me if someone came."
She slowly looked at Chris.
"I thought..."
"...that maybe I had run out of time."
Tears escaped despite her efforts to remain calm.
"But then..."
A faint smile appeared.
"I heard footsteps. I saw the door open. And I saw Chris."
She reached for his hand again.
"I knew... I was finally going home."
The investigator quietly closed his notebook.
"Thank you, Mrs. St. Claire. That will be all for today."
After they left, the room fell silent once more.
Chris leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
"You don’t have to relive it anymore."
Liliana rested her head lightly against his shoulder.
"I know."
She closed her eyes.
"For the first time in ten days..."
"I finally believe it’s over."
Neither of them realized that Harry’s final confession had already set another investigation into motion—one that would uncover the truth behind Edward and Vanessa Sterling’s deaths twenty years earlier.