Entangled: Crisscross - Chapter 68

Just as Sera finished copying the things that she thought would be enough to clear her name, the police arrived to invite her to the station.

“Call, Lawyer Liu,” Sera said. As always, she would let the lawyer do the talking this time.

“I can— ”

“It’s fine.” She looked at him and grabbed a coat before going with the two police personnel. The ride towards the police station was short and, well… boring. Sera didn’t speak and the two older men didn’t say a word towards her, too.

When they arrived at the station, they lead her towards the interrogation room where… someone unexpected was waiting.

Sera had a placid look on her face as she sat on the chair across from Mr. Fu. She then eyed the mirror behind him and wondered if someone was watching them. After a few seconds, she shifted her gaze back the Edward.

She looked at his eyes, then nose, then lips and chin, and… damn. He looked older. Compared to Chris or even Cross, Mr. Edward Fu looked really haggard. This made her a bit disappointed.

“Sera…” Edward smiled the same smile that he used to everyone else. The sound of her name coming from his mouth made her recall some memories… the morbid memories that she had with him. Edward Fu… the perfect Edward.

The very reason why she chose to study computer science and learned to hack. The very reason why she accessed the dark web just to know everything about him. Sera used to be so obsessed, she actually tried to drug Zhang Ying just to have him.

Funny.

Now that she looked at the man, she thought her standards were actually so low before. How could this man, with this kind of looks, make her so obsessed she even tried to kill herself when she couldn’t get him?

Wasn’t she pathetic?

“You are just going to keep staring at me?” he smirked. It was the same smirk that he always used before. It was oozing with confidence, yet it wasn’t sexy. At least not compared to the smirk that Chris had. “Are you wondering why am I here?” Edward asked. “Tell me what you are thinking.”

It was an order. Since he was in his teen, he always uses this order to let her do everything that he wanted. Their age wasn’t that far apart, and they grew up close to each other. Or at least, she thought they were.

Obviously, she was wrong.

“Are you really just going to keep staring at me?” Edward asked.

And she didn’t bother to answer. She could stare at him forever and think about other things. She could stare at him and think about Chris or Cross. Funny how she was staring at him with nothing but mockery in her head while he was thinking how she was still crazy for him. She could see it. The arrogance in his eyes, the pride in his smirk. He should stop thinking that she still liked him. Because right now, all she felt was disgust and mockery. Not to him.

But to herself.

She was mocking her previous choices.

She was mocking her stupidity.

“Sera… Look, I know you are upset that we asked the police to pick you up.”

The keyword is ‘we’, meaning someone else is actually watching them right now. Her gaze shifted towards the mirror. Was it Zhang Ying? Zhang Xin? Was it her uncle?

“I know hearing about your grandfather’s death from the police is a bit hard. But… right now… we are waiting for the doctors to clear you out. The camera recorded you visiting the top floor then leaving in a few seconds. The Zhang Family thought that you murdered the old man.”

‘Murder’ the keyword is murder. How did they know it was murder when the doctors didn’t even say it yet? Simple, because they were the ones who killed the old man.

Sera still stared at Edward, as if she couldn’t understand what he was talking about. For years, Sera basically considered herself alone. The only person who stood by her was Cross, who is also busy and would occasionally vanish now and then. Aside from him, no one else cared about Sera.

And she was already used to that. Sometimes, she felt that her brain had developed this program to cope with silence. She could spend hours without talking and just listening to someone blabber.

It was kinda like how our brain isolated the surrounding sounds to let us hear the voice of the person that we are talking to. When you are in the middle of a noisy restaurant, our brain would process everything to let our ears focus on the person speaking before us.

This time, Sera’s brain could shut down the noise around her and just focus on her thoughts.

“Sera? You—Are you really going to spend the entire time staring at me like that?”

She didn’t answer him. Sera wouldn’t blame him, really. It must be awkward—being stared at by someone who is not saying a word. But who cares about him?

“The Zhang Family thought that you killed the old man. Are you just going to sit here and stay silent?”

She will. She would stay here and stay silent until Lawyer Liu arrives. They had no warrant or any evidence against her. Meaning they couldn’t arrest her. They didn’t take her phone, and she had a laptop in her backpack. She could stay here and not do anything else.

Seeing frustration flashed in Edward’s eyes made Sera smile inwardly. There it was. The frustration, the annoyance. Soon, he would reveal the real reason why he was here.

“Zhang Ying told me to help you.” Edward sighed. “Her mother thought that you killed the old man and is planning to file a case against you. This time, you are an adult. Your age cannot save you from the law.”

Ah, they wanted to play good cop, bad cop. Sera maintained her placid look. Did they think she was still seventeen? Did they think they could still make her dance in their palms?

Sera felt a bit insulted.

Did they think her brain would stop growing? That she would never mature?

How atrocious!

“Zhang Ying told me to come here and help you out. That is, of course, you would accept my help.” Edward Fu continued.

She was waiting for him to say, in return. What are they planning? Make her owe a favor to them? They must have wanted the shares, right? They wanted her to owe them so they could just ask her to sell her shares to the Fu Family.

The plan was a bit brilliant—for stupid people.

And Sera was never stupid.

Moreover, they also failed to do something very important in this plan. They did not consider the fact that Sera would have evidence to save herself. They thought she was still the helpless Sera who was alone and clueless all those years ago.

“Your still not saying anything?” Edward sighed. He didn’t hide the frustration in his eyes. “You—I came here to help. The least you could do is thank me or maybe say something.”

He wanted her to say something? Then she would, “I— ”

Edward’s face lit up like a candlelight in the middle of the night.

But her next words made him frowned. “I have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer questions. Anything I say may be used against me in a court of law. I have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future.”

“You— ”

“Are you the police, Mr. Fu?” she asked. And the answer was pretty clear. He wasn’t. So why would she talk to him? Slowly, the edge of her lips lifted upwards into a sinister smirk.

She then opened her phone and blatantly ignored his dark expression. After a few taps, she lifted her head and gave him an innocent smile. These people are basically forcing her to reveal her cards.

And she would give them that. She is prepared to give them what they wanted.

A war.

And this time, she would win.

“Sera… you…” Edward leaned back and loosen his tie. “You have changed.”

She didn’t answer him. It was obvious. He could tell her something she doesn’t know about herself. But then again, he doesn’t know her anymore. They were just strangers now.

And she was planning to keep it that way.

Edward’s lips straightened into a thin line, a thing that he loves to do while he was thinking. “Since you seemed to have guessed my goals, then let me be more direct with you.” He gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I want the shares. I am willing to pay for everything. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t care about the Zhang Family. But I care about Zhang Ying.”

It’s a pity, Sera thought inwardly. She doesn’t care about any of them at all.