Chapter 2

The police sirens pierced through the upscale neighborhood's tranquility.

Neighbors poked their heads out, pointing and whispering as police escorted Kingsley downstairs.

Her hair was disheveled, tear tracks marked her face, and as they led her away, her eyes burned with resentment and confusion, fixed intensely on me.

I followed behind, expressionless, to the station to give my statement.

The interrogation room's lights were blindingly white.

Kingsley sat across from me, crying pitifully, beginning her performance.

"Officer, he's my senior schoolmate, his name is Howard. He's not a bad person."

"His business failed and debt collectors beat him up. He came to me because he had nowhere else to go."

"I just took him in for a few days out of kindness. We're completely innocent!"

Then she started accusing me.

"Bradley, we've been married three years. You don't trust me at all? Over such a small matter, you actually called the police! You're so cold-blooded!"

Just then, the interrogation room door burst open.

My in-laws rushed in, faces full of fury.

My mother-in-law pointed at my nose and cursed.

"Bradley, have you lost your mind! Do you have no conscience!"

"Kingsley was just soft-hearted, and you had to blow this up, completely humiliating her! Where does that leave our family's reputation!"

My father-in-law's face was dark. "Can't you be more magnanimous as a man? Did you really need to handle it this way?"

I remained silent throughout, letting them vent, watching this farce like an outsider.

When they'd tired themselves out and their voices went hoarse, the officer finally tapped the table.

"Family members, please remain quiet. We're conducting an investigation."

It was my turn to give my statement.

I calmly recounted the facts.

"I don't know this man named Howard."

"I came home from a business trip and found him hidden in my house by my wife. My personal safety and property are seriously threatened."

I pulled out my phone, opened my banking app, and displayed page after page of transfer records to the officer.

"Over the past three months, my wife Kingsley, without informing me, has transferred a total of two hundred thousand dollars to this Howard's account."

The numbers on the screen were particularly clear under the harsh lights.

My in-laws' curses caught in their throats. They stared at my phone, their faces turning from flushed to deathly pale.

I addressed the officer, enunciating each word clearly.

"I suspect they conspired to defraud me of my assets with intent to illegally possess them."

Kingsley completely broke down. She screamed.

"Bradley, you're slandering me!"

"That's our marital property too! What's wrong with me spending my own money!"

That statement exploded like thunder in the interrogation room.

The officer's expression grew serious.

My in-laws looked at Kingsley, their eyes filled with shock and despair.

She had personally admitted to her last possible escape route.