Xander's Arrest

The morning light came in through the windows, but it didn’t make me feel any better. I was sitting on the couch, holding a cup of coffee that had already gone cold.

I hadn't slept a blink after that call last night. Xander was on the phone again, pacing back and forth across the living room. He didn’t say much, he just listened and gave short replies.

When he hung up, he turned to me.

“The police are sending a team here, they want to go through the phone records and investigate the attack directly from the estate.”

I gave a small nod, it was much better than sitting around waiting for another threat.

By early afternoon, the house was busy. Detectives, tech experts, and officers were everywhere, checking the security system, collecting evidence.

I was taking a walk round the house when a woman walked up to me, “Mrs Kendricks, I am Detective Ramirez, we need to go over the call you received,” she said.

I told her everything I remembered, the voice, what it said and how it made me feel. She took notes and asked a few follow-up questions. Her face didn’t give much away.

“Was there any background noise? Anything that might help us track the source?” She asked after waiting a few moment.

“No, just the voice. It was calm Like they were sure nothing could touch them.”

She looked up. “That’s useful.”

I wasn’t sure how, but I hoped it was.

“We’re going to trace the source,” she said. “If this person contacted you once, chances are they’ve left a trail.”

Xander had been pulled into a separate room to meet with another group. They were going through his emails, phone logs, and surveillance footage. I heard bits and pieces—something about encrypted messaging and requesting access to his private server.

The day dragged on, but something felt off.

Later that evening, Detective Ramirez came back. Her expression was tight.

“Where’s Mr. Kendricks?” she asked.

“In the study,” I said. “Why?”

“We need to speak with him again. It’s about some electronic communications we discovered.”

I followed her down the hallway, Xander was sitting at the desk, going over some reports with one of the officers. Ramirez didn’t waste time.

He looked up when we entered. Ramirez held a tablet, her tone calm but firm.

“We found something. Emails from your server, sent from your home network.”

He frowned. “What emails?”

She turned the screen to face him. “These, they reference the security layout of this estate, guard rotations, access times. The timestamps place them before the attack.”

Xander stood up slowly. “That’s not possible. I didn’t write or send any of that.”

“They came from your personal laptop, Mr. Kendricks.”

“I have two-step authentication, physical access is required. Someone would’ve had to break in.”

“There’s no evidence of a break-in and we found no signs of tampering on the device, no foreign software and no remote access.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” he snapped. “You think I staged a hit on my own house?”

“We’re not accusing you yet,” Ramirez said evenly. “But we need to bring you in for questioning. You’re not under arrest, but you will be detained until we sort this out.”

Another officer stepped forward with cuffs.

“Seriously?” he muttered. “You’re cuffing me?”

“Standard protocol,” Ramirez replied.

I stepped forward. “This is insane, he’s the one who protected me, who’s been trying to find out who’s behind all this.”

“We’re following the evidence, Mrs Kendricks,” Ramirez said. “If this is a setup, we’ll find out. But until then, we have to treat him as a suspect.”

Xander looked at me then, there wasn’t fear in his expression, just frustration. And something else. Sadness, maybe.

“I didn’t do this,” he said, loud enough for the whole room to hear. “Kaia, you know that.”

Of course he didn't do it.

Xander, my father's best friend, the man I had a crush on since I was little, will never do something like that.

“I believe you,” I said quietly.

They took him out the front door and Just like that, he was gone.

I stayed behind, surrounded by people and equipment, but I felt completely alone. None of this added up. Xander had been protecting me from the beginning.

He was the only one who took the threats seriously. Now he was being accused of planning them?

Every since that call yesterday, I was convinced that we were being manipulated, but the question was who? And why?