Chapter 5

Debbie yelled, "I knew it. I knew there had to be a reason you suddenly dropped Julian.

"You climbed your way up to an even bigger fish, the Stone family.

"Charlie, don't let her innocent act fool you. Katie is scheming through and through.

"Julian and I tested her eight times together, and it was only because of her ex-boyfriend that she finally slipped up. She has no shame!"

Debbie was practically shouting, completely oblivious to the disgust written across Charlie's face.

He cut her off, voice ice cold.

"Debbie, do you really think I'm the kind of man who lets himself get played by women? Or is it that deep down, you actually have a problem with the Stone family?"

That one line, delivered without much heat at all, was enough to send Debbie into a panic. She looked seconds away from tears.

"No, no, I'd never. Our family has always had the utmost respect for every member of the Stone family. Charlie, please don't misunderstand.

"Julian, say something, please."

Julian opened his mouth, but before he could get a word out, I cut past both of them and went straight to Officer Grey, beating him to it.

"Officer, if things are clear now, could you have someone fish the ring out of the drain? I'd also like to be taken in for an injury exam, and I'd like both of them brought in for questioning."

Officer Grey seemed to finally snap out of his daze, looking at Julian and Debbie, both of them red in the face.

He formally informed them they'd need to come down to the station for questioning.

Charlie volunteered to come along as a witness.

By the time we reached the station, Julian had lost all his earlier bravado. Nervous and desperate, he tried to talk me into settling things quietly, playing the sympathy card.

He brought up the rainy day we'd first met, how he'd handed his umbrella to a total stranger without a second thought.

All he'd left behind was a business card, asking me to reach out so he could get it back sometime.

Back then, I hadn't known he came from money. He hadn't even let me see his social media.

I'd just assumed he was an ordinary, kind stranger and thanked him, treating him like nothing more than that.

Julian, though, had seemed genuinely interested in me. He'd gone through every post on my page and liked every single one.

Then he'd asked me to meet him at a cafe the next day to return the umbrella.

I'd agreed, and to show my thanks, I'd even insisted on paying for us both.

We'd arrived at almost the same moment, and Julian had introduced himself with obvious enthusiasm.

"My name is Julian Sussman. Just an ordinary clerk over at Sussman Group. My parents are farmers in a small village."

His self-introduction had left me a little embarrassed. This wasn't a blind date. I hadn't thought we needed to lay out our family backgrounds.

Still, out of politeness, I'd answered honestly.

"My name is Katie Leigh. I'm an independent home designer. My parents both worked at a factory.

"Thank you for lending me your umbrella yesterday; here it is back.

"Order whatever you like, it's on me. Don't be shy about it."

I'd thanked Julian sincerely, which for some reason made him burst out laughing.

"I've never had a woman treat me to a meal in my whole life. Guess I have you to thank for the experience."

At the time, I'd just found him a little baffling, the way he talked and acted.

But he seemed to grow more and more interested in me after that.

In the days that followed, he found every excuse he could to ask me out to dinner or the movies.

Even though I turned him down nine times out of ten, he never gave up.