Chapter 3

After I said that, Lily's parents suddenly dropped to their knees.

Both of them bowed toward me over and over, knocking their foreheads against the floor.

"Chloe, please... please tell us where Lily is. She's our only daughter. She's everything to us."

Their voices were loud and desperate. Neighbors started coming out of their homes, drawn by the noise.

Someone from the crowd spoke up.

"They're just worried about their daughter. You can't be that selfish."

"Exactly. If you know something, just tell them. Don't make them suffer like this."

"You grew up in this neighborhood. How did you turn out like this?"

I looked at Lily's parents kneeling on the ground and felt nothing but disbelief.

"How many times do I have to say it? I don't know where she is. I'm in the same boat as you."

Tears were streaming down Lily's mother's face.

"She even spent four thousand dollars buying you a gift. How could you hurt her?"

They were still stuck in their own version of the story, talking like their assumptions were facts.

For a moment, I didn't even know what to say.

I cleared my throat.

"First of all, that four thousand dollars has nothing to do with me. I didn't get a single cent. And I'll say this one last time—I don't know where she is. If you don't believe me, we can call the police."

The second those words left my mouth, two officers stepped out of the elevator.

They looked straight at me.

"Chloe Sanders, regarding Lily Walton's disappearance, we need you to cooperate with our investigation."

I frowned but still invited the two officers into my home.

Once seated on the couch, the older officer fixed me with a sharp look.

"Chloe, are you really telling me you have no idea where Lily is?"

I rolled my eyes internally, exhausted beyond words.

From yesterday until now, I'd been asked the same question over and over again.

I explained everything from start to finish.

I even showed them my phone records and my plane ticket home.

I genuinely didn't get it. All my records could be verified. So why was I still being treated like a suspect?

The two officers exchanged a glance.

"Chloe, according to our investigation, the Maybach involved was part of a scam. The owner's identity was fake. Aside from you, Lily didn't mention any of this to anyone else."

Their expressions were grim, and the way they looked at me was as if I were a suspect.

I met their gaze.

"So what? Just because I'm her friend, I automatically become a suspect?"

I let out a bitter laugh.

"Is this really how police work goes these days?"

The younger officer slapped his hand on the table.

"You're still trying to lie? We've already confirmed that around six p.m. yesterday, Lily called you—and you picked up. You say you don't know where she is, but she only contacted you after getting into that car. And you are the last person she spoke to."

Honestly, I didn't even know what to say anymore.

"Officers, I've told you everything I know. I really don't know where she is."

I went through the whole sequence again, not missing a single detail.

By the time I was completely drained, they finally let me go.

Before leaving, the older officer looked at me.

"Chloe, there's one thing I still don't understand. Around four o'clock, she called you. What did you talk about during that 58-second phone call?"

My hands, resting at my sides, clenched instinctively. Pushing down the panic rising in my chest, I tried to stay calm.

"Just... friend stuff. Complaining about traffic, talking about the cats."

I expected them to dig deeper.

Instead, they stood up.

"If you remember any details, contact us immediately."

My mind wandered, and I quickly nodded.

"Okay."

The door closed, and I collapsed onto the floor of the entryway, my hands still shaking.

They definitely didn't know about that, right?

They definitely didn't.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have asked me like that.

I forced myself to calm down.