Chapter 3

Chapter Three  

Alessia’s POV  

When I stepped out of the room, the station was unusually quiet. Too quiet. That wasn’t a good sign. Police stations were supposed to be loud—phones ringing, officers shouting, footsteps pounding against the floors. But right now, the air was thick with something heavier than silence. It was the kind of quiet that comes before a disaster.   

And the stares? I felt it before I saw it.  

They weren’t just looking at me. They were burning holes into my entire body, whispering my name like it was a sudden curse which made me shivered in confusion

 I've worked with these officers for years, they've trusted and relied on me to have their backs but now they stood in a group with pale faces and their eyes were filled with something I couldn't quite place, was it disbelief? Betrayal? Hatred?  

Then I heard the news anchor’s voice on the television show.

“Breaking news: In a shocking turn of events, the husband of a high-ranking Female police officer has been arrested and charged with drug trafficking and first-degree murder. Daniel Vasquez, husband of Officer Alessia Vasquez, was taken into custody earlier today and is currently being held for further questioning. Reports confirm his direct involvement in the recent high-profile drug bust connected to notorious crime lord Leo Ricci.”  

Everything inside me froze, the images became so blurry till it vanished into darkness and I blinked back to reality.

No.  

No, that wasn’t possible.  

I forced my legs to move, stepping forward like a woman in a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from. My vision remained fixed on the screen where they showed him.  

Daniel, My husband.

  I felt my stomach twist, bile rising in my throat. When did all of this happen? I left him this morning and he was looking decent.

My hands trembled as I turned to Captain Moreau whose jaw was tight and his eyes were dark with accusation. He was staring at me like I was one of the criminals in those cuffs.  

"Did you know about this?" His voice was low and controlled, but it was filled with an underlying fury that made my blood run cold.  

I blinked at him, barely able to form words. “W-What?”  

Moreau's nostrils flared. "Did you know your own husband was working for Ricci? Did you sit here, pretending to be one of us, while the man you slept next to every night was running shipments for the same man we’ve been trying to take down for years Alessia?"  

The weight of the question crushed me. My lungs refused to pull in air but I shook my head rapidly, feeling the burn of a hundred stares piercing into me. "No. I didn’t know Mareau, you know this is a mistake."  

Detective Harris scoffed from behind me. "I don't know shit Alessia!” He banged the table and everyone jerked in fear, the station was suddenly silent as his voice echoed. “A mistake? Alessia, we have footage of him making the deals. We have wire transfers tying him to the last three shipments. His fingerprints were found on the weapons used in last week's hit. And you're telling me you had no idea? Seriously?"  

I swallowed, my throat dry as sandpaper. "I—" My colleague snapped behind me, the one whose guys they always hated.

"You either knew, or you're the dumbest cop in this station," Matteo spat. "And I don’t think you’re dumb."  

Moreau’s glare darkened. "The question is, are you a traitor?"  

My heart stopped as this was clearly unacceptable. 

A traitor? 

I could barely process what was happening, was everyone running mad and they were giving out false information about my husband? One second, I was chasing down Leo Ricci, determined to put him behind bars. Next, my husband was the one standing on the other side of the law.  

"This isn’t a setup," My other co worker, Harris continued, his tone sharp and full of bitterness. "Daniel admitted to it, Alessia. He didn’t even try to deny it."  

My knees almost buckled.  

“No…” My voice came out small, barely audible.  

"He's being transported here now," Moreau said. "If you're so sure it's a mistake, then why don't you ask him yourself?"  

The doors burst open and two officers walked in, dragging Daniel.  

He was Handcuffed, looking tired but not defeated. My breath caught in my throat as I pushed past the officers with my heart slamming against my ribs.  

"Daniel!" My voice cracked. I reached for him desperately, my fingers brushing his shirt. "What is happening baby? Tell me this isn’t true. Tell me you didn’t—"  

He cut me off with a bitter laugh. It was the kind that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.  

My hands dropped and my stomach twisted.  

"You still don’t get it, do you?" His voice was laced with mockery.  

I shook my head slowly, hot tears gathered in the corner of my eyes. “What do you mean?”  

He lifted his hands in the cuffs, shaking them slightly. “I did it, Alessia. I worked for Ricci. I ran shipments. I handled the dirty work, that's my business and now all thanks to you and your silly obsession, I'm here!” He roared at me and I flinched.

The ground beneath me shattered into blurry pieces "You worked for him?" I whispered hoarsely with a shaky voice.  

Daniel shrugged, like it was nothing. "For years." His lips curled into something that wasn’t quite a smile. "While you were out playing hero, I was making real money. Unlike you, I didn't waste my life chasing ghosts."  

My chest caved in. "You were my husband."  

He chuckled and shook his head. "And yet, I spent more time with Ricci than I did with you. Ever wonder why?"  

The slap came out of nowhere. My palm connected with his cheek so hard that the crack echoed through the station.  

Daniel's head snapped to the side, but he didn’t even flinch.  

Tears blurred my vision but I refused to cry. “You are a coward,” I screamed. “And I will make sure you rot for this.”  

The officers started pulling him away, and he just laughed but in that same moment I felt a sharp slap across my cheeks which cut through the air.  

Not mine as this time I barely had time to react before I felt the sting on my cheek.  

My mother-in-law was already in the station as she stood before me, her hand still raised with her eyes filled with disgust and I wondered when she arrived.

"You stupid, barren woman!" she shrieked in tears "You dare humiliate my son like this? Fix this mess or you will no longer be a part of this family!"  

I clenched my jaw and laughed out, Family? What family? The one that just betrayed me? Lied to me? Humiliated me?  

I straightened my back, tilting my chin up. "I would rather die than be a part of your disgusting family."  

She gasped with rage, twisting her features. And then, a slow clap filled the silence making me turn—and there he was. Leo Ricci.  

He was fresh out on bail and standing in the hallway like he owned the world and knowing him, the bastard probably did.  

And that smirk.  

"Well, well, well," he drawled, his voice a mix of amusement and something darker. "That was quite the performance. I give it an eight out of ten.”  

I clenched my fists. "Get out of my way, Ricci."  

He tilted his head, watching me like a cat watching a trapped mouse. "Oh, I don’t think I will." He took a step forward, lowering his voice. "You should be thanking me, you know. Now you don’t have to waste your time pretending to love a man who never deserved you."  

I glared. “And what? You think I should be grateful?”  

His smirk deepened. "No. I think you should be worried, because now that you've caught my interest..." He leaned in, his breath warm against my ear.  

"I don’t let go, Mo

tya."  

Chills ran down my spine and I watched him leave while I broke down and lamented my fate before me.