Chapter2
1265 Words
"W-What?" Daniel stammered, his voice barely above a whisper. His eyes widened in utter shock.
It felt as though the world around him had stopped spinning. The man's words echoed relentlessly in his mind.
He was being accused of murder?
What kind of sick joke was this?
This couldn't be real.
Before he could say another word, strong hands grabbed him, forcing his wrists together as cold handcuffs snapped into place. Daniel stood frozen, his breathing ragged as he struggled to comprehend the absurd situation unfolding before him.
"I... I didn't do anything!" he shouted, his voice cracking with a mixture of panic and anger.
But his words vanished into thin air. No one paid him the slightest attention.
With heavy footsteps, the officers dragged him out of the cramped apartment, leaving the tiny rented room silent and empty behind them.
What the hell was happening?
***
Daniel sat alone in the corner of the interrogation room, clutching his head as if it might split apart.
The accusation against him was too horrifying to accept.
Ricardo Morales was dead.
And now Daniel had been accused of murdering him.
The police arrested him after reviewing CCTV footage that showed him talking with Ricardo in the emergency stairwell the previous night. In the video, the two were seen arguing fiercely, and at one point Daniel grabbed the older man's shirt collar.
What made matters even worse was that the footage had been manipulated to make it appear as though Daniel had threatened Ricardo's life. It even showed him raising a clenched fist. The fury and hatred on his face became the strongest evidence supporting the murder accusation against him.
Although the footage lasted only a few seconds, it was enough to incriminate him. Worse still, the case was reinforced by an audio recording from the party that supposedly captured him expressing his intention to get rid of the Morales family.
Daniel had already given his statement, but deep down he knew it wouldn't help his situation.
He was certain someone else was behind all of this.
The real killer.
And whoever had orchestrated this entire scheme possessed immense power—far beyond anything Daniel could ever hope to fight against.
He was nothing more than a food delivery courier.
What could someone like him possibly do except surrender to fate and pray for a miracle?
Closing his eyes, Daniel tried to calm the storm raging inside him.
But the fragile silence shattered the moment hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway.
He opened his eyes.
A familiar figure stood before him.
"Valerie..." he murmured.
A sharp slap struck his cheek, sending his head snapping to the side. A burning sting spread instantly across his face.
When he slowly turned back, he found Valerie glaring at him.
Her pale face was flushed crimson with overwhelming emotion.
How could it not be?
She had just lost the father she loved most, and the man she loved had betrayed her.
The cruelest part of all was believing that her father had been murdered by the man who held her heart.
"You monster, Daniel!" Valerie screamed. "How... how could you kill... my father?" Her voice trembled violently as she struggled to hold back her tears.
Daniel froze.
Seeing the devastation on Valerie's face tore his heart apart.
He knew better than anyone how much she loved her father.
And now she stood before him, looking at him with nothing but hatred—as if he were both a traitor and a murderer.
"L-Love..." Daniel said hoarsely, his eyes pleading desperately for even the smallest trace of faith left inside her heart. "Please believe me. I didn't do anything. I never meant to hurt you. My love for you has always been genuine. I never got close to you for your family's wealth, and I never wanted to destroy your family. I didn't kill your father. I've been framed, Valerie. Please... believe me."
Valerie let out a bitter scoff, tears shimmering in her eyes.
"How am I supposed to believe you when all the evidence is right in front of me, Daniel?"
"It's fake!" Daniel shouted. "That recording isn't real! I never said any of those things! And yes, I did meet your father in the emergency stairwell last night, but I never hurt him! I grabbed his collar, but I didn't lay a finger on him! I had a reason for doing it. Your father admitted that everything that happened at the party was his doing! He opposed our relationship, so he—"
Another slap cut him off.
This one landed even harder, sending another wave of pain surging through his cheek.
Daniel fell silent.
He didn't know what else to say.
He looked at Valerie with eyes filled with heartbreak, but she only stared back coldly, allowing tears to stream endlessly down her face.
His heart shattered into countless pieces.
Part of him desperately wanted to defend himself.
But another part knew that nothing he said would ever erase the hatred burning in Valerie's eyes.
"So after murdering my father, you're trying to slander him with more lies?" Valerie hissed through gritted teeth.
"You're absolutely disgusting, Daniel. I hate you with every fiber of my being. So this is who you really are—a pathetic excuse for a man. Cheap. Despicable. I hope you rot in prison for the rest of your life. I hope you disappear into the filthiest corner of this world. I regret ever falling in love with someone like you."
Daniel stood motionless.
His fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Every word Valerie spoke pierced straight through his heart.
It felt as though thousands of invisible needles were stabbing him all at once.
The pain was unbearable.
"You worthless poor man!" Valerie spat with undisguised contempt. "Not only are you poor, but you don't even know your place. Rot in this prison!"
With those final venomous words, Valerie turned around and walked away without looking back, leaving Daniel completely broken.
He remained frozen in place.
It felt as though his soul had been ripped from his body.
The love he had once cherished above all else had become the poison slowly killing him from within.
A few moments after Valerie disappeared, the sound of light footsteps approached once again.
Daniel lifted his head.
A young man was walking toward him.
He looked to be in his early thirties.
His face appeared friendly enough, yet there was something hidden behind that smile that sent an involuntary chill down Daniel's spine.
"Hello... Daniel," the man greeted casually, a faint smile resting on his lips. "How are you? Holding up okay?"
Daniel didn't answer.
The question sounded like nothing more than a cheap mockery.
How could he possibly be okay?
His life had been destroyed by a murder accusation.
And the woman he loved had just cursed him with every ounce of hatred in her heart.
The man stepped closer before glancing around to make sure no one else was nearby.
Once satisfied, he lowered his voice.
"So... what did you think of the little show I put together?"
Daniel's eyes flew open.
His entire body stiffened.
His heart pounded violently as the man's words sank in.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" the man asked calmly, still smiling as though nothing were wrong.
"W-What do you mean?" Daniel finally managed to ask, his voice barely audible.
"Pfft..."
The man chuckled softly.
It wasn't the laugh of someone amused.
It sounded more like ridicule.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!" Daniel roared.
To be continued...
- Writer
