My Ears Remembered

Chapter 4

Chloe straightened at the counter.

She had slipped the transfer form into the shredder the moment the system shut down, destroying it completely.

Panic flashed across her face for less than half a second. Then a composed smile replaced it.

She even stepped forward and inclined her head to the emergency response team, her tone confident but courteous.

"Thank you for coming. I'm the legal representative of a legitimate cross-border trading company. Here are my registration documents and tax records.

"This woman and I have a personal misunderstanding. She stopped me from completing my transaction and maliciously activated the emergency freeze."

The bank manager flipped through the stack of documents, then looked at me. My face was bloodless, and cold sweat still coated my forehead.

Chloe's poise had clearly won him over. He turned to me, his tone stern.

"Ma'am, this is a financial institution, not a place to settle your marital disputes."

Ryan changed his demeanor at once.

He turned to the response team's leader, Noah Carter, sounding once again like the commanding vice president he was in the boardroom.

"Officer, I'm terribly sorry. My wife has been emotionally unstable lately. We had an argument today, and that's why she... caused all this trouble for you. I sincerely apologize."

The onlookers joined in.

"Is that woman out of her mind? Someone runs a legitimate import-export company, but this woman insists she's laundering money. Now we're all trapped here."

"I feel awful for that lady. She worked so hard overseas, only to come home and put up with this nonsense."

"If my wife were this crazy, I'd have dumped her 100 times over. I would've dragged her out myself."

Each sentence poured into my ears. My nails dug into my palms until they nearly drew blood.

The emergency response team had procedures to follow.

I needed to provide my identification number before they could bypass the bank's internal system and initiate a special anti-fraud inspection.

When Ryan shoved me, my phone had hit the floor. Its screen was shattered like a spiderweb, and no matter where I pressed, it wouldn't turn on.

Without my phone, I couldn't contact the Center.

Without my ID, the response team couldn't act on my word alone.

Ryan crowded into my space and lowered his voice as if offering me one last act of mercy.

"Get on your knees and apologize to Chloe. Admit in front of everyone that you caused this scene to get my attention. Then I might call in a favor with the business association and get you out of the precinct."

Get on my knees.

Apologize to Chloe.

I studied the face that had once made my heart race. For the first time in 2 years, I felt as if I had never known this man at all.

My voice was soft and even. "I gave you one last chance to walk away from her."

"Are you threatening me?"

He laughed with open contempt.

"No."

I met his gaze. "From this moment on, you'll bear the legal consequences of your own choices."

After watching the exchange, Chloe finally let a trace of impatience show.

She pulled another stack of documents from her purse and slapped them down on the counter in front of Noah, spreading them out for everyone to see.

"If you're so determined to inspect them, go ahead.

"Everyone here can be my witness. If the authorities find nothing wrong, I want her imprisoned for maliciously disrupting the financial system."

One by one, Chloe's documents covered the counter.

A certificate of incorporation, a tax registration from Cerranex, and several foreign-trade purchasing contracts embossed with official seals—every document looked flawless.

The onlookers craned their necks for a better look, then burst out laughing.

"That's money laundering? She really is delusional."

"What a drama queen. That lady is obviously a legitimate businesswoman, and this woman is trying to smear her."

"She's vicious. Lock that jealous lunatic up for a few days."

Desperate to end the scene and take Chloe away, Ryan turned and shouted at the security guards.

"Stop wasting time with her. Drag her out.

"My wife has a problem up here. Mental illness runs in her family."

He tapped his temple with his index finger, making no attempt to hide his disgust.

The words cut into my heart like a pair of rusted shears.