Substantiate Innocence (Valiant Dame Series 1) ✓

Chapter 9

“What do we have now?” I asked Miggy and Pow, who were still busy with their gadgets.

“The police have already landed on the island,” Miggy reported.

“How’s everyone?”

“Everyone’s fine. The police didn’t cause any trouble. Lenard met them at the shore,” he replied.

“That’s good to hear,” I said, exhaling in relief.

“Carter!”

Barry suddenly called out to him. Carter, who was steering the boat, glanced over.

“What?”

Pow stood to take his spot, allowing Carter to join us.

“You mentioned you were almost framed before. How did that happen?” Barry asked.

Carter’s jaw tensed, and his eyes darkened with resentment as he looked at her.

“My ex-girlfriend, Alex, was a swimmer like me. She died the day after we broke up. When the investigation revealed she was pregnant, I was accused of killing her,” he began.

Ara gasped in shock, and my eyes widened.

“Ibig sabihin namatay din ’yong baby n’yo?” Ara asked hesitantly, glancing at me for a moment.

Carter shook his head. “No, I wasn’t the father. She admitted that to me the night we broke up. I was angry, yes, but I never hurt her. The next day, she was dead, and I became the prime suspect.”

My heart ached for him. Losing someone you care about is devastating, but being accused of their death is unimaginable. Carter had such a promising future, yet everything fell apart in an instant.

“How did Lenard help you?” I asked softly.

“He was still a cop back then. Even though the evidence and witnesses pointed at me, he found loopholes. It turned out the evidence was fabricated. My fingerprints were planted, and even Alex’s cause of death was falsified. The autopsy showed she died from cerebral oxygen deprivation, but the report claimed she was stabbed.”

“Like she drowned?” Ara interjected. “But that’s impossible—she’s a swimmer. Unless...”

“Unless someone did it,” I finished her sentence, my voice trembling slightly.

“That was Lenard’s theory,” Carter continued. “But the bigger question remains: how did they fabricate everything so quickly? Bukod sa pumatay kay Alex, may iba pang tao ang nasa likod nito.”

“Did Lenard think that too?”

“Yes,” Carter confirmed.

“How about you, Barry? Did Lenard save you in a similar situation?” I asked, turning to her.

“Sort of,” she admitted, her voice quieter. Miggy and Pow exchanged knowing glances.

“How?”

“I was working as a waitress in a motel. One night, a guest asked me to his room. It wasn’t unusual, so I didn’t think much of it. But when I woke up, he was dead. Just like what happened to you, Jam,” she explained, her voice tinged with bitterness.

“How did Lenard fail to connect the incidents?” I asked, confused.

“Jam, unlike Carter’s case, the evidence against me wasn’t fabricated,” Barry said, her tone heavy.

“Kung ganun, paano ka nailigtas ni Lenard?”

“He couldn’t save me. I ran away,” she admitted, her voice trembling slightly.