Substantiate Innocence (Valiant Dame Series 1) ✓

Chapter 21

I stared at her, confused, my mind racing to make sense of this unexpected arrival.

"What are you doing here? How-"

"I'll explain later," she interrupted, her voice firm as she approached my cell.

I watched her every move, noting how she pulled the keys from her pocket and used them to unlock the door.

"Where did you get that?" I asked, my voice tinged with confusion.

"Later, Jam, later," she murmured, her grip firm as she dragged me out of the room.

I pushed aside the hundred questions racing through my mind and focused instead on the oddly deserted hallway, the silence pressing in on me.

"Asan ang mga pulis?" I asked in a whisper, my eyes scanning for any signs of the authorities.

"I don't know; let's go before they come back," she replied, urgency in her tone.

We stepped into the dim corridor, and I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. My mind buzzed, still reeling from the strange opening doorway. As I glanced up to check the CCTV footage, I froze. A large piece of gum covered the screen, distorting the view. In the corner of the room, a police officer was slumped over his desk, asleep in an awkward position.

I glanced back at Barry, a question hanging in the air. Did she do that?

"This way," she said, her voice low as she gestured toward our cell.

Once inside, I immediately reached for the device hidden under my bed and opened it. The video clip Miggy had sent me was the first thing I clicked on.

"What was that?" Barry asked, her eyes locking on the laptop screen.

Carter's labored breathing filled the video, a clear indication that it was taken from his phone. I watched, heart racing, as the footage began to unfold.

"Shit!" we both exclaimed when the camera panned across a room drenched in blood. The sight was jarring.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I instinctively covered my mouth to muffle my sobs. The room was a chaotic mess, blood splattered everywhere, items overturned, the aftermath of something violent.

Just as I thought the scene couldn't get any worse, six figures dressed in full protective gear appeared on the footage. They wore suits that covered every inch of their bodies, including their faces and hands. They were recreating the crime scene.

One of them started spilling blood from a cooler, evenly distributing it across the floor. The blood had been heated, and it spread evenly throughout the space, giving the room an eerie sense of intentionality. Then one of them opened a large white suitcase.

When the suitcase was opened, Barry and I jumped in shock. Inside was Jilbert's body.

I lost my balance and crashed to the floor, my eyes still locked on the screen, unable to look away.

After the reenactment, they placed his lifeless body on a blood-stained sofa, carefully positioning it to make it seem as if he had just recently died.

"Oh my gosh!" Barry gasped, her voice breaking.

I felt her pain, and it mirrored my own. We weren't just innocent bystanders-we were being framed. It was maddening that, for some, this had become a mere business transaction: hiding the real criminals and setting up innocents to take the fall.

I stood up, walked over to Barry, and took her hands in mine. I looked her in the eyes, my voice steady despite the weight of what we had just seen.

"Barry, let's save our friends," I said, my resolve hardening.