Chapter 51: Andre

Aria’s pov

“Victor is dead?!” Lucian shouted in surprise.

“Please sir,do not resist arrest or we might be pushed to take you in forcefully” one of the officers said seeing that Lucian was not complying.

For one second the hospital room went completely silent except for the steady beep of Andre’s heart monitor. Then everything exploded inside me.

“No!” I lunged forward, shoving myself between Lucian and the two uniformed officers. “This is a setup! It’s all Ethan Caldwell’s plan. He’s framing him and you’re too gullible to notice.Victor was one of our own directors and a father to us.Lucian would never—”

“Ma’am, step back,” the officer in plain suit barked, hand moving toward his belt.

I didn’t move.”I won’t let you come here and take my husband away like that. What if you guys are Ethan’s men?”

He brought out his ID from suit pocket and shoved it on my face ” I don’t know who Ethan or whatever is but for identification purposes,my name is Inspector Williams and I’m the lead investigator in this case as pertaining to the murder of Victor Hargrove”

I wanted to step back but then I decided against me ” That doesn’t prove anything officer.You still can’t take him! He was with me the whole time—”

Before I could finish my statement,the second officer grabbed my arm. “Ma’am, you are interfering with an arrest. Step aside or we will restrain you.”

Lucian’s voice cut through the chaos as the cuffs clicked around his wrists. “Aria. Stop.”

I turned to him, tears already streaming down my face.

“Stay strong,” he said quietly,then walked closer to where I stood and placed a kiss on my forehead.

“Sir_”

“Let me get a minute to speak to my wife” he shunned the officer who tried to pull him away.

“Stay safe love. Remember that you can only trust Marcus and Mike with that recording.They’ll help you expose Clara and Ethan. I’ll be out soon — this will be Ethan’s last desperate move.”

My chest heaved. “Lucian, please. They can’t—”

He leaned forward as far as the cuffs allowed and kissed me passionately.

For some reason,the kiss tasted like goodbye and I could feel myself loosing him forever. “I love you,” he whispered against my mouth.

The officers dragged him away before I could answer. I tried to follow while shoving myself through the cops that had blocked my path, but the second officer blocked me.”Ma’am, do not make this worse.”

I watched them lead Lucian out of the room, his broad shoulders and he held his head high like everything was okay but it wasn’t. Once again I was left alone to battle the demons that have refused to let me be

Subconsciously, I screamed after them ignoring the serene ambience of the hospital, “This is a setup! Ethan Caldwell and Clara are behind this! You’re arresting the wrong person!”

They didn’t stop or even take a second to look at me.

The hallway outside Andre’s room turned into pure pandemonium. Reporters who had clearly followed the police cars were already swarming with flashing cameras.

“Mr. Voss! Did you kill Victor Hargrove to silence him about the stock crash?”

“Mrs. Voss! Is this connected to your own kidnapping?”

“Will you step down as majority shareholder?”

Marcus and two hospital security guards formed a wall in front of Andre’s door.

I planted myself right beside them, arms spread as if I could physically shield Andre from their prying eyes.

“Back off!” I shouted at the nearest reporter. “My friend is recovering in there — get away from this door!”

The flashes kept exploding accompanied with relentless questions.

“Mrs. Voss, I’ve got the door.You can go call Mike for backup.” Marcus yelled in the midst of the noise.

I nodded once,then slipped back into Andre’s room,closed the door behind me, and pulled out my phone with my hands literally shaking.

Andre pushed himself up so he could sit upright.”Is that Mike you’re trying to call?” He asked .

“Yeah”

“Alright. Just make sure you follow Lucian’s advice.”

I dialed Mike and he answered on the first ring.

“Ma’am? What’s going on? I just heard boss has been arrested.”

“They took him for Victor’s murder child.”I squeaked .

“Victor? That dude was alive the last time boss met him”

“I know. This is Ethan’s doing but that’s not why I called. I need you to get to the hospital now so you can help Marcus with press”

“Alright Ma’am” he replied firmly.

“Then again,I want you to keep an eye on on Lucian’s secretary Clara. She is working for Ethan apparently” I sighed.

“Jesus. So she’s he’s been playing both sides?” There was a short pause then he continued”No worries Ma’am.I’ll have a team on her in an hour”

“Good. But I do have a question for you Mike?”

“I’m listening Ma’am”

“What evidence does the police have that made them arrest Lucian for Victor’s murder?”

Mike’s voice turned grim. “I don’t really know Ma’am. Asides from the information posted by those anonymous that boss kidnapped you and Victor for his gains,I don’t know anything else. Although there is a possibility that someone might have dumped his DNA on a property belonging to boss. I have one of my guys in the force that’ll help me with the information we need. He’s on it already so I’ll get you the information you need in no time. Although I must advice we keep the Clara ready close since we know she’s working for Ethan. She might help us get to the root of this”

“Okay. I’ll be waiting for your feedback Mike”I ended the call and sat on the chair beside Andre’s bed.

Andre reached for my “You heard him Aria. And we both no Lucian will be okay. He’s too stubborn to stay locked up.”

I tried to smile through the tears. “Yeah,he is.”

“I do need to get a lawyer for Lucian though. I’m not trusting anyone he’s worked with before” I added.

“Leave that to me Aria. I know a guy that’ll get Lucian with the snap of a finger”

“Really? Who’s that and how can we reach him?” I asked in excitement.

“You don’t have to. I’m the guy you need”

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