Chapter 68

Carol’s POV

“I don’t mean any disrespect, Mr. Cruz. But it seems all the evidence is pointing to Miss Miller. Isn’t it true that the money has been taken out with her identification?” Wendy asks.

Aiden looks past the cameras and our eyes meet for the first time since the interview started. I feel a nervous tension forming between us and I can’t tell if it’s his nervousness or my own. Wendy is right; she has no reason to believe that I’m innocent. Nobody does; all evidence is pointing in my direction. Whoever took that money out of the account managed to get a hold of my private information and used my name.

They wiped all traces of themselves from the record. They also made it, so the banks won’t release any further information by changing some of the details on my account. Without knowing that information, the banks are flagging me for fraud, and they won’t release any further information to me.

I’ve been locked out of the account I’ve been managing for the last couple of months and there’s nothing I can do about it. Not even Mr. Whitlock is able to get into the account. This person has so many different connections that the team CEO can’t get into it.

Frustration consumes me as I think about the hell this team is going through because of this one person. Or maybe it’s multiple people.

That’s why Aiden is convinced his family has something to do with it because nobody else could have such connections like that.

“I have my lawyers on the case,” Mr. Whitlock assures me as if he can read my mind. “They are going to get us back into the account and then we will be able to see everything.”

I nod to him, smiling my thanks before refocusing my attention on the interview. Aiden looks so upset and my heart squeezes painfully in my chest for him. I wish I could run onto the stage and protect him from this, but I know no good would come from that. I would only make things worse for him.

“It’s simple; Carol is being framed and I’m going to find out who it is,” Aiden says, looking directly into the camera. “I won’t sleep until Carol is proven innocent.”

“That’s very noble of you, Mr. Cruz,” Wendy says, admiringly so. “You must have a lot of faith in your mate. Tell me, what is your relationship with Katrina Sanchez?”

I can feel the blood draining from my face and Aiden’s eyes narrow at Wendy.

“Katrina is an old family friend. Why do you ask?”

“As you probably already saw, Miss Sanchez had a recent interview and spoke very candidly about Miss Miller,” Wendy goes on to say. Are you certain she is only a friend?”

“Yes,” Aiden says without hesitation. “There has never been anything between Katrina and I. Carol is my mate and I won’t say that again.”

“Of course. But Katrina is very convinced that Carol is a criminal and she wants the world to see exactly what she sees. So, tell me, Mr. Cruz. What is it that Katrina sees?”

Aiden presses his lips in a thin line.

“Katrina sees what she wants to see,” Aiden said through his tightened jaw. “It’s no secret that she doesn’t like my mate and she will do whatever it takes to get under her skin. Don’t believe a thing Katrina says.”

“Do you think it’s a possibility that Katrina framed your mate for these crimes?”

Aiden goes completely still and his eyes flash over to me once again. It had been a topic between us these last couple of days, but as I told him, there isn’t any proof so we can’t exactly tell the world that Katrina was behind any of this. As easy as it would be to blame her, it wouldn’t be right, not without actual proof of the accusation.

“I’m not going to discuss the investigation with you,” Aiden finally says, looking back at Wendy who raises her brows.

“But you admit that you are investigating Miss Sanchez?”

“No,” Aiden shot back. “As far as I’m concerned, everybody is innocent until proven guilty.”

“But Miss Miller has already been proved guilty. Why have charges not been pressed yet?”

Aiden lets out a low growl as he removes the mic from his shirt. Wendy gasps as he throws the mic to the ground and then stands up.

“I’m no longer taking any further questions,” he says before he steps down from the stage.

“Mr. Cuz!” Wendy calls after him.

Aiden walks directly towards me and takes hold of my hand. That’s when Wendy finally notices me in the back of the studio and her mouth drops open.

“Has she been here this whole time?” I hear Wendy asking one of the producers. “Why have we not been interviewing her? Someone brings her on stage.”

Aiden’s hand tightens around mine and I knew he heard her too. Without saying another word to anybody, Aiden pulls me out of the studio, and we ran quickly. I can hear the shuffling of feet as the crew attempts to catch up to us and stop us from leaving. But Aiden is way too quick for them.

I’m relieved when I see Aiden’s car parked nearby and Jarod sitting in the front seat, waiting for us.

Aiden opened the backseat of the car and I hurried inside. He follows after me, slamming the door shut behind us. Jarod is quick to pull away from the studio just as Wendy’s crew catches up to us. Cameras were still on us as we drove off.

After a few minutes of silence, I lean my head against Aiden’s arm and let my body relax.

“Well, that was certainly something,” I finally say, breaking the silence that consumed us.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs. “I just couldn’t let her slander you any longer. You aren’t a criminal and I’m not going to let anyone label you as one.”

I smile, but I know it doesn’t reach my eyes.

When we got home, we thanked Jarod before entering the house. I feel exhausted, not having slept the night before and I know Aiden is just as tired. We rest for several hours before it’s time for Aiden’s doctor's appointment. He’s finally getting his cast removed; afterward, he will still need to rest his foot for a little longer, but he should be good to start practicing with the team soon.

The doctor looks over Aiden’s foot once the cast is gone.

“How does it feel?” The doctor asks after several tests are done.

“A lot better; weird being out of its cast,” Aiden admits.

“Yeah, it’ll take a bit of time to get used to. You certainly healed quickly though so I have faith you’ll make a full recovery soon enough.”

Aiden heals quickly because he’s a werewolf; I know this and so does the doctor.

Once we are finished, we return to the house. My mind has been clouded since the interview and I can’t help but think more about Katrina and her possible role in this whole thing. Could she really be the one trying to frame me as a criminal?

I have this strange feeling that stays with me for most of the night. As I go outside to take the trash out for the night, I freeze at the end of the driveway and a chill runs up my spine. It almost feels like something, or someone is watching me. But when I turn around, I don’t see anybody.

That’s when I remembered those criminals that were released from the prison. I quickly ran back inside, my heart racing wildly in my chest.

“What’s wrong?” Aiden asks, glancing over my shoulder like he expects someone to be running after me.

“Those men who were released from the prison, how much did it cost them to make bail?”

Aiden’s brows furrow together.

“I’m not sure; I didn’t ask. I didn’t think it mattered at the time. Why?”

“Can I call the police station?” I ask.

Aiden nods as he goes to grab his phone. He had the local police saved in his phone, so it was easier just to use his phone instead of mine. He brought the number up and pressed the “call” button before handing me the phone.

“Statford Police Department,” the man on the other end of the line says.

“Hello, this is Carol Miller, I had some questions about some prisoners that had been released recently,” I say into the phone.

“Sure, Miss Miller. Do you know the officer that was on the case?”

“I believe the one who called the other day was named Officer Smith,” I answer.

There’s silence on the other end and then a new voice sounded on the line.

“Officer Smith speaking.”

“Hello, Officer. This is Carol Miller. Aiden Cruz’s mate. I’m calling to inquire some information about those three men who were recently released from your custody,” I say, trying to sound as professional as I can.

“Of course, Miss Miller. What would you like to know?”

“The bail money, how was it paid?” I ask, my heart racing in my chest.

“It was paid by check,” he answers. “I’m not the one who handled the payments though and whoever paid the bail money didn’t want anyone to know who they were. Only the accountant knows for certain.”

“How much did it cost for these men to be set free?”

“Their bond for all three of them was set at $100,000.”

My heart falls deep into my stomach.

“Can you transfer me to the accountant,” I ask, my tone coming out breathy and unfamiliar.

“Sure,” he says.

The line goes quiet for several minutes. I know Aiden can hear this entire conversation thanks to his wolf hearing and he starts to pace back and forth. I hear him muttering something about how he didn’t think of any of this and feels so stupid.

I want to reassure him, but I’m having trouble calming my own racing heart and wandering mind.

“You’ve reached Linda Hannigan’s office; how can I help you?”

I re-explain the situation to the police department accountant, Linda Hannigan. I was half expecting her to tell me that she couldn’t give me any information because the bail was posted anonymously, but to my surprise, she sympathized with my situation, and she wanted to help clear my name.

After she typed away on her computer, she went silent for several seconds.

“Hello?” I say into the phone. “Is everything okay?”

“Um… well…” she starts to say before pausing again. Then she takes a deep breath and continues. “It seems that the person who posted bail did so under the name Carol Miller. Isn’t that your name?”

I nearly dropped the phone.

“Yes…” I whisper. “It is.”

“How is that possible?” Aiden asks through his teeth, his tone coming out growly.

“It was done digitally though,” Linda continues. “It’s a new system we have been trying to make it easier for those posting bail, so they aren’t stuck at the police station for hours. They uploaded the check digitally last week and it was processed a day after that.”

“That’s impossible…” I say quietly. “I would never bail those men out. They were there because they were stalking me and my family.”

“Let me try something; I might be able to view and track their IP,” Linda says.

I can hear her typing away on her computer and I hold my breath. Aiden also stops pacing to look intently at me while we wait.

“Something came up,” Linda shocks me by saying. “You don’t happen to live in the Capitol, do you? Whoever posted bail is from there.”