CHAIN OF TRUTH

CHAPTER VIII

The tension in the room was palpable as Jane's words hung heavy in the air, each syllable dripping with a sinister truth that sent shivers down the spines of the Crew. Their gazes darted between each other, searching for any sign of deception in Jane's chilling confession. Chris leaned forward; his expression hardened with determination. "Why did you take matters into your own hands? Why not seek justice through proper channels?" Jane's lips curled into a cruel smile, her eyes gleaming with malice. "Justice?" she scoffed. "There was no justice for Mia, no retribution for the horrors she endured at the hands of those monsters. The system failed her, just as it fails countless others every day." Edwin's fists clenched at his sides; his voice laced with anger. "So, you decided to play judge, jury, and executioner? Take justice into your own hands?"

Jane's laughter echoed off the walls, a haunting sound that chilled them to the bone. "You call it justice; I call it revenge. Call it what you will, but those men deserved to pay for what they did to Mia. And if the law couldn't deliver justice, then I would." Agatha's mind raced as she processed Jane's words, her heart heavy with the weight of the truth. "But why Robin?" she pressed, her voice barely above a whisper. "Why target him if he wasn't involved?" Jane's smile faded, replaced by a look of cold determination. "Robin may not have been directly responsible, but he was complicit. He stood by and did nothing while Mia suffered. He was just as guilty as the rest of them."

As the gravity of Jane's revelation settled over the room, the Crew exchanged uneasy glances, grappling with the harsh reality of the situation. The line between justice and revenge had blurred, leaving them to question their own beliefs and convictions in the pursuit of truth. Enola's question hung heavy in the air, her voice cutting through the tension like a knife. Jane's laughter, tinged with both amusement and despair, filled the room as she grappled with the weight of her words. "You officers are really not that hard to make believe with, you know that?"

Jane's voice wavered, a mixture of frustration and resignation evident in her tone. She took a deep breath, steeling herself to continue her harrowing tale. "Rolex was straight when he was in high school," Jane began, her words tumbling out in a rush. "But he changed, he found himself lacking interest in women. As for Roy, he was never gay to begin with. But after Mia's sister filed the case, his parents pulled strings to make him appear gay, hoping to discredit the charges against him."

Chris's brows furrowed in confusion as he scanned through the case report, searching for any hint of the truth buried within the layers of deception. "But Roy was a stand-in. He never participated in the crimes?" he pressed; his voice laced with skepticism. Jane shook her head, a bitter smile playing at the corners of her lips. "Wow! Yes, because his parents had connections no one else had," she retorted sarcastically. "He was removed from the scene like a ghost, his involvement erased from the record. But Mia remembered everything, she cried out in front of the judge, begging for justice. But in the end, justice was denied, and Mia met her end at the hands of a merciless system."

The room fell silent, the weight of Jane's words hanging heavy in the air. For a moment, the Crew was enveloped in a suffocating sense of helplessness, the realization dawning on them that sometimes, the true perpetrators of crime remained hidden in the shadows, their sins buried beneath layers of deceit and corruption.

"But he was in a relationship with another guy?" Chris displayed the evidence on his files and the photos of him and Maxim together. Jane's laughter filled the room, echoing like the cackle of a deranged puppeteer. "And you believed it! Wow. You officers could be fooled so easily." Confusion clouded the minds of the investigators as Jane's laughter subsided, replaced by a chilling calmness. "I want a small favor from your side. After that, I will agree to anything you pull up on me. How is that offer?" Her words hung in the air like a sinister promise, casting a shadow of uncertainty over the room.