Chapter 265

Two days later, Hannah remained solitary within the frigid inquiry chamber of the police station.

Opposite her, the officer arranged documentation while declaring with authority, "Ms. Scott, according to findings thus far-including location analysis,security camera review, and preliminary material evaluation-the blaze's source was conclusively traced to the electrical circuit cluster within your store's renovation section. The initial explanation indicates an unplanned ignition caused by excessive heat buildup in deteriorated wiring, which subsequently lit surrounding flammable decorative components."

"Unplanned ignition?" Hannah's head jerked upward,her intense gaze flaring with skepticism. "Officer,every electrical circuit in my store underwent thorough verification during remodeling. We carried out an extensive safety inspection just seventy-two

hours before launch-there's absolutely no chance the wiring condition was degraded enough to trigger this. In what world could that happen spontaneously?"

Her voice rose with agitation. "Additionally, the flames accelerated in an unusual pattern back then,erupting nearly at once from several directions.That's incredibly suspicious! I believe there's foul play..."

The officer cut in with emphasis. "Ms. Scott, your apprehension is acknowledged. We're equally intent on uncovering the full story. Yet presently, the trail of evidence supports unintentional ignition tied to circuitry malfunction. Arson evaluations require verifiable facts-not gut feelings or assumptions.Should you acquire fresh information or solid proof,do not hesitate to alert us. But as of this moment,this stands as our initial determination."

Hannah bit her lower lip, recalling the strange silhouette she'd seen before the incident-someone garbed in Fontaine Galleria's attire loitering near her

renovation materials, but the security footage failed to reach that corner. No proof existed now, and confronting law enforcement using only hunches would be fruitless.

Once her statement was recorded, she exited the police station-and at that moment, her phone buzzed. It was Derek on the line.

She picked up, her tone holding a trace of emotional distance. "Is something wrong?"

"Ms. Scott," Derek's voice came through clearly, "I saw you coming out. If you're free, could I speak with you briefly? I'm parked left of you, in the black Maybach."

Hannah glanced over and spotted the recognizable vehicle stationed beside the curb not far away. Her brows pinched slightly, and she instinctively asked "Did Vincent send you?"

"No!" Derek responded firmly, his words quickened with urgency, "Ms. Scott, this is something I need to share. It involves Mr. Jones, but I assure you, this

isn't his order."

He hesitated and then added, "I saw you coming to give a statement, so l waited here for you."

Hannah paused, her eyes filled with conflict as they landed on the vehicle. After a few beats of indecision, she stepped toward the car. After all,Vincent had ended up wounded while protecting her.

Entering the rear seat, Hannah casually inquired,"What's the pressing issue?"

Derek didn't reply right away, but instead, appearing grave, reached over to retrieve a plain brown envelope from the front and extended it toward Hannah:

Hannah accepted it with curiosity and jokingly asked,"Are you pitching a collaboration? Why the secrecy?"

"You'll get it once you open it." Derek offered a weak smile.

Hannah, eyeing him warily, unfolded the flap and pulled out a small collection of printed sheets. What

she saw stopped her-it wasn't business-related material.

Instead, they were candid pictures of herself, each captioned with brief remarks.

One showed her during a vision checkup. Vincent had scribbled, "Week two post-sight recovery-monitoring progress is essential."

Another captured her requesting a vegetable salad with a warm latte. He'd noted, "Salad? She never liked it before." Then, heavily struck through,replaced by: "Making healthier decisions is encouraging."

One revealed her surveying a developed commercial property recently. He'd written, "Is the workload intense?"

And there was a snapshot of her dining out with team members, grinning among them. He'd commented,"What brought her such joy today?"

She noticed the timestamps on the images-they

aligned with the period shortly after her eyesight returned. During those two months, neither of them had reached out.

As Hannah kept going, her expression grew darker."Has Mr. Jones decided to moonlight as a private detective?"

"Please don't take it the wrong way." Derek quickly caught the chill in her voice and explained, "Mr.Jones absolutely wasn't tailing you constantly! He was just in a dark place back then. A few times, he couldn't restrain himself-he lacked any justification to see or contact you, so he sometimes requested updates about you, just to be reassured you were safe. There was no ill intent-Iswear!"

She lifted her gaze, replying only with an indifferent "Hmm," her tone unreadable. "You approached me just to show these?" She scowled slightly, her eyes narrowing at him.