Upon hearing that someone had reported her, Evelyn froze in shock. John had once thrown a bank card worth a hundred thousand into her office before leaving, and she had given it to Director Logan. It seemed now that not only had Director Logan not handed the card back to John, but he had also put her in this predicament!

“Are you sure you have the right person? Miss Joy didn’t even participate in the revival round,” Penny immediately set down her makeup tools to defend Evelyn.

“We received the report regarding the preliminary round,” the lead officer flashed his badge. “We can’t disclose specific details at this time. Miss Joy, please come with us to take a statement.”

Evelyn grabbed some makeup wipes and removed the half-done makeup from her face before following them to a black Volkswagen sedan. Though she believed she was innocent, she couldn’t afford to be careless.

She knew that when she gave her statement, she would have to surrender her phone. Once in the car, she started contemplating whether to message Jason or Jean. After some thought, she resolutely opened Jason's WhatsApp.

I’ve been reported for accepting bribes during the preliminary round, and I'm being taken to the police station to give a statement. I’m innocent; I handed the money to Director Logan. If I end up getting implicated, please submit that recording I have saved on my phone. Thank you.

As soon as she sent the message, she realized she had chosen Jason in a moment of uncertainty. She had read somewhere that in a crisis, people often reach out to the person they trust the most. To be honest, she felt Jason didn’t truly deserve her trust.

She could only chalk her choice up to their relationship. Three years of marriage, one year of sharing a bed—though there was no love, the intimacy had to mean something to Jason, right?

When they arrived at the police station, Evelyn’s phone was confiscated, and she was led into a separate interrogation room. The person who reported her seemed to know her movements that day very well; they accurately recounted the time John entered and exited her office, perfectly matching the surveillance footage.

She recounted the bribery incident with John, but was told that the last footage showed her leaving her office, after which the entire building’s surveillance system had mysteriously malfunctioned, leaving her without any strong evidence for her defense.

A cold sweat broke out on Evelyn as she realized John’s bribery was just the beginning of this scheme. Regardless of whether she accepted the money or not, it could easily be twisted into a scandal.

It seemed they hadn’t anticipated that she would immediately hand the bank card to Director Logan, and to avoid implicating him in the report, they deliberately destroyed the surveillance footage from the TV station at just the right moment.

The questioning was conducted by a man and a woman, the woman being about Evelyn’s age. She spoke somewhat informally, inadvertently revealing that there had been reports against Evelyn even before the revival round ended.

They initially planned to summon Evelyn for questioning, but the unfairness of the revival round quickly gained traction on social media, prompting a new wave of reports.

Both anonymous and named complaints implicated all the major leaders at the station and the three judges of the revival round. At that moment, several of Evelyn’s colleagues were being questioned in adjacent rooms.

The person who reported her firmly insisted that the hundred thousand was still in Evelyn’s possession. Unsure of what Director Logan’s stance was, she could only state that there was a recording that could prove her innocence.

Before long, her phone was returned to her.

Her emotions surged, and her palms were already sweating as she tried to unlock it with her fingerprint, failing twice. Reluctantly, she resorted to entering her password manually.

When her phone finally unlocked, her first action was to open WhatsApp. The man she trusted the most hadn’t replied to any of her messages.

Opening her favorites, she felt as though she had been struck by lightning, her expression blank with disbelief.

The only recording, over twenty minutes long, was gone!

Thinking she must have been seeing things, she rubbed her eyes and scrolled through her favorites again, but it was still missing!

In an instant, Evelyn felt her blood rush backward, her head spinning, and then everything went dark. She woke up crying.

She had dreamt that Jason was holding her phone, personally deleting the recording that could prove her innocence while mocking her. “Go to prison. By the time you get out, you’ll be older, without a job, and divorced—”

She cried uncontrollably, nearly choking on her tears before realizing it was just a nightmare. For her, dreams and reality felt almost indistinguishable. In the dream, Jason was cold and unfeeling, just as he was in real life.

Opening her eyes, she was first met with the sight of light blue curtains and white bedding, still wearing the same clothes she had on before she fainted.

“Welcome back, Miss Joy,” said the young woman sitting nearby. She put down her phone and greeted her as soon as she noticed Evelyn was awake.

“How long was I out?” Evelyn instinctively reached for her phone to check the time.

“It’s three in the afternoon,” the girl replied, glancing at her own device. “Your phone is temporarily with us until we find evidence that you handed the hundred thousand to Logan.”

Evelyn felt as though a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her. The launch event for SinoContinental Group was completely ruined! She understood that this girl was there to monitor her. As long as she couldn’t prove her innocence, her freedom was at stake.

“What hospital is this? Did anyone come to visit while I was out?” Evelyn forced herself to stay calm.

For some reason, she was still preoccupied with whether Jason cared about her at all.

“A man came to see you at eleven. We have regulations that prevent anyone unrelated to the case from entering. I just went to the restroom and saw he’s still waiting outside.”

“Is his last name Stark?” Evelyn’s heart raced.

The girl shook her head. “I asked; his last name is Leighton.”

Those last two words drained all hope from Evelyn.

“Miss Joy, if you want to see Mr. Leighton, I can facilitate that, but it can’t exceed three minutes.” The girl’s voice lowered, revealing a hint of empathy for someone her age.

“Don’t let him in,” Evelyn turned to bury her face in the pillow, overwhelmed with despair. “Please tell Mr. Leighton I’m very sorry for missing the SinoContinental launch. The innocent will clear their name. He should return to his work.”

“He’s been waiting for you for four hours, and you can’t even say thank you in person?” The girl was taken aback.

Evelyn shook her head firmly. A woman’s intuition told her that William’s concern for her had surpassed that of a mere friend. Even though her marriage was crumbling and fraught with crisis, she couldn’t drag an innocent William into her mess just for her own safety.

Before long, the girl conveyed Evelyn’s message to William.

William furrowed his brow as he listened. “How is Evelyn doing emotionally?”

“She’s holding up,” the girl replied.

“Despair” was on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed it down. Evelyn didn’t want to trouble him; why should she add unnecessary burdens?

William glanced once more at the hospital room where Evelyn was being held before stepping into the stairwell.

His phone rang, and he swiftly swiped to answer.