Vicky sat upright, but her eyes were swimming with confusion. The room felt too quiet, too still, as if it were waiting for her to remember something she couldn't.
The lead detective cleared his throat.
"Mr. Shikongo, mind giving your statement first? Since you're the one who brought her in…"
Nathan stood straighter. "Detective, this is Victoria."
Catty scoffed. "Can't believe he knows her full name."
"She knows yours too," Cinthia muttered. "Except maybe your surname. Probably he doesn't know her surname either."
"…Samuels," Nathan said quietly.
Catty's eyes widened. "Oh, come on!"
Nathan ignored her and turned back to the police.
"I found her yesterday in the woods. I can't quite remember the exact spot—it looked like the Cimbebasia riverbed. I was on foot… I'd been attacked by robbers earlier and my tires were busted. I was lost."
He paused, eyes flicking to Vicky, then to Catty, before continuing.
"Before that, she was calling me."
The detective raised a brow. "She called you? Why?"
Nathan hesitated. "I'm not sure… I assumed it was about… the engagement she's planning for me and… Catty."
Catty narrowed her eyes. Vicky said nothing.
"Alright, go on," the detective prompted.
"I was wandering through the bush, trying to find a way out before the storm came. It was dark… eerie. Suddenly, I felt movement—like someone was watching. I panicked and tackled it down… turned out it was Vicky."
Vicky blinked. That memory—was it real? It felt like a dream.
Nathan continued.
"I couldn't see her clearly in the dark, but we recognized each other. She was… fine. Laughing, even. We built a shelter to keep dry, and we stayed there for the night."
He looked over at her, softer now.
"She was full of life. Dancing in the rain like a child."
Monica rolled her eyes. "Nate, you're giving a police statement. Not a love letter."
"I know," he said, sighing. "Anyway, in the morning, I realized she was covered in blood. She was wearing a man's suit. Her left hand had a deep wound. That's when I brought her here."
Everyone turned to Vicky, waiting. Hoping.
She closed her eyes. Tried to remember. Nothing but flashes of dark skies and Nathan's face.
"So let me get this straight," the detective said. "You're saying someone with bruises, a bloody wound, and dressed in a man's suit was laughing and playing in the rain?"
"I was shocked too," Nathan admitted.
The detective frowned. "What exactly is your relationship to Miss Samuels?"
Nathan opened his mouth, but before he could speak—
"Wait—" Monica interjected. "Are you trying to say my brother attacked her and then brought her here like some kind of cover-up?"
"He's my boss," Vicky said suddenly.
Nathan turned to her, startled.
"I mean… I'm planning his engagement. So that technically makes him my boss," she added, a strange expression flickering across her face.
The detective wasn't convinced. "Mr. Shikongo's story doesn't add up unless Miss Samuels confirms it."
"My story…?" Vicky echoed, lost.
"Yes. What happened to you last night?" the officer pressed.
Vicky hesitated. "Nothing…"
Ruben, standing behind the officers, blinked in disbelief. He had been waiting desperately for answers.
"Nothing?" the detective repeated.
Nathan stepped forward, voice gentler now. "Vicky, you're safe. No one's blaming you. Just tell them what you remember."
Vicky's fingers fidgeted with the hospital sheet.
"I remember… being home. With my siblings. Evan was there. I gave him dinner…" she paused, squinting as if trying to pull a memory out of fog. "And then…"
"…And then what?" Ruben asked softly.
"…And then I met Nathaniel. That's all I remember. I don't even know how this wound got on me."
The room fell into stunned silence. The officer scribbled something into his notepad, but his face betrayed concern.
And Vicky? She looked down at her bandaged arm.
Somewhere deep in her mind, the rain still fell. The laughter still echoed. But the truth?
Still hiding.