Chapter One

Gabriella. I'd never in my life imagined that I would ever be locked up for something as serious as an attempted murder. I always thought that nothing would ever make me go to jail since I haven't exactly been the type to commit any kind of crime much less murder but here I am, behind bars for allegedly planning my best friend's accident. You know the worst part about being locked up here, it's the fact that I don't even have the chance to personally prove my innocence. I can't even speak to Martin to help me because he has no memory of himself and only he can turn things around and explain to the police that I could never attempt to hurt a fly much less, hurt him. It's been almost two hours since I've been locked up and I haven't seen any sign of Liam anywhere. He had come to see me earlier and he promised to come back to see me before the day ends. I already explained everything that happened to him and he told me that the cop's only evidence was the fact that Martin had coincidentally transferred all of his properties to me that very day he got into the accident that almost took his life. According to him, that wasn't enough reason to lock me up and himself and his lawyers won't rest until they're able to get me out on bail but unfortunately, I'd have to deal with being under investigation and constantly coming in for questioning. Also according to police reports, they received an anonymous tip stating that I for sure had something to do with the accident as I've always wanted to have a part of Martin's fortune which is one of the reasons why I stayed friends with him over the years. When Liam told me exactly what the cops had told him, I was absolutely surprised to hear such ridiculous words coming from the supposed detectives themselves. Never did I imagine that the investigation regarding Martin's accident would take such a sloppy and unprofessional turn. I actually tried speaking to the cops myself, hoping they would at least give me the right to deny and counter the accusations but unfortunately, they claimed I had to wait till the prosecutor in charge was ready to interrogate me and until then, I had to maintain silence and wait till they were ready to attend to me. "Gabriella Johansson," a gruff voice called out my name and I immediately stood up from where I was seated. "Come with me," a short and frustrated looking cop growls in a grumpy tone, letting me out of my cell and pushing towards where I assume I'm to be interrogated. I walk in and immediately spot two unfamiliar faces. "Hello miss Johansson, I'm Micheal Kings, a good friend of Liam and I'll be in charge of your case," a young looking man, obviously in his late twenties to early thirties, introduced himself with his hand stretched forward for a formal handshake. "Nice to meet you Mr Kings and thanks a lot for taking up my case in such a rush," I replied apologetically and he immediately shrugged me off. "There's no need for that miss," he says quickly. "I'd like you to meet my assistant, George Matthews, he's a paralegal and he'll be helping me sort out your situation," he introduces and George and I shake hands briefly before he offers that I take a seat directly opposite them. "Now miss Johannson…," "Just call me Gabriella, please," I chime in quickly, feeling uncomfortable about the idea of getting called Johansson by him all day. "Okay Miss Gabriella, I was able to get a brief explanation from Liam and if I'm correct, you and the victim have known each other for a long time, am I right?" He asks. "Yes, that's right. Martin and I have been best friends for many years," I replied. "Do you have any idea who would want to harm your friend in any way?" he questions. "Honestly speaking, I do not. Like, I have known Martin for half my life and never did I imagine that anyone would want to harm him for any reason whatsoever," I tell him honestly, still trying to understand myself why any moron would want to harm a cheerful soul like Martin. "Do you happen to know why then he decided that of all days to transfer his properties to you, it had to be the exact day he got into the accident?" he questions and I frown. "You are my lawyer, right?" I reply with a question, hoping I was getting fooled into indirectly confessing to a crime I know nothing about. "Believe me Miss Gabriella, I am your lawyer and for this reason, I believe I need to ask you these questions so we don't end up leaving anything out at the end of the day," he replied and although I feel uncomfortable replying to this particular question, I go ahead anyway. "Okay, I'm going to tell you exactly what I told Liam earlier. Martin and I have been best friends for years and definitely, I've always known just how wealthy he is but technically, I've never been exactly poor so I never felt the need to talk about money with him or inquire about his properties because it has always been none of my business," "After the whole thing with the accident, I went over to the police station to retrieve whatever it was they could get his already damaged car and that was when the cops showed me his gym bag and then an already torn letter that I felt was actually written for me," I'm explaining and he quickly chimes in. "Do you have any idea why he would write a letter to you? Doesn't this mean he already knew something was going to happen to him? Didn't he ever give you a clue?" he asks, I sigh. "Unfortunately, we may never get to know the answer to that question since Martin himself can't even remember anything. I never thought Martin was keeping anything from me but after this whole mess, I've come to realise that they're a lot of things that I never knew about him. That letter he left behind talked about another letter and it was almost like he was apologising to me through the first one," I replied. "Do the cops still have this letter?" George asks. "I believe so," I reply. "Then why would they arrest you knowing very well that the victim may have only left his properties to the only friend he could trust because he knew someone else was trying to get it from him. They have no case, Micheal," George voices out and Micheal nods quickly in agreement. "They can't keep you in here for more that twenty four hours which means that whoever is going to interrogate you may try really hard to intimidate you so they can get you to confess but don't worry, you don't necessarily have to answer any question that makes you uncomfortable and you'll only reply him when I give you the go ahead, understood?" Micheal explains briefly. "Wait, are the cops trying to pin this in me?" I ask. "For now, we can't say for sure but from what we learnt before meeting you, your friend's family is doing everything they can to wrap this case up as soon as possible and for that to happen, someone has to go down as the culprit and since you happen to be the only suspect, perhaps, they're really trying to pin it on you," George replies and I immediately feel disgusted. Are they really trying to pin this on me? Really? Do Martin's parents not wish to really find whoever it is that has it out for their son? As much as I disliked both his parents, I still can't believe they can be so selfish and inconsiderate. "How soon can I get out of here?" I ask desperately. "Do not worry Gabriella, they can only keep you here for twenty four hours as long as nothing that directly implicates you to the accident pops up," Micheal assured and I'm immediately relieved. The first thing I plan on doing as soon as I leave here is pay a visit to that idiot that calls himself Martin's father. That man needs to finally realise that his son's life isn't something he can just mess around with. I am one hundred percent sure that he's only trying to bury this case in order to avoid any scandals that could smear his stupid reputation or get the public to find out that his only son is actually gay, a fact that he has always somehow been ashamed of and I'll just never understand how that is even a problem. "The prosecutor in charge should arrive in about twenty minutes and from what I hear, he's one of those jerks who tries every means necessary to get people to talk and since you're woman, he may try to bully you and he may even turn everything upside down just to confuse you but no matter what he does, please stay calm and don't lose your cool for even a second. I'll be right here with you and if he crosses the line, we'll end the interrogation, do you understand?" Micheal instructed again and I nod positive to show that yes, I did. "Good, we'll stick to emphasising that you had no idea that Martin would give his properties to you and that you are also not in need of them. If I may ask, how much do you think you are worth?" He asks, I frown. "I'm confused, how's that information important?" I ask. "It is because the prosecution will look into it to determine whether or not you have any financial hitches that would prompt you to wish your friend dead and take all his money," he explained and I mentally rolled my eyes. If truly he was correct then the prosecution had better brace up for the surprise of their lives. "Well, if that can be used to help my case then thank God. Although, I can't exactly give an actual figure, I would say that I'm probably worth 5-10 million dollars," I told them and something about what I said seemed to have completely caught them off guard. Sometimes, it's like people forget who I actually am and who my parents actually are. I mean, my mom might be the worst mother in the world but my dad wasn't exactly terrible to me when he was alive and he did his very best to make sure that I would never have a reason to suffer when he wasn't around. "You're actually worth that much?" George asks, obviously still in disbelief. "Well yes, I suppose so but please, let this be a secret between us three. Only Martin and I know this and I'd rather it remains that way," I tell them, hoping they comply. "May I ask why?" Michael asks. "No reason honestly. I've never actually touched a dime out of that money cause I'd rather just work for mine so, it's my little secret," I replied and although they looked like they had so many questions to ask, they refrained themselves and I'm happy they did that. The real reason I don't let people know I'm actually not poor is because I want them to underestimate me. Elle and mom have always thought I only depend on the little money dad left to me in his will but little do they know that he already set up a secret account in my name with about two houses and a few cars and he did all this just before he died but as grateful as I was, I wished I had gotten Elite instead cause being a designer was really all I wanted and money, houses, cars and all those things will never really matter to me.