Revenge Of The Hidden Heir.

Chapter 5: Shadows Of Doubt.

Chapter 5: shadows of doubt 

"You are under arrest for the murder of the late Aaron Anderson," the policeman declared.

"Wait, what did you just say?" Jonathan asked, bewildered.

"You heard me right, sir. You are under arrest for the murder of the late Aaron Anderson," the policeman repeated firmly.

A board member interjected, "You must be mistaken. He can't be the one you're looking for."

"Sir, with all due respect, we need your cooperation to follow us down to the station," the police officer stated. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law."

Jonathan walked up to the policemen quietly. They cuffed his hands and led him away.

At the station, Jonathan repeatedly requested to see his lawyer, but his pleas were denied. He kept begging them to allow him to contact his attorney, trying to explain that everything was a misunderstanding and that Aaron had died from cardiac arrest due to his advanced age. No one seemed to be listening to him. Finally, they left him alone in the interrogation room.

Back at the Anderson mansion, Leo was on a call with someone.

"Were you able to finalize everything as I asked?" he inquired.

"Yes, boss. We did everything exactly as you requested," the voice on the other end replied.

"Okay, see you later then," Leo said, ending the call.

"Finalize what, Leo?" Sophia's voice startled him.

"Oh my God, Sophia! You scared me," Leo exclaimed.

"Who were you talking to on the phone just now?" Sophia pressed.

"Oh, that? It was a business deal I was trying to secure. You know, since your husband now has everything, I have to find alternatives to survive," Leo explained hastily.

"What kind of alternatives?" Sophia asked, suspicion evident in her voice.

"Why do you care?" Leo retorted defensively.

As Sophia was about to respond, her phone rang. She hurried to answer it.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Am I speaking to Mrs. Sophia Anderson?" the caller inquired.

"Yes, you are. How may I help you?"

"I'm calling on behalf of Mr. Jonathan Anderson. Do you know him?"

"Yes, I do. He's my husband. What's happened to him?" Sophia asked, her voice tinged with worry.

"He's been arrested on murder charges."

"Arrested for murder? How?" At this point, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson had entered the mansion's sitting room, listening intently to the call along with Leo.

"Please come to the police station for more information, ma'am," the voice said before ending the call.

Sophia quickly ran upstairs, grabbed her bag and car keys, and rushed back down. As she was about to leave, her mother called out to her.

"Where are you rushing off to?"

"I'm going to meet Jonathan at the police station. He's been arrested," Sophia replied hurriedly.

"Arrested?!" they all echoed in disbelief.

"Yes," Sophia confirmed.

"Did they tell you why he was arrested?" Mrs. Anderson asked.

"No, Mom. They asked me to come to the police station for more information."

Mr. Anderson speculated, "The cops probably found evidence of his involvement in your grandfather’s death."

"Dad, not this again," Sophia said, exasperated. "If you're not coming with me, then please stop with these fruitless questions and let me go."

"You're free to go, Sophia," Mrs. Anderson said softly.

Sophia rushed out of the house, got into her vehicle, and drove off towards the police station. On her way, she couldn't help but worry, hoping her father was wrong and that she wasn't about to discover that the man she had been married to for a year had actually killed her grandfather.

The police station was a thirty-minute drive from the Anderson mansion at high speed, or an hour at a slower pace. Sophia arrived forty minutes later.

"Are you Mrs. Sophia Anderson?" an officer asked as she entered.

"Yes, I am," Sophia replied.

"Welcome. We've been waiting for you."

"Where's my husband?" Sophia asked urgently.

"He's in our holding cell."

"I demand you release my husband at once," Sophia insisted.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but that's not possible. The evidence against your husband is too strong."

"What's his crime?" Sophia asked, dreading the answer.

"I thought your whole family would be here with you, as this concerns them all," the policeman said, frowning.

"What do you mean? How does it concern everybody?"

"He's your grandfather's killer," the police officer blurted out.

"What?! Haha," Sophia laughed nervously, confused. "You must be joking. There must be a mistake. What proof do you have?"

"Oh yes, we have a lot of evidence indicating he's responsible for your grandfather's death."

"May I see it?" Sophia requested.

"Yes, you'll both be reviewing the evidence against your husband together."

The detective went inside and brought Jonathan out. He looked tired and disheveled, his tie askew as if he had been manhandled.

"Sophia, thank God you're here," Jonathan said desperately. "Please tell them I couldn't have done what they're accusing me of."

Sophia couldn't meet his eyes, keeping her gaze fixed on the desk in front of her. Jonathan was instructed to sit close to her.

He tried to touch her, but she gently moved his hand away and asked, "They said you killed Grandpa. Is this true?"

"Is that the murder they're charging me with? This is ridiculous!" Jonathan shouted. "Please, Sophia, tell them I couldn't have done this. It must be a misunderstanding."

"They have evidence, Jo," she said calmly.

"Evidence? What evidence? Please, Sophia, don't tell me you believe this nonsense," Jonathan pleaded.

"We'll know after reviewing the evidence against you together," Sophia replied coldly.

"Why do you sound like you're already doubting my innocence?" Jonathan asked, hurt evident in his voice.

"Look, Jo, I've been thinking a lot since Grandpa's will was read, and it's just so suspicious that he decided to hand everything the Andersons have built over the years to a stranger like you. He couldn't even give a small portion to any of us, his direct descendants. I'm sorry, but I can't help but suspect you. Let's just view this evidence together, then I'll know if my suspicions are right."

Jonathan felt heartbroken hearing this from the one person he thought would be by his side. He wondered when she had begun to lose trust in him. Was it really from when the will was read, or had it been before then?

The detective presented the evidence: video footage and text messages showing Jonathan threatening Aaron. In one of the videos, Jonathan was seen threatening Aaron to ensure he willed everything to him so he could punish his family for treating him like a slave.

"We received a tip a few weeks ago that you, Mr. Jonathan, might be responsible for Mr. Aaron's death," the detective explained. "So, with permission from one of your family members, we conducted an autopsy. We found that the tea you served Mr. Aaron contained a drug called erythromycin. This antibiotic can be very harmful to patients with high blood pressure or advanced age."

The detective produced the drug packaging. Sophia recognized it as something she had seen in the kitchen shortly after Jonathan had made Grandpa's tea. At the time, she had assumed one of the maids had used it and discarded it in the waste bin.

Jonathan was dumbfounded, trying to process what he was seeing. He could see that it was indeed him in the videos, and the threatening texts were sent from his phone. But he had no recollection of sending any of them. He couldn't even imagine himself doing the things the evidence claimed he had done.

There seemed to be no way he could deny it. Why were they denying him access to a lawyer? He couldn't understand.

"How could you do this? After all Grandpa did for you," Sophia said, crying.

"Sophia, you can't believe this. It's me, Jonathan," he pleaded.

"You can go to hell for all I care," Sophia stood up angrily. Turning to the detective, she spat, "Make sure he rots in jail." With that, she stormed out, leaving a devastated Jonathan behind.

***