Chapter 49: Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Onscreen , Elysia continued , “ It’s partly my fault for just talking and not bringing the evidence immediately .

Luckily , I remembered later and brought it to you .

The kids who were sold … have you found them yet ? ”

The middle – aged officer furrowed his brows , clearly confused .

“ Evidence ? We identified those traffickers based on your description and some surveillance footage from the station .

That’s how we confirmed their guilt .

”

Elysia frowned deeply , her expression too serious for a 15 – year – old .

“ No … that’s not possible .

I brought you a blue notebook later on .

Do you remember it ? ”

The officer scratched his head and replied , “ Oh , that notebook .

I remember it .

But when I opened it , it was completely blank .

I thought you were pulling a prank because you were upset .

”

Elysia looked utterly stunned .

“ Why would I joke with the police ? That notebook … I wrote down all the buyers ‘ information for the children who were trafficked ! I told you that .

”

The officer’s face showed skepticism .

“ Come on now , kid .

Don’t make things up .

How could you possibly … ”

But faced with Elysia’s earnest gaze , he softened and didn’t finish his sentence .

She wasn’t particularly striking in appearance , but her eyes had a rare clarity that made him want to believe her .

“ Fine .

Let’s say you’re telling the truth .

That notebook is still in my office .

I’ll take you to see it , but I’m telling you , it’s empty ,” the police said .

[ Seriously ? This is ridiculous .

Elysia , stop it already ! ]

[ Yeah , can’t she just behave ? I was just starting to defend her , and now she pulls this ? Writing down buyers ‘ info ? Come on .

]

[ No one’s perfect .

Elysia’s done plenty of bad things , and they can’t all be false accusations .

People are born selfish .

]

[ She didn’t kill anyone , set fires , or falsely accuse others like Rowena .

So what if she exaggerated a bit ? People are allowed flaws .

]

[ You’re enchanted by her or something .

This is a police station , not a place to spin tall tales .

]

[ But what if she has a photographic memory and remembered the buyers ‘ details from when she saw them ? ]

[ Photographic memory ? You’ve been reading too many novels .

If she really has that , I’ll eat my desk on a livestream .

]

[ Noted .

I’ve got your ID saved .

]

The comments section exploded into debate as the blue – covered notebook was retrieved from a dusty corner and placed in front of Elysia .

“ This isn’t the notebook I gave you , ” she said firmly before even opening it .

“ The one I brought you wasn’t indigo blue .

It was turquoise – lighter than this .

”

Predictably , the chat erupted with mockery again .

It wasn’t until Elysia spoke up , her voice steady but firm , “ Can we check the surveillance footage from here ? Specifically , last year , August 29th , at 3 PM ,” that the room began to settle down .

The once – overwhelming skepticism started to waver , and more people shifted from outright disbelief to a neutral stance .

They thought , ‘ But seriously ? Would they really dig up footage from a year ago just because of the color of a notebook ? And besides , who could say for certain that the notebook hadn’t been misplaced or swapped out sometime in the past year ? Maybe it was just a coincidence that a similar one ended up here !

Sure enough , the officer’s face showed a troubled expression .

“ Miss , do you know what it’s called if we investigate and find nothing ? ” he asked .

Elysia responded without hesitation , “ Wasting police resources .

Punishable by a detention of five to ten days .

”

At that moment , a ringtone sounded from her pocket .

Upon closer inspection , the phone was the same one Rowena had been holding earlier , though its screen was now riddled with cracks .

Elysia’s eyes flickered when she saw the caller ID display Rowena’s name .

She turned to the officer and politely said , “ Excuse me , I need to take this call .

”

The moment she hit the answer button , Rowena’s furious voice came through , almost loud enough to shatter the speaker .

“ Elysia ! Where are you ? Did you forget there’s a quiz today ? Get back here and make sure I get a perfect score , now ! ”

1/2

10:53 AM

Chapter 49

Elysia , as if anticipating this , held the phone away from her car , sparing herself from the deafening outburst .

Once the shouting subsided , she spoke calmly and unhurriedly , “ I can’t .

Not unless you first tell me – on August 29th last year , did you go to the Stoneford Police Station ? ”

There was a brief pause before Rowena stammered back , “ Po – police station ? How should I remember something from a year ago ? Stop trying to threaten me ! If you don’t come back right now , I won’t tell you where your mother is buried , and don’t forget , all her jewelry is in my possession

now .

”

Surprisingly , Elysia didn’t react to the threat .

Instead , she pressed on , her tone unwavering , “ Rowena , you saw it , didn’t you ? You went to the police station after me that day and swapped out my notebook , didn’t you ? ”

272

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