The Names on Her Grave

Someone Bailed Him Out

Silence fell over the other end of the call.

During those few empty seconds, I stood beside the officers with my heart lodged in my throat.

I was still holding onto one final sliver of hope. I thought that no matter how angry Jessica was, she would at least tell the police that I wasn't a thief. However, my blood ran cold when she finally spoke.

"I understand. Just follow the normal procedures. Thieves these days really are getting bolder and bolder. He needs to learn a lesson so he won't act recklessly again."

At that moment, I knew that Jessica had known about Christian calling the police from the very beginning.

She had decided to go along with it just because I had defied her and offended Christian in the process. She was going to abandon me here and use this method to pressure me into admitting defeat.

And so, the police completed the procedures and locked me inside the detention center.

Life behind the cells was dark and miserable. The other detainees constantly found ways to bully me when they saw how withdrawn I was. I was never a fighter, so I could only curl up on the hard bunk in the corner and stare blankly at the peeling walls.

It wasn't until the afternoon of the fourth day that Jessica's assistant finally came to visit me.

"Mr. Thomson, Ms. Sullivan said that she'll bail you out immediately as long as you admit your mistake."

I slowly lifted my eyes toward him, tugged at the corner of my lips, and spat out a single word.

"Leave."

The assistant's expression stiffened instantly.

In the end, he said nothing and quietly left.

…

After the assistant relayed my response, Jessica became furious.

"Fine, so he's got a spine of steel. Since he refuses to lower his head, he can stay there longer. I'd like to see how long he can keep acting tough."

That was what she said, yet she became inexplicably restless over the following days.

The documents on her desk remained unread. Her thoughts drifted constantly to me during important meetings. My face would flash through her mind even when Christian brought the child to visit her at the company.

As if that wasn't torment enough, her brain would conjure up the image of the days we spent in our dingy basement apartment. She couldn't help but recall how I had pushed the only bowl of hot soup toward her with a smile and claimed I wasn't hungry.

The longer Jessica dwelled on it, the more irritated she became. Eventually, she found an excuse to send Christian away before summoning her assistant into the office.

"When is Christopher getting out?"

The assistant froze briefly before quickly checking the records. "Ms. Sullivan, the detention period is seven days. He'll be released in two days."

Jessica nodded and dismissed him. As she leaned back in her chair, the tension in her chest loosened slightly for reasons she herself couldn't explain.

She figured she would personally pick me up once I was released. She'd debase herself and bring me home even though I was being a complete donkey.

After all, she wasn't that heartless to let me suffer without a roof over my head.

Therefore, she canceled all her appointments and waited outside the detention center half an hour early on the day of my release.

As she leaned against her car, she repeatedly rehearsed in her mind what she should say when she saw me.

However, she did not have the chance to speak those words. As the detention center doors opened and closed, one batch of released inmates after another left before returning to wherever they were supposed to go. Until finally, the entrance stood completely empty.

I never appeared.

Jessica's brows knitted tightly together. She strode into the reception hall and questioned the staff. "Christopher is scheduled for release today. Where is he?"

The staff member checked the system records before looking up at her and replied, "Christopher Thomson? Someone bailed him out yesterday."

Jessica stood frozen in place, the blood in her body turning cold.

I had spent five years in Tylen City with an unbelievably small social circle. My entire world had revolved around her alone. Hence, she couldn't help but wonder just who had bailed me out.