The Choices We Make (Revenge)

Arrest

Southampton Police Department

"Once again, Mr. Grayson ... When did you see your wife the last time?"

Tired, Daniel rubbed his eyes. He had been interrogated for an eternity as if he had been personally involved in Emily's abduction. "I've already said it," he repeated, annoyed. "I visited her the evening before."

"Even though you had no permission from the patient or the doctors?"

"Yes, although she didn't want to see me," he confirmed.

"And can you tell me exactly why your wife didn't want to see you? We even learned from the nurse that you were forbidden to see your son."

He was tired of repeating the same answers again and again. He knew what they thought. But he had no idea what had happened to her, let alone what had been the reason for her abduction. "We had a fight," he confessed. "A quarrel as it happens among married couples."

"A normal quarrel, and then she forbids to see your own son?" The police officer shook his head. "It doesn't make any sense." He leaned forward and looked Daniel in the eyes. "Wasn't it rather the case that she was afraid that you would hurt her or the baby?"

"Why should I do that?" He felt gradually losing his patience. "I love my wife and my son. I would never harm them!"

The police officer stared at him. "Well, could it be because of your alcohol addiction, Mr. Grayson?"

Daniel felt his mouth getting dry. Of course, they had investigated and found that he had already been arrested for several offenses involving alcohol. His father had always bailed him out and even bribed the judge once, but the fact remained that he hadn't been accountable during these acts.

"In addition, you were arrested at the time and had to sit on Rikers Island because you had wounded your fellow college friend, Tyler Barrol," the officer added.

Daniel closed his eyes. All this had nothing to do with Emily's disappearance. But since he had been sentenced before they thought he also was able to kidnap his own wife. "I didn't kill him!" He defended himself.

"Then you still would be in jail," the police officer said chilly.

"At my son's life, I swear that I have nothing to do with the abduction!" He ran nervously through his hair. "Yes, I visited her in the evening," he admitted. "And yes, we had an argument again. After that I got into my car and drove through the area to clear my head. I wasn't even near the hospital when she was abducted."

"Can you prove that?" The police officer looked at him, frowning.

Again Daniel shook his head. "I drove around the whole time. No one saw me."

The police officer got up. "Well, then it looks very bad for you, Mr. Grayson. The tracking revealed that your DNA was spread all over the place, including the bed and the pillow. According to the police report, you had been the last visitor before your wife's gone missing."

"I don't deny that I was there!" He could feel himself losing control. "But there must have been someone there afterwards, because I didn't abduct her!"

The police officer shook his head. "No more traces were found, only yours. So ..." He pulled out a pair of handcuffs. "... you are arrested for the time being. There is a strong suspicion that you kidnapped your wife, Emily Grayson, nee Thorne, and carried her off to an unknown location. Until the hearing, you stay with us. You can make one call, not more. Did you understand that?"

Daniel nodded as if stunned. When the handcuffs locked in place around his wrists, he was suddenly reminded of the day of his engagement with Emily when Tyler had been found lifeless on the beach. At that time he had also been wrongly accused of murder. And now he was to be punished again for a crime that he hadn't committed. "One call?" He repeated tiredly.

The police officer nodded and looked at the items he'd taken away: a cell phone and a wallet. "Those things remain in our safekeeping, as long as a verdict is delivered. And now come with me ..." He grabbed him by his arm. "I'll take you to a phone."

Rebun Island, Japan

Ava put her cell phone back in her pants pocket and looked at Emily sympathetically. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "I've tried it several times. Nobody's answering."

"But they must have noticed my disappearance," she said desperately. "I have to make contact somehow."

"Do you have anyone else whom I can call?"

"No. I had all stored in my cell phone. I don't know the numbers by heart. And the Graysons have private numbers. They only give them out personally." Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. "The hospital ..." she said. "We can call the hospital."

Ava nodded. "Do you have the number?"

"No, but you can find that on the internet." She sat up again. "It's the Suffolk Memorial Hospital in New York."

"I will see to it immediately." Ava smiled at her once again, then went outside to find the telephone number of the hospital. But she didn't come far when someone got in her way. Startled, she looked up. "Aiden ..." she said, surprised, when she saw who it was.

He eyed her skeptically and frowned. "What are you doing?" He demanded.

They had become friends, in the time he had spent on Rebun Island, so she dared to ask him the question that weighs on her mind. "Is it true that you brought Emily here against her will?" She saw his expression darken and knew the young mother had said the truth.

"It's not your business, okay?" He blurted out.

"No, it's not okay!" She put her hands on her hips and looked at him defiantly. "Emily made it my business. She wants to go back, Aiden. You can't hold her against her will!"

"She doesn't know what she wants."

"Oh, she knows very well." Ava pushed a strand of hair off her forehead. "Don't think I don't know how much you still love her. The only thing is that her feelings for you have changed."

"Did she tell you that?"

Ava nodded. "And that's exactly why you have to let her go," she said urgently.

Aiden laughed sarcastically. "So she can go back to the Graysons? Never," he said resolutely. "Emily belongs to me!"

"She has a baby and she wants to go back to her husband!" She touched him gently on his arm. "Be reasonable, Aiden. You can't force emotions. Besides, you don't want that they accuse you of abduction!"

He took his cell phone and punched something in. "Here, read this! This message went straight to the press." He pointed to the article so that she could read the headline.

"He is under arrest?!", she said in disbelief after reading the article. She raised her head and looked at him in shock. "He didn't abduct her, Aiden! You have to correct this! You can't let an innocent go into jail for a crime he didn't do!"

"Daniel Grayson is anything but innocent," he said contemptuously. "Haven't Emily told you what he did?"

She shook her head slowly.

"Well, it doesn't matter," he said harshly. "Anyway, I'm glad they locked him up. And hopefully, he will die in prison. This saves me the trouble of killing him myself!"

Shocked, she stared after him as he turned and walked away. She knew how much he hated the Graysons. In all the time he was here, he hadn't spoken of anything else. But she was astonished that he would even consider a murder. She had to do something, even at the risk of getting into something that was not her business. She flipped open her cell phone and began to dial.