Chapter 126

Chase appeared agitated. Robert raised his hands, attempting to calm him. "Mr. Reyes, I understand your anxiety, but you must remain calm. We need your cooperation to find Ms. Kennedy quickly."

Chase's voice was rough with emotion. He replied, "Alright, I'll cooperate."

Robert proceeded to take statements from everyone, but his demeanor turned noticeably cold when he reached Nicole.

"Nicole, it's your turn."

Mom quickly stepped in front of Robert. "Officer Robert, my daughter has a weak heart. Any stress could be dangerous. Please, be gentle. If you have questions, you can ask me."

Robert looked at Mom, whose face was etched with worry. He said, even more seriously, "Mrs. Kennedy, it strikes me as odd that your eldest daughter has been missing for so long, and you don't seem particularly concerned. Even during the statements, I didn't sense much effort from you. Now, your younger daughter is giving a statement, and you're on edge? Amanda is missing; the possibility of foul play is high. Considering your family's attitude, however, suicide doesn't seem entirely out of the question."

The strained atmosphere in our family wasn't lost on outsiders.

"It's not that I'm not worried about my daughter's health..." Mom began to explain.

"It's routine questioning. If she has nothing to hide, what's there to worry about? This applies to everyone. No exceptions," Officer Robert said before turning away.

Mom fussed over Nicole as if she were sending her into battle. "Sweetheart, don't be nervous. Just answer their questions, okay?"

"Okay, Mom, I got it," Nicole replied, a flicker of annoyance crossing her eyes.

She had cultivated such a perfect image that everyone felt compelled to protect her.

Entering the room, I noticed the curtains were drawn, the only light emanating from a desk lamp. Only Nicole and Officer Robert remained. He sat behind the lamp, his figure half-hidden in shadow, his expression unreadable, intensifying the room's tension.

Unable to stray far from Chase, I stood in the doorway. Once the door closed, I could see nothing.

I suspected Officer Robert's attitude toward Nicole was different. He had begun to suspect her. Whether it was motive or the statements of others, everything seemed to point toward Nicole as a key suspect.

Still, I knew Nicole was more than prepared for this. Routine questioning and a typical interrogation wouldn't faze someone with her mental fortitude.

She remained in the room longer than anyone else, causing Mom to pace anxiously.

"Nicole's never been in this situation, and they've been questioning her forever. She must be terrified, right?"

"Don't worry, the police won't harm her. They just want the facts."

Hearing that, I chuckled. This was someone unafraid of the unthinkable—what would she fear?

After a while, Nicole emerged, completely unruffled. This clearly indicated that, thanks to her sharp mind, she didn't take the police seriously.

Officer Robert, however, looked troubled. He likely sensed something amiss with Nicole, but her explanations and the lack of evidence left him with nothing concrete. Nicole could easily attribute it all to coincidence.

Police investigations relied on evidence; without it, every theory remained conjecture.

"Darling, are you alright?" Mom asked, hurrying to her side.

"I'm fine. I just told the truth," Nicole replied calmly.