novelraw Chapter 254: Finally Apprehended
Chapter 254: Finally Apprehended
Chapter 254: Finally ApprehendedStella stirred in her sleep, her brows streaked in a deep frown. She seemed to be having a bad dream because whatever it was she was seeing while her eyes were shut couldn’t be anything good, which was proven by how she gripped the white towel wrapped around her body.
"Urghh!" She groaned in her sleep before finally opening her eyes as she leaned away from the wooden panelled wall. The environment she was met with, drew a gasp from her lips.
"W-What—." Stella’s eyes grew wide in shock as her gaze darted around the small room she was sitting in. "W-what am I doing here?" She was shocked to see herself dozing off in the sauna, and she had no idea how she had gotten into it in the first place.
Stella jumped off the seat. A groan escaped her lips as she looked around her, shock and confusion obvious in her expression.
She couldn’t exactly pinpoint how long she had been in the sauna room, but from the pains stringing in her veins, she knew something had happened even though she couldn’t remember anything.
It felt like a part of her memory was missing. Her head was almost completely blank except for the question marks and confusion. It took a while for Stella to calm her nerves down and think slowly.
The pain in her body made her stop thinking about her lost memory and focus only on it.
Stella sat back down, her eyes looking past her shoulder in
"Ma’am, you can’t remember?" One of them asked.
"Ma’am, you already booked us and paid before coming into the store," another explained.
Stella lost her mind almost immediately. She had no recollection of those memories they just mentioned.
How come she couldn’t remember anything?
Even trying to remember any random scene in her head caused her head to hurt so much that she didn’t dare insist on recalling any memory.
At last, the people behind the desk took pity on Stella and proceeded to show her the CCTV footage that captured her walking into their store with nothing. She stopped at the front desk to speak to them for a bit. Finally, she was led into the store properly to her VIP room.
As Stella watched this footage, fear gripped her. She felt there was something more that she couldn’t pinpoint.
’I need to get home first,’ Stella concluded as her breathing ragged. She felt slightly dizzy and had to wedge herself with one arm balanced steadily on the counter.
"Ma’am, are you okay?" One of the young ladies rushed to her side with concern in her brows, offering to help her, but she declined.
Stella could sense something amiss, but the problem was that she had missing memories she couldn’t place her hands on. And the worst part of her situation was her failure to realize how much time had passed.
She literally had no idea that she had been missing for more than a month. If only she had realized this with the help of her ’phone’ or through the attendants in the spa, it might have been possible for her to temporarily escape from the hands of the police.
Unfortunately, she knew nothing. She was just a confused, fear-gripped woman trying to go back home and better understand her situation.
Stella made up her mind to leave, and just as she steadied herself and took five steps past the counter towards the entrance, the police burst in.
Detective Woods, two other detectives in mufti, and five policemen in uniform rushed into the store, slowing down immediately as soon as they saw the woman standing right in front of them.
Stella stopped in her steps with invincible question marks on her head. But the moment her gaze fell on Detective Woods, a sudden rush of memories flooded her mind.
The scenes of her questioning session with Detective Woods over the murder of her husband struck first. It was followed by her plans to leave the country, her coming into the spa and...
Stella couldn’t remember the rest, and by the time she returned to reality, Detective Woods and his team had already surrounded her.
"Mrs. Swift, you are under arrest," Detective Woods declared, his steely gaze locking onto hers. He held up an official arrest warrant in her face, the papers crisp, stamped, and undeniable. It had been over a month since it was issued, and finally, it got to be used today.
Panic surged through Stella’s veins, her heart racing in her chest as she clenched her fists. Still, she was trying to think fast on how to escape her doom.
"No! No, this is a mistake!" she shrieked, her voice cracking as she staggered backwards. Her eyes darted wildly, searching for an escape that didn’t exist as the people staff behind the desk watched the shocking scene unfolding before their very eyes.
Two officers advanced swiftly, blocking any path of retreat for Stella.
"Don’t make this harder on yourself, Mrs. Swift," Detective Woods warned, his voice calm yet firm. "I told you that the next time we’d meet would be a day like today."
Stella shook her head, her gaze wary. She refused to go down without a fight.
Suddenly, with a desperate scream, she lunged at the nearest officer, her fingernails clawing at his uniform. A mistake.
In one swift motion, he gripped her arm, twisting it behind her back. Another officer stepped in, forcing her onto her knees as the cold bite of handcuffs snapped around her wrists.
"Let me go! You have no right!" she howled, thrashing violently as her true nature emerged. Now, she was no longer confused and wary. She was the real Stella Swift.
"You’re not in a position to make demands," Detective Woods muttered, nodding at one of his men.
A dark cloth was swiftly draped over her cuffed hands, concealing them from public view as the officers hoisted her up.
Stella gasped for breath, her chest heaving, her defiance crumbling into dread.
"You have the right to remain silent," one officer began, reading her rights as they escorted her towards a waiting black police van outside the building where onlookers had halted to watch the drama with their phone cameras positioned on Stella.
Stella’s legs buckled, but the officers kept her steady, dragging her forward as she let out one last venomous cry—
"You’ll regret this! I swear it!"
Detective Woods exhaled, unmoved.
"Funny," he said, watching as they shoved her into the van. "That’s what all criminals say before they face justice."