The Contract With Her Father's Billionaire Rival-Chapter 90. R.J’s Interview.

Nicolette stared at Lucian, unsure of how to react.

He was playing the long game, she could tell from the look in his eyes, the smirk on his lips as he stretched out that envelope.

Slowly, the shock left her body. Slowly, amusement crawled in. Then it took over fully.

"You’re a fucking... clown," she laughed, throwing her head back.

Lucian arched a brow. "What?"

She shook her head in disbelief, laughing even harder. "You have guts, Lucian. I have to give you that."

He dropped his hand to his side, confusion etched on his face. "I don’t understand why you’re not jumping on the offer. It’s a furnished building, bigger than the one you’ve got. It’s not far from your gallery. Why wouldn’t you take it?"

The false sad look on his face irked her, and it was enough to yank the amusement right out of her.

"Get out, Lucian. I don’t want anything from you," she said, folding her arms.

A frown appeared on his face. "You haven’t even checked it out? You don’t know—"

"I don’t want anything from you, Lucian," she interrupted him. "Get the fucking message and leave."

His shoulders slumped as his eyes gleamed with sadness. "Please, Lettie..."

If she didn’t know how dangerous this man was, she might have been tempted to pity him. Maybe even consider his offer.

But she knew exactly who he was. And that knowledge made anger boil inside her.

"I don’t want to have to repeat myself."

Lucian looked at her, his expression suddenly unreadable. The sudden shift made her stomach knot, but she held her ground, determined not to show him that.

He didn’t say anything for a while. Then finally, he did.

"Fine," he sighed and lifted the envelope. "Just have it, please."

Annoyance flashed in her eyes, but she didn’t say anything. She knew he saw it.

"Fine," he repeated, dropping his hand. "Should I get you something else then?"

"Just go," she hissed.

Lucian hesitated before finally turning back to his car. He trudged to it, and seconds later, finally left.

Nicolette exhaled, grateful she had handled that better than she had expected. When the Rolls Royce was out of sight, she turned to Wex.

"That is that. Let’s go to the police station."

Wex nodded and went to get the car. For obvious security reasons, another bodyguard followed him, sitting in the passenger seat.

The drive to the station was slow, giving Nicolette time to gather her thoughts. She wondered if she should burden Alaric by telling him Lucian had come to the house.

She didn’t want him to worry or start imagining things, but then again, his bodyguards might inform him anyway—and that wouldn’t be good.

Making up her mind, she pulled out her phone and texted Alaric, telling him everything about Lucian’s visit.

Moments later, he replied: "The hell? I’m doubling security ASAP. Sorry you went through that alone."

She sighed at the message, but it wasn’t out of relief—it was disappointment. This was his second opportunity to tell her when he might be coming back, and yet, he didn’t.

Her mind drifted to Trainer, and she replied: "Extra security sounds great. Thanks. Can you bring Trainer back? He was actually helpful that day."

"Done. He’ll be back tomorrow."

Her chest leaped with joy at his quick, positive response.

"Thank you," she replied just as Wex pulled into the police station.

"Thanks, guys. I’ll be back soon," she said, stepping out of the car.

She walked straight to Detective Hector’s office. Her heart flipped at the possibility of what could be.

She had no idea what Detective Hector’s reply about Rachel might be, but she hoped it would be positive. She hoped Rachel had been arrested for all her crimes, for all her conniving—her and Ronald.

When she got to the office, she sighed, gathering her thoughts before knocking.

"Yes? Come in," Detective Hector replied.

Nicolette walked in. "Hello, Detective."

Detective Hector was typing on his laptop. When he saw her, he immediately stood up. "Hello, Ms. Allens. Please, have a seat."

She sat.

"Welcome, ma’am."

"Thank you. How was the interview?" she asked, her heart pounding slightly. "Did she confess?"

She waited, unsure whether she would be excited or disappointed.

"Well," Detective Hector said, and her heart sank. That wasn’t encouraging. "We did conduct an interview with Miss R.J., but we still need a thorough investigation before we can conclude."

Thorough investigation meant Rachel was still being treated as innocent—and there was a chance she might never be found guilty.

The thought crushed Nicolette, and it showed in her voice. "But... you have evidence. There’s proof she was in my gallery. She was at Lucian’s party. She could have been working with—"

"Ms. Allens," Detective Hector said, leaning forward. "I understand your frustration. I really do. But solving cases takes time, especially serious ones like this."

She pursed her lips, allowing defeat to settle inside her.

She couldn’t believe the case was turning out like this. She had hoped the news would be great. But now Rachel was back on the streets—free and happy.

Well, until she dropped the news about Rachel stealing her mother’s painting.

That thought gave her hope, and the hope calmed her nerves a little.

She looked at the detective and caught the concern in his eyes. "I understand, Detective. It’s just hard to accept, regardless of the knowledge."

Detective Hector nodded. "Yes, ma’am. It’s very hard, but I want you to be patient and assured that we are working hard. Justice will be served."

She nodded. "Thank you, Detective."

"You’re welcome, ma’am. Ready for the video?"

"Sure."

"Alright, let’s go," Detective Hector said, standing up.

Nicolette stood too and followed him downstairs. He walked down the hallway, greeting some officers cheerfully before stopping at a blue door marked Observation Room.

"After you, ma’am," he said, opening the door for her.

Inside the room, there were no windows, just dim lights, rows of monitors, tables, chairs, cool air, and the low hum of electronics. Two other detectives were already seated behind the monitors.

"Hey, guys. This is Ms. Allens. We would like to watch yesterday’s interview with Miss R.J."

"Hey," she waved, and they waved back.

"You might want to take a seat here, ma’am," Detective Hector said, pulling out a chair.

She nodded and sat, watching as the men typed, the only sound in the room being the clicking of keyboards and the flicker of monitors.

"Ready?" one of them asked.

"Yes," she replied.

He turned to the screen and clicked a button.

Nicolette swallowed hard as her palms were suddenly wet with anxiety. The room went quiet as Rachel’s face appeared on the screen.

"Good day, Miss R.J. I am Detective Mark Hector with the New Orleans Police Department, Major Crimes Division, and this is Investigator Laura Chen with the Fire Marshal’s Office, Arson Investigation," Detective Hector said, pointing to a short woman in a ponytail who had sat down after the introduction.

Detective Hector dropped a small book on the table. "We’re conducting a joint investigation, and this interview is being recorded as part of our ongoing inquiry into the recent fire on Mel Street. Before we begin, I need to advise you of your rights..."

Nicolette shifted her attention to Rachel. She didn’t look terrified as she nodded through the reading of her rights.

Nicolette clenched her fists beside her to hide her anxiety. Her stomach churned from just sitting there and watching Rachel.

"Tell us what you were doing at Ms. Allens’ gallery on the 25th of last month?" Investigator Chen went straight for it. "We have surveillance footage showing you at the back door."

The knot in Nicolette’s stomach tightened. Rachel still looked unfazed by the questioning.

"Usually at this point, most guilty suspects would ask for their lawyers," Detective Hector leaned forward and told Nicolette.

"Okay," she said flatly, unimpressed that Rachel wasn’t even slightly shaky.

Rachel leaned forward on the screen. "I don’t deny going there, but I didn’t do anything. I was going to see Nicolette. I had something to discuss with her."

Nicolette raised a brow. What did Rachel want to say?

"But we know you two aren’t the best of friends," Detective Hector said. "You haven’t seen each other in a long time. So how come the same day you show up at her gallery is the same day it goes up in flames?"

Rachel shrugged. "I don’t know."

Nicolette shifted in her chair, her heart pounding.

"So you’re saying it’s pure coincidence?" Investigator Chen asked. "You didn’t set the place on fire?"

"I couldn’t even see her, she wasn’t there," Rachel replied gently.

"And how are we to believe you didn’t come back and set the place on fire just because you didn’t meet her?" Investigator Chen countered.

"Why would I do that? I’m not fighting her. I just wanted to talk," Rachel insisted.

"And how are we supposed to be sure of that?" Investigator Chen shot back.

"Do you have evidence I blew up the place?" Rachel fired.

Nicolette bit her lip, watching as both officers seemed briefly uncomfortable with the question.

"Miss. R.J.," Detective Hector said gently. "We’re just trying to understand your point of view."

Ah—good cop, bad cop.

"And I am explaining myself. I didn’t do anything," Rachel said calmly.

Detective Hector stepped closer. "Alright, ma’am. But some things are unclear here. Like why you stole Mrs. Allens’ drawings. Was that a coincidence too, or part of a grand scheme?"

For the first time since the interview began, Nicolette saw Rachel stiffen. She shifted, lowering herself in the chair. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"That was why I wanted to see Nicolette," Rachel said with a sigh.

"You wanted to tell her you were going to steal her mother’s drawings?" Investigator Chen asked, puzzled.

Rachel leaned forward, her expression suddenly shifting. "I was going to warn her about her father’s plan. But I was too late. Ronald got to me," she said, her voice breaking. "He threatened me!"

Nicolette straightened up in her chair, her heart racing.

What was going on?