Page 72 of Venomous Desires

He leaned forward slightly. “We’ve got your blood samples, Ms. Rosewood. If anything comes back suspicious, it won’t be looking good for you.”

“I told you, I was at work last night,” I insisted.

A faint smirk tugged at his mouth. “The place you’re talking about has been closed for two years.” His gaze held mine. “Are you sure you’re not under the influence of something?”

“I’m not on drugs,” I said quickly. “And I’m not confused.”

He tilted his head, studying me. “Here’s what we think happened,” he said. “You got into that meeting looking for something—money, drugs, whatever. Things went wrong. And now you’re claiming you were just… working.”

He paused.

“Does that sound about right to you?”

His words echoed in my mind, sowing seeds of doubt. I shook my head, trying to cling to my truth. “No, that’s not what happened.”

He sighed, feigning sympathy. “You might not remember it clearly, but deep down, you know it’s true. The evidence will prove it. You’re not a killer, Ms. Rosewood, just a desperate woman who made a mistake.”

“I told you I didn’t kill him!” I shouted and froze.

He chuckled softly. “Like I said, adesperatewoman.”

“Denial is a powerful thing. Let’s talk about something else,” the officer said. “You say you work for Judas Romanovski. Do you even know who he is?”

I froze. “What are you talking about?”

He gave a small, knowing look. “We know more about you than you think. It’s all in your file. Late nights, unexplained absences. People notice things. They talk.”

“I told you,” I said quickly, “my work starts in the evening and ends around midnight.”

“Right,” he cut in. “And your father—he had a temper, didn’t he? Troubled man. Angry.”

My stomach dropped.

“People like that,” he continued, “sometimes pass it on. So tell me, Ms. Rosewood… did you lose control and kill him?”

My blood ran cold. How did he know about my father?

“Leave my family out of this,” I said.

The officer leaned back with a small, satisfied smile. “Touchy subject. Noted.”

He tapped the file in front of him. “The more you resist, the worse it looks. If you’re innocent, cooperate. Tell us what happened. Otherwise, you’re just making this harder on yourself.”

My chest tightened. “I’ve already told you the truth,” I whispered. “I didn’t kill anyone.”

He sighed like I were wasting his time. “That’s unfortunate. We were hoping you’d help yourself.”

The door opened.

A woman in a formal outfit walked in and placed a stack of documents on the table without a word.

She left just as quickly.

The officer flipped through the file. A slow smile spread across his face.

“Well, Ms. Rosewood…” he said. “Looks like we found something interesting.”

He looked up at me. “There are drugs in your system.”