New beginning: Billionaire love story

Chapter 383 Hours of Questioning

and Matthew in for questioning, she was completely worn out.

Claire had been stuck in the police station for what felt like an eternity. She hadn't eaten, hadn't slept, and the thought of a shower felt like a distant dream. Her brain had been running on fumes for over 24 hours. Between finding Bruno's body and the police dragging her It didn't help that the cops kept circling back to the same questions. Claire sighed internally as the officer across from her asked once again, "So, Ms. Peterson, you're sure you didn't see anyone else around the scene?"

"For the fifth time," Claire said, keeping her voice steady, "no. It was just Matthew and me when we found the body."

The officer scribbled something on his notepad, but Claire knew it was all just a formality. They weren't getting anything new out of her, and they both knew it.

"And what about Adrian Saint Laurent?" the officer added, leaning forward. "You were with him the night of the car explosion. Anything you can tell us about that?"

Claire fought the urge to roll her eyes. Of course, Adrian came up. He seemed to come up in every conversation now. "Nothing that I haven't already told you. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time. We don't know anything about the explosion, I don't know anything about it and I was heading inside to retrieve my phone."

The officer nodded slowly, jotting down another note. Claire could feel her patience fraying at the edges, but she kept her cool. It was all too much this whole situation was spiraling. She felt like she was juggling a dozen things at once, and any second now, she was going to drop them all.

Finally, after what felt like a marathon of the same questions over and over, the officer glanced at the clock. "Alright, Ms. Peterson, that'll be all for now."

Claire sighed, pushing her chair back and standing up. It was around 2 PM when she stepped out of the interrogation room, and the moment she left, she could feel the exhaustion crashing down on her like a wave. Her legs felt heavy as she headed to the waiting room, where Matthew was lounging on one of the uncomfortable chairs, his eyes glued to his phone.

"Matthew," Claire called softly, rubbing her temples.

He looked up immediately and stood, slipping his phone into his pocket. "How'd it go?"

Claire let out a long, tired breath. "I feel like shit."

he felt the same. "Same. They ask you

nodded, leaning against the wall for support. "I swear if I have to

guy found in a trunk, right?" Matthew tried to

energy to laugh, though she appreciated the effort. "Should we head home? I can't even think straight right now." But the second the words were out, Claire's mind started racing again. Should

noticed her hesitation. "Hey, let's just go home. You need to rest. You

feel like if I stop now, if I rest, we'll lose the momentum. The hacker's still

this on fumes. If you don't rest, you're gonna crash, and then you'll be useless. Have you even eaten? Or had a drink of water, for that

heavily, knowing he was right but hating every second

Matthew said, his tone gentle but firm. "Come on. I'll take you home. You need to recharge,

"Fine. But I'm not making

smirked, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as they made their way out of the police station. "I'll

silence heavy but not uncomfortable. By the time Matthew dropped Claire off at her penthouse, she felt like her body was running on autopilot. As she stepped out of the car, Matthew leaned

small, tired

Matthew said with a chuckle, watching her head

kitchen. She grabbed a glass and filled it with water,

little too

sent a chill down her spine, and for a moment, she felt

she made her way to the bathroom, stripping off

not to get

The cold water

For the first time in

she was done, Claire dried off and practically crawled into bed, not even bothering to put on proper