Cemetery.

Autumn had no clue her secret was already out. She''de today to visit Julie''s grave, hoping for a bit of peace.

Asher was dead at least now, she could tell herself she''d done something for her daughter.

She knelt andid a bouquet of fresh flowers on the grass. “Julie, the one who hurt you has paid for it. I promised you-no one who wronged you would ever get away."

Now that everyone knew who Julie was, Autumn didn''t have to keep things hidden. She''d had the headstone made and put up without any more secrecy.

Thinking of her daughter, Autumn''s heart twisted painfully. "Julie, it''s all my fault. I should have been there to protect you."

She wiped at her tears, talking softly to the headstone as if Julie might somehow hear her, wishing fate would give them another shot at being mother and daughter.

After a quiet while in the cemetery, Autumn went home. As her car pulled up, she spotted a police cruiser parked by the curb.

That was odd. She told the driver to stop, then hurried out and up to the front door.

She figured maybe the police were here to see Mr. Walker. But when she stepped inside, she saw two uniformed officers in the living room-and no sign of her husband. Autumn frowned. "Officers? What''s going on?"

One of them stood up. "Mrs. Walker, good afternoon. I''m Detective Jason from the Westbridge Major Crimes Unit. We''re here about the kidnapping of Anastasia Salstrom, the co-owner of Elysian Technologies. This is my partner, Detective Hank."

Hank nodded politely. "Mrs. Walker."

Autumn''s heart skipped a beat, but she managed to keep her face nk. "I don''t really see why you''re here. My husband doesn''t handle these kinds of cases.”

Jason watched her closely, taking in every flicker of her expression. Years in the field had given him a nose for these things, and he noticed how her eyes changed, just a bit, when he mentioned Anastasia.

He got straight to the point. "Here''s what''s happened, Mrs. Walker. The four men who kidnapped Mrs. Salstrom are all dead. The person who killed them just turned themselves in. They im you were the one who orchestrated the kidnapping. I''m here as a matter of procedure to ask you a few questions. I hope you''ll cooperate."  s

“That''s ridiculous!” Autumn snapped, her face stormy, ying her part to the hilt. "Why would I have anything to do with a kidnapping? Who''s saying this? I''ve never hurt anyone! It must be someone going after my husband. This is all just political scheming, isn''t it? Someone''s trying to bring him down."

Autumn wasn''t stupid-she immediately threw suspicion on anyone who might want to ruin Mr. Walker. In this world, everyone knew how dirty politics could get. Jason sized her up. She wasn''t going to be easy. If anything, she was slippery. He kept his tone official. "Mrs. Walker, please stay calm. We''remitted to finding the truth. We won''t let an innocent person take the fall, but we also won''t let a criminal walk free."

He let thatst sentence hang in the air, eyes fixed sharply on her.

Autumn''s face stayed icy, her voice steady. "Of course, Detective. You should do your job and punish anyone who tries to smear others."

Jason could see she wasn''t budging and was trying to steer the conversation away. He frowned. "Really, Mrs. Walker, I''m here to clear your name Your husband is known for his honesty and dedication-he''s respected, and I admire him too. If someone''s framing you, we''ll make sure they''re punished. But I still need to ask you some questions. Please cooperate."  s

"Naturally," Autumn replied, smooth as ever. "Go ahead and ask, Detective. We can sit and talk."

She called for the housekeeper to bring fruit and make some tea.

When everyone was settled, Jason got into it. "Mrs. Walker, do you know these men: Lewis, John, Carter, and Zach?"

The names belonged to Anastasia''s four kidnappers.fn10d7 For original chapters go to ?ovelFind/fn10d7

Autumn shook her head. "Nope. Never heard of them."

Jason pressed on. "And what about Ben from Northside Penitentiary? You two went to college together, right?"

That was easy to check, so Autumn didn''t bother denying it. "Yes, Ben and I were ssmates in college.

But we hadn''t seen each other i

decades-only ran into each other again after moved here with M Walker. We had dinner, caught up like old friends. Later, I heard he died suddenly. I was really sorry to hear it.”  s