CHAPTER 898: CHAPTER 898 SUSPECTS

Hearing Hera recount the events with such calm, everyone felt their hearts tighten with fear. The sheer fact that she had come so close to death, and yet could speak of it so casually, sent a chill through the room. One wrong move, and they would have lost her. Just the thought of it was unbearable. Xavier’s hand trembled as he listened, unable to mask the shock and helplessness in his eyes. She spoke as if nothing was wrong, but everything was.

Aside from Alice, who barely qualified as a rival, they couldn’t think of anyone Hera had wronged, let alone someone who’d want her dead. Even with Alice, Hera had done nothing to deserve this. So who could harbor such hatred? Who would go this far to see her dead?

They didn’t have much time to dwell on their fear, not with their hearts still pounding from hearing Hera’s calm recount of what had nearly been her death. Now that she was awake, Alexandre knew he had to inform the authorities overseeing the investigation. A few questions from the police might help piece together the truth.

It wasn’t long before a man and a woman in police uniforms arrived. They approached with quiet urgency, flashing their badges for verification. Alexandre stepped aside to give them space, staying close but silent as the officers turned to Hera.

"Ma’am, do you recall anything about what happened during the race?" the woman officer asked gently, her voice soft but professional as her eyes scanned Hera’s condition with clear concern. Beside her, the male officer stood ready, pen poised over his notepad to record every detail.

Hera calmly recounted the same explanation she had given to Xavier and the others, how she noticed the brake failure, suspected sabotage, and decided to act. Her story left the officers visibly alarmed. She had gambled her life on a mere sliver of a chance, and one wrong move could have meant instant death. They commended her bravery, but Hera hadn’t taken a blind leap of faith.

In truth, she wasn’t relying solely on luck. She had factored in the slim but potent power of the female lead’s halo to aid her survival, while also calculating her timing to reduce the force of the crash and minimize injury. If she had placed all her faith in that halo alone, she might still be in the ICU, fighting for her life, or worse, left with permanent injuries. After all, even fictional heroines often ended up comatose or disabled after similar close calls.

Would she ever want that? Of course not. Hera had never risked her life recklessly. Every step she’d taken before was measured and deliberate. This was the first time she made a gamble, but even then, she didn’t put all her eggs in one basket. Fortunately, she didn’t. Otherwise, she might truly have ended up in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

"Do you have any known enemies here in Paris?" the female officer asked gently, after her partner finished scribbling Hera’s account into his notepad.

"I did recently have a public altercation with a plagiarist yesterday, right in front of the world, no less," Hera said calmly. "But I don’t think she’s foolish enough to strike back so soon, especially when everyone witnessed our fallout. It would make her an obvious suspect. Besides, I doubt she has the resources or influence to orchestrate something like this, at least, that’s just my opinion."

What Hera said was true. Though she and Alice had a very public confrontation, they were in a foreign country, and Alice didn’t have the local support, power, or connections to pull off something this extreme.

Hera knew Alice well enough: she could be petty and reckless, but not outright suicidal. Attacking Hera now, while under heavy public scrutiny, would only bring more attention and backlash, something Alice had already experienced firsthand as a celebrity.

Alice had been reincarnated, too, and she understood just how terrifying a weapon the internet could be. Netizens could dig up dirt with frightening speed and destroy a public figure’s life overnight.

Alice knew this, and her best move now was to disappear, to lay low until the scandal faded and the public moved on, as they often did when the next big drama came along. Hera figured that Alice was probably hiding somewhere, praying to be forgotten so she could quietly start over after a long hiatus.

Aside from Alice, had she offended anyone else? The question lingered in Hera’s mind just as the female officer posed her next one:

"Then, have you offended anyone else or had a negative interaction with someone, local or foreign?"

Her tone wasn’t overtly hostile, but the wording of her question made it sound as if Hera might have been the problem. That subtle implication caused Athena, Liz, and Minerva to bristle, irritation flashing across their faces as they took it as a veiled accusation.

After all, the question had been asked in English, so they understood it clearly. But perhaps it was also the language barrier, or cultural nuances that made the phrasing feel sharper than intended to the three girls.

But Hera didn’t react the same way. In fact, the question helped jog her memory. The truth was, Alice wasn’t the only person she had clashed with recently. Alice had been an old enemy, even before they left their home country, but like her, Alice was a foreigner here. No one local would go to great lengths to help her, especially not after what happened yesterday.

The person who assisted Alice in plagiarizing Hera’s work had already been arrested and would soon face legal consequences. People like that were rare. Besides, Hera still had some influence, money, and limited connections she could rely on in Paris, but Alice didn’t. She had nothing left.

The scale and sophistication of this sabotage suggested someone with real power, someone with money, resources, and local connections. Which meant this wasn’t the work of a desperate outsider... but likely a local with an agenda.

Then Hera remembered, she had, in fact, offended a few people recently. She turned to the officers and said, "Well, one possible suspect is the woman who was brought to the station yesterday for working with Alice Quinn to plagiarize my jewelry design."

"She comes from a powerful background, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she had the means to arrange something like this. Aside from her, I also attended an upper-class birthday party the other night and... I may have offended a few socialites there as well."

At that moment, Alexandre’s eyes widened in realization. He immediately knew who Hera was referring to. Of course, it made perfect sense. Hera may have unwittingly made herself a thorn in the side of his supposed fiancée, someone he’d almost forgotten about. That woman had all the resources: money, power, and enough influence to bend the law if she wanted to.

Alexandre stepped forward. "I can provide a list of the guests Hera was referring to. After all, the party she attended was my birthday celebration. I also have access to the surveillance footage from that night, which should help identify anyone she may have had a confrontation with."

He refrained from naming names, just as Hera had, because without solid evidence, doing so could easily backfire on them.