Clara was at the police station. She was being interrogated again. Her eyes were dry from all the tears she spilled that night. She felt so defeated. Empty. There was always a spark in her eyes before, now it's gone.

On the night of the party, Clara was just a rebellious teenager. She had some problems but they were not that uncommon. She forgot herself a bit, she got drunk, she got high and she convinced her friend to do the same.

But that was before Brian's birthday party. On the day when she woke up woke up Sabrina was no longer at the house.

Sabrina was missing.

Police found her body 2 days later. Someone choked her to death and dumped her body into a river. They suspected it to be a "crime of passion" because of her injuries.

"Once again. You saw Sabrina Meyers leaving the house with her boyfriend, Desmond Laffan. Yes?" the sharp, cold voice asked. The police officer clearly didn't like her. There was an unspoken accusation in his voice. His questions were sharp and blunt.

"He almost carried her out. Just like me, she was out of it. She didn't know what she was doing" Clara explained quietly, looking at the wooden desk in front of her. She was in the interrogation room. Her mother agreed for her to be interrogated alone, after she learned where Clara was that night and what happened she could barely look at her daughter let alone be in one room with her.

"So why didn't you do anything to stop them from leaving?" Officer Smith asked with his arms crossed. The fact that he was towering over her added to his intimidation factor. Clara gulped.

"I was out of it" Clara responded with difficulty. Her heart was heavy with guilt and grief. "I was lying on the sofa half asleep. I saw them talking and I wanted to say something but my body just wouldn't move" she started tearing up but she quickly and furiously wiped them off. No tears. She couldn't break down here.

It's not like she "literally" couldn't move. She wasn't paralyzed. There was no roofie in her drink or anything like that. She was just drunk as fuck, and high. In a normal situation, a red alarm would ring in her head the moment she saw Desmond approaching Sabrina but in the state, she was in she was just too relaxed, too sleepy, too nauseous to bother. She knew that Desmond and Sabrina had fights, some of them were ugly. But she would never assume he would kill her.

That was her mistake.

"Are you sure it was him?" He asked about ten-thousandth of the time.

"Yes. I'm sure. He called her before and she told him where she was. He started yelling at her and she told him they should break up. I told you this already" Clara repeated frustrated "You're going to arrest him, right?"

"It's too early to jump to any conclusion just yet" the police officer responded dissuasively.

"What do you mean? He was abusive to her in the past. He clearly did it!" Clara yelled unable to believe in what she was hearing.

"Tell me, Clara, how well do you know Desmond Laffan?"

"All I know about him is what Sabrina told me. We've never met" Laffan was working as a skiing instructor. He and Sabrina would meet always outside of the school, always somewhere where there was no risk for Sabrina's brother or parents to find out so no, personally, Clara was never introduced to him. She only knew him from the pictures.

"And yet You're very quick to judge a person you've never met. Sabrina never reported any acts of violence against her. Her family wasn't aware of them as well. So far all we have on him is one eyewitness, you. You were the only one who saw them leaving. The fact that you were intoxicated is making your statements even more unreliable" the officer explained calmly. It was unnerving.

"I told you I am sure it was him," Clara said stubbornly. She knows what she saw.

"And I am sure that you believe it but I am obliged to look for all possible explanations. Mr. Laffan denies the allegations, he claims that he hasn't been there that night and he has an alibi"

Desmond Laffan came from a rich influential background. His father was a senator at the US congress. Mother was a judge. He was one of these douchebags who wore the outfits as if they were ready to play golf any time. For people like him rules didn't exist and what was happening right now was proof of that. Clara was sure his family had pulled the right strings to make sure their son would get away with everything. Officer Smith's behavior was very telling, from the beginning he tried everything to make Clara change her statement "You can't be sure it was him, you were drunk, right?" he really wanted her to doubt her statements and her memory.

But she wouldn't break. She had to be strong.

If Clara could, she would stop going to school altogether. The mysterious case of her friend's murder created a ton of rumors and conspiracy theories. Everyone avoided her; they were either way too scared to approach her or they just didn't know how to cheer her up. The school has stopped being a pleasant experience. Just like everything else in Clara's life it turned into a nightmare.

When Clara came home she noticed that there was one more jacket than usual in the hallway and it belonged to a man without a doubt.

"I'm home," Clara announced, checking the kitchen to see if her mother was there. She was, and she had a guest. The man was wearing a beige suit, new, polished brown shoes, and a silver watch. His hair was pulled away from his forehead with gel, he looked like a rich douchebag.

"Where have you been? I told you to go back home right after school" mother barked harshly. Ever since the situation with Sabrina, their relationship fell apart. Mother was the opposite of supportive. It's almost like she was ashamed of having a daughter and Clara couldn't blame her.

"Yesterday, you told me to do grocery shopping, remember?" Clara showed her the bag packed with food items.

"Oh, right. Sorry" she responded in a gloomy voice. "This is Michael Sawyer, he's Laffan's family attorney"

The man stood up and shook Clara's hand "It's nice to meet you. I am sorry you lost your friend" he said in a warm sympathetic voice. Clara instantly got suspicious what the hell was that man doing here?

"Mr. Sawyer is giving us an offer," Gianna explained. "If you won't show up to testify in court he will pay us a good sum of money"

"Financial recompense for all the emotional distress this situation has caused for you" Sawyer added.

In other words, he wanted to buy Clara's silence.

"I don't want Laffan's money. I will testify, you can get the fuck out of my house now" Clara said, her head buzzing with anger.

"Clara! What language is this?" mother scolded "Michael, I am sorry for her behavior"

Michael? Did her mother just call that man by his first name?

"It's quite alright, Gianna. She's been through a lot, her frustration is understandable"

Clara didn't understand what was happening. With furrowed brows, she was looking at the exchange between her mother and that man. Mother wasn't considering taking his offer, right?

"Clara, you must understand. This money would help us a lot. Your testimony will be discredited in court anyway, why risk it? We will take his offer"

"You must be joking, we're not taking anything!" Clara yelled, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her own mother was okay with them covering a murder. Clara took a step back as if she saw that woman for the first time in her life "Mom?" she whispered pitifully but her mother could not respond with anything more than an apologetic expression. "I will be testifying tomorrow whether you like it or not" Clara decided, a stern expression returning to her face. With that, she walked out of the kitchen and went straight to her room. She was certain her mother couldn't force her to do or not do anything.

She was very wrong.

The next day she was locked up in her room. She did not go to testify. Not from the lack of trying, her mother just made sure to be at home that day and make sure her daughter can't go anywhere.

Gianna's reasoning was simple. She didn't believe justice will be served no matter what her daughter will say. She didn't want to see Clara's reputation to be shredded by that terrible lawyer who visited them. By forcing Clara to stay she believed she's protecting her, she believed that the money would fix more than Clara's testimony ever could. But she was wrong. Ultimately Gianna's decision ruined Clara's life. Because Clara didn't have closure. She felt like she hadn't done enough and that guilt would be driving all her future actions.

Clara's lack of appearance at the court case has also been seen as a betrayal by the Meyers family who did not get justice for their daughter. Sabrina's murder has become just one of the millions of unsolved cases.

All allegations against Desmond have been dismissed. His records are sealed. It was over. Or was it?

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I would love to know your opinions ❤️