Under the Pressure of the Law
24: CHAPTER 24.
Under the Pressure of the Law ”What’s going on here, Adriana?”
I turned my head listlessly at the sound of that deeply familiar baritone voice.
Javier had just arrived, hurrying in with rushed steps, his expression a blend of anxiety and intense curiosity after reaching this place.
I…
was now sitting inside a police station.
It was true.
Adriana had truly carried out her insane threat.
Without a shred of mercy, she had dragged me straight here the moment the photoshoot ended.
Along the way, I had explained myself and cried over and over, insisting again and again that I had never touched her precious belongings.
But that serpent of a woman remained adamant about bringing me here, convinced I simply refused to admit the truth — that I had stolen her necklace.
“She stole the diamond necklace I was supposed to wear for the photoshoot, Javi!” Adriana snapped sharply, pointing straight at me as I could only sit silent and still in the interrogation chair since the moment we arrived.
Javier shifted his gaze, looking at me with an expression that was difficult to read.
“Is that true, Camila?” Javier asked directly, demanding clarity.
“I didn’t do that, Javier!
Why would I steal her necklace?
I don’t need something like that!”
”But the fact is, that necklace was found inside your personal bag, and every crew member at the studio saw it with their own eyes!” Adriana cut in swiftly, slicing through my defense.
She stepped closer with a condescending smile.
“Maybe you really do have the soul of a thief, don’t you think? Know your place, Camila — you’re not truly part of the Villarreal family.”
I clenched both my hands tightly in my lap until my nails carved sharp pain into my skin.
Her words struck straight into the deepest part of my dignity.
Even though I wasn’t blood-related to the Villarreal family, I was not a criminal!
“I didn’t steal anything! For all we know, you could have deliberately placed that box inside my bag yourself!” I snapped loudly, unleashing every ounce of emotion that had already reached its breaking point.
Rather than growing angry at the accusation, Adriana instead wore a triumphant smile.
She whispered softly, then walked with an arrogant stride, circling around my chair.
“Me? Since arriving at the studio I was extremely busy preparing for the shoot — you know that, don’t you? How could I possibly have had time to do something so ridiculous? My assistant and I were in the dressing room the entire time, far away from you, who just sat daydreaming in the corner of the room. How could I possibly have slipped that box into your bag? And besides, do you have any real proof that I or my assistant put that thing inside your bag, hm?”
My chest suddenly felt unbearably tight, because what Adriana was saying was, logically, true.
The legal position cornered me completely.
But if it wasn’t them, how could that luxurious jewelry box have suddenly appeared inside my bag?
As far as I could remember, I hadn’t unzipped my bag even once since leaving the house.
Seeing me begin to lose my footing, Javier let out a heavy sigh, then patted his fiancée’s shoulder gently.
“Adriana, that’s enough. Your precious necklace is safe now and back in your hands, isn’t it? There’s no need to drag this out any further,” Javier said, trying to mediate so the matter wouldn’t escalate into something more serious under the law.
“It’s true the necklace has been returned, Javi. But I just want to give this shameless thief a lesson she truly deserves,” Adriana replied, her voice deliberately raised.
Her eyes flicked toward me, dripping with contempt.
“Let her know exactly where her limits lie. Let her realize that taking what belongs to other people is wrong, and sooner or later, she will surely receive a painful punishment in return.”
Hearing that string of words slip from Adriana’s red lips, my entire body suddenly shuddered.
Those words were aimed at me, laced with insinuation.
I knew exactly where this conversation was truly heading.
Adriana wasn’t talking about her missing diamond necklace at all.
The “belongings of other people” that serpent of a woman was referring to wasn’t jewelry — it was Javier.
Through this cheap performance staged at the police station, Adriana seemed to be sending me a veiled threat: if I still dared to have feelings for and long for Javier, she held every power necessary to do something far crueler, to utterly destroy my life until nothing remained of it at all.