Chapter 198

“What is your name? And how do you know Mrs. Melanie Collins?”
“My name is Benjamin Harris, and I currently work for Miss Melanie Collins at her company, LuxeArt, where I serve as her personal assistant. I’ve been with the company for a few years now, and before that, I was employed as a salesperson at this very store back when it was still under the management of Melanie’s mother-in-law, Madam Collins. That’s how I first got to know her and later started working more closely with Melanie as she took over operations and rebranded the business.”
The officer tilted his head, arms folded across his chest. “If you work for Miss Melanie, then why are you here, Mr. Harris? Don’t you think coming forward like this might cost you your job? Or are you not worried about that?”
Benjamin hesitated for just a second before slowly shaking his head. “I couldn’t keep quiet.” he said slowly. “Not after I realized how close Adam came to being killed. To be honest, I don’t know if she really did it. I want to believe she didn’t. But after everything that’s happened, I don’t know. I’ve worked with Melanie for almost a year now and I know how ruthless she can be. If it costs me my job, then so be it. I’d rather lose that than my conscience. Anyway, I don’t even know if my testimony will be useful.”
The detectives exchanged a look and then gestured for him to continue,” Alright, Mr. Harris. Let’s take your full statement. Start from the beginning—don’t leave anything out.”
Benjamin reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a sleek silver pen, placing it carefully on the table between them. “This is a recorder,” he explained, his fingers hesitating on the cap for a moment before pulling his hand back. “I keep it on me at all times,Melanie gives a lot of instructions on the go, and I’ve learned it’s safer to have things recorded than risk missing something important.”
“Some of the recordings were made unintentionally—background conversations while I was doing other tasks. But when I went back and listened to them, I realized a few might be important. I’ve marked the dates and time stamps for you in this notebook-“he slid a small notepad across the table, and continued, “One of them captures a heated argument between Melanie and Saira—the woman who died. They were fighting about Adam. You can hear Saira accusing Melanie of lying to him and manipulating things behind his back. And even promising to take Adam back from Melanie.”
“There’s also another clip… shorter, but disturbing. It’s Melanie—her voice, saying she’d kill Adam in a different way. She was actually warning him, I think now. I didn’t catch the full context at the time, I’d just walked into the office and only caught the tail end of what she was saying. She changed the topic as soon as she saw me, so I didn’t ask. At the time, I thought she was just playfully threatening Adam. Now…I am not too sure.”
“I didn’t think much when Melanie rushed out of the office the other day but now that I know that she came here and killed Saira, I knew I had to come forward and explain everything. You can look for evidence to clear her name…because despite everything, I do believe she won’d do anything too harmful to Adam.”
The policeman leaned forward and picked up the recorder pen, turning it over in his fingers with a neutral expression. Then, glancing at the notepad Benjamin had handed over, he gave a short nod. “We’ll have our tech team verify the authenticity of the recordings. If what you’re saying checks out, it might prove useful to the investigation. For now, Mr. Harris, you’ve given your statement, and that’s all we can take officially until we confirm the material.”
Ben gave a short nod and stood up, assuring the officer that he ’understood’.
“Wait to be contacted,” the officer added, “You’ll need to make yourself available in case we have follow-up questions. And if you think of anything else—no matter how small—you come straight to us.”
Benjamin nodded. “I will. Thank you.”
He turned and made his way to the door but then seemed to hesitate but then glanced back over his shoulder, and asked softly, “Can I see Adam? Just for a moment?”
The officer considered him for a moment, then gave a slow nod. “He’s still unconscious. The doctors are monitoring him closely—he’s not out of danger yet. But once he wakes up, I’ll make sure someone from the department contacts you. You can speak with him then, assuming he’s well enough. I’m sure he will want to thank you for coming forward to bring him justice.”
A shadow of worry passed over Benjamin’s face, but he managed a faint, grateful smile as he nodded, “Alright. Thank you, Officer.”
Once outside the precinct, the calm mask Benjamin had worn inside cracked the moment the door swung shut behind him. His face collapsed into a grimace, and his hands clenched into tight fists at his sides.
Adam was still alive.
He sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth as his jaw tightened. For a moment, he just stood there on the sidewalk, eyes flicking down the street, mind racing. That hadn’t been part of the plan.
He didn’t wish to become a murderer! He looked down at the phone in his hand and had to forcefully suppress the urge to hurl it across the road. He didn’t want to do this! But he knew, if he didn’t… then Spencer might pull the plug on his mother…
With another worried sigh, he flagged a cab and sat inside. He would have to visit the hospital and see for himself if there was some way to get this done. The officer said Adam was unconscious. Still critical. That gave him a window. A narrow one but enough if things went well…