Chapter 402 - Blood On His Hands
Gael didn't know how long he was held up in a room. He couldn't even remember how the cops took him out of the apartment building and brought him to the station. The last thing he remembered was him sitting next to J's lifeless body while the fucking paramedics tried to fix J—except he could no longer be fixed. He lost too much blood. He wasn't breathing. He had no pulse.
The next thing he knew, he was shoved into the backseat of a police car in handcuffs. Gael didn't protest. It was as if all the fight in him left his body. Perhaps it died with Jino.
They brought him into a small room with a stainless steel table and plastic chair and one overhead lamp—the only thing dimly illuminating the matchbox room. There was a huge mirror in front of him, where he thought the police were observing from the other side.
His hands were still cuffed, and his watch was broken—its screen was cracked. He didn't know how that happened, but that pissed him off because it was Angela's watch. But even though the watch didn't work, he was sure the tracker was still working. His men could have already known where he was a couple of hours ago. However, no one came to get him out of there yet. As calmly as he could, he kept his hands interlocked on top of the table and did not say anything.
No police came into the room for hours. He sat there doing nothing. This was what the police wanted—to watch him break. They probably think Gael killed everyone in the apartment, but they couldn't prove that. So now they were trying to torture him by not giving him any water or food.
It was cold in the room—as if they didn't care that he'd freeze to death. They'd probably love that. And because he removed his jacket earlier, he was now only wearing a shirt which did nothing to keep him warm. There was a heater on the side of the room, but it seemed to be broken—or they probably turned it off on purpose.
They didn't even offer him a washcloth to clean himself. He still had J's blood in his hands—it was all over his shirt and some on his face and neck.
Jino… He was gone. And it was all his fault. Gael blamed himself for not insisting on walking him up to his place. For not being a better guardian. For not protecting them enough. He just hoped Rick and the others got to Mika on time. If Gael lost her too, he didn't know how he would cope.
Where did it all go wrong? How did the Morellis sneak in without getting detected? J said they bribed the nurse. Were the building doorman and security bribed too? Those men were under his payroll, and they knew not to cross the De Lucas. He planned to the bottom of it as soon as he got out of there. Gael would make sure everyone who had anything to do with what happened that night would pay.
The entire time he was in the room, Gael maintained a blank expression. He knew someone was watching him the whole time. There were cameras in the room and the mirror in front of him. The feeling of being watched was uncomfortable, but he didn't let it show, not wanting to give the police the satisfaction they were waiting for.
The door swung open without warning, and Lieutenant Clark came strolling inside with a folder and a Chick-fil-A takeout bag, not bothering to close the door—another police officer in uniform stood outside watching. The asshole tossed the bag on the table without care. "Tsk. Why is he handcuffed? He's only here for questioning. Take it off," said Lt. Clark without a hint of compassion in his voice. The other police officer came and unlocked the cuffs off Gael's wrists and left the room, closing the door behind him. "My apologies. My men need more training. Coffee?"
Gael didn't answer. He just stared at the other with a bored expression while massaging his wrists. The door opened once more, and an officer brought in two cups of coffee in disposable cups, placing each one in front of them. Once he left, Lt. Clark took the seat across from him and nodded at the bag. "Eat. You're gonna be here for a while."
The smell of coffee was the first thing that hit his senses. It made him miss Angela more because they always shared their coffees. He was thirsty, so he took a sip and it was sickly sweet, but it was better than nothing. But he didn't want to eat, so he ignored the food.
Lt. Clark began taking them out from the bag and setting them in front of him. "You sure you don't want it?" he asked, and when Gael continued to just stare at him without saying anything, he shrugged and began eating the food himself.
Gael's right brow slightly twitched as he watched the other devour the food. Lt. Clark had a smug look on his face as he ate, enjoying the fact that he had a De Luca in for questioning—with possible murder charges, no less. Gael wanted to shove the sandwich down the lieutenant's throat until he choked.
After eating, Clark threw the waste away and sat sideways on the table so Gael would have to look up. He liked showing an air of authority. "It's already January, but it feels a lot like Christmas to me seeing you here," he began. Then he laid out several pictures in front of Gael.
"Five people…oh wait, six including the security." Clark pointed at the photos. "The doorman is still alive. He's in the hospital currently under surgery. That's so much blood on your hands."
It was clear to Gael now that Bruno had forced his entry, killing everyone in his way just to get to J. Gael remained silent. All he did was stare at J in the photos. There were pictures of the living room with dead bodies and one outside. He didn't care about the others, his eyes focusing only on the one person who mattered.
Gael's chest felt numb. The last few minutes with J kept playing in his head over and over again like a broken record, haunting him. He didn't want to believe that the kid was gone. It was like a sick joke. A cruel nightmare he tried to wake up from.
Clark knocked on the table to catch his attention. "Why don't you save us all the trouble and just admit it? I have connections with the judge. You can get a lower sentence if you cooperate."
This lieutenant must think Gael was dumb, thinking he would rat out his family. Clark wasn't interested in the murder of those people. He was only there to get a window of opportunity so he could finally catch the De Lucas and put them all behind bars.
Taking a deep breath, Gael looked him in the eye. "I want my lawyer."
A sly smirk ghosted on Clark's lips. "Your fingerprints are all over the place. There's no way out, De Luca. What were you doing in there, and why did you kill all of these people? Did your father order it?"
Earlier, Lieutenant Clark said Gael was only here for questioning. But now, he was blatantly accusing him of murder. He reeked of desperation.
"You sure about that?" Gael questioned. He had been quiet the whole time, but now he wanted to get out of here, and it was time he did something. "I had high regards for you, Lieutenant. I didn't think you were this…oblivious. I thought you said I'm only here for questioning. Why am I being accused of a crime I didn't commit?"
"Save the bullshit. We both know what really happened here. These people probably pissed your family off, and you had to eliminate them."
"You've watched too many Netflix shows. If you weren't so wrapped up in wanting to pin me down, you would have already checked the security cameras and gotten your answers."
Clark's jaw ticked, forcing a smile on his face. "You could have paid those men. Think you're so smart, huh?"
Keeping his expression straight, Gael told him, "I'm not claiming to be one. But if you had taken your head out of your ass and investigated enough, you would have found out that I am the co-owner of that apartment, and I AM the residents' legal guardian. One of them is dead and the other is missing. You and your men wrongfully arrested an innocent man and kept him detained without as much as a cup of water for hours—mind you, no rights were told to me too.
"I have a family member whose body is now in the morgue, and you're here causing emotional distress while I haven't even grieved for the loss. Also…not granting me the right to call my lawyer…" Gael clicked his tongue. "I don't know, Lieutenant. That seems a lot like wrongful arrest and negligence to me."
Lieutenant Clark glared while Gael kept a blank expression. The latter kept himself calm despite wanting to bite the other's head off.
Pissed off, Clark marched out of the room and shouted at someone, "Give him his fucking phone call."