The Bond Between Us (Anastasia and Herman)

attentive, she didn't mind. She was content with how things were.

After losing her husband, Alisa found solace in Jason. During her darkest days, when everything felt overwhelming, Jason was there, offering a helping hand. He supported Alisa and her daughter through tough times, and while she understood his reasons for being so She never blamed Jason, but deep down, she felt he should take responsibility for her and her daughter's future.

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Jason caught a cab back to the police station. Seeing him arrive so late, a colleague joked, "Jason, you're off duty tonight. What brings you in?"

"Had a thought about Julie's case, needed to check some files," Jason fibbed casually. He couldn't mention that Alisa and her daughter were staying at his place. Everyone at the station knew Alisa, and any gossip about her living situation with him would complicate things. "Your dedication is impressive, Jason," his colleague remarked. "Need a hand with Julie's files? I'm on shift, and it's pretty quiet."

"Nah, you grab some shut-eye in the break room. I've got this," Jason said, heading into the records room.

He started reviewing the files on Julie's involvement in Grannie Anita's murder and rewatched the surveillance footage of Julie escaping from the hospital. Julie's disappearance for months was baffling.

Jason was convinced someone was helping Julie. The police had been monitoring Devin Brown, but Julie hadn't contacted him in ages.

As Jason sifted through the files, he overheard voices outside.

"Monica, what are you doing here so late? You and Jason didn't plan a secret rendezvous, did you?" teased the colleague.

Monica was here?

"I left my purse here earlier, just came to pick it up. Jason's here too?"

"Yeah, in the records room, looking into Julie's case."

Jason stepped out of the room and found Monica chatting with his colleague in the hallway. The colleague tactfully left them alone.

"Did you find something new?" Monica asked, always intrigued when it involved Anastasia.

"Just passing time, going over the hospital's CCTV footage," Jason replied, taking the files and footage back to his office, with Monica following. "Could Julie have skipped the country? You're usually on top of things, but she's been missing for ages," Monica pressed.

Jason gave her a look. "Care to take over?"

"I'm just saying, it's been a while, and you still haven't caught her..."

"Someone's helping Julie," Jason interrupted. "I doubt she left the country. But I might have a risky plan to flush her out."

"What's the plan?" Monica's interest was piqued.

"Who does Julie hate the most?"

"Ana," Monica realized. "You're not thinking of using Ana as bait, are you? That's pretty low, Jason. Ana's pregnant; you can't put her at risk." "Anastasia's pregnant?" Jason was genuinely surprised.

Monica rolled her eyes, "That's definitely out of the question. Typical police strategy, always so unreliable."

Jason frowned, "Just thinking out loud..."

His attention shifted back to the surveillance footage, where something seemed off, his expression turning serious.

Monica noticed his focus and leaned in, curious: "Did you spot something?"

In their eagerness, their noses nearly touched, stopping just shy of a kiss. It was the closest they'd ever been, their breaths mingling, as if time stood still. Monica's heart raced, her cheeks turning red as she quickly straightened up, wishing she could vanish.

Jason's heart quickened too, but he kept his composure, clearing his throat before saying, "Julie didn't leave the hospital by car. She walked out."noveldrama

"Walked out?" Monica was surprised.

"Look here." Jason pointed to the footage of a pregnant woman being escorted out of the hospital by a man. The grainy footage didn't reveal her face, but her profile was clear.

Jason explained, "Everyone assumed Julie would leave by car, discreetly. We focused on vehicles and overlooked the obvious. She boldly left through the front door."

Monica watched the footage. It seemed like a husband helping his pregnant wife out of the hospital, easily overlooked at the time. Who would've thought Julie had the nerve to just stroll out the front door?