But Jason’s professional instincts made him feel deeply unsettled just looking at Tessa. And he wasn’t the only one; even the officer standing beside him felt a similar discomfort at her smile. It was as if she were wearing a mask.

“But…” Jason added calmly, “You might want to prepare yourself. That man who came with you will definitely be facing jail time.”

With that, Jason turned to leave. Tessa staggered back two steps, a look of disbelief spreading across her face. “What? How could this happen?”

Julian watched her reaction and felt nothing but disgust. She knew everything, yet here she was, acting innocent. She was so fake. Everything he was suffering now was because of her. And yet she was standing there, playing the part of the heartbroken companion better than anyone. Who would still believe her at this point?

Julian let out a cold snort. “You’re quite the actress. Aren’t you afraid a ghost might come knocking on your door at night?”

Tessa heard the remark but couldn’t care less. No matter what happened, her priority was to keep herself out of it. She gave a puzzled smile. “Julian, what are you talking about? I’ve been worried sick about you. When the doctor said that, my mind went completely blank.” As she spoke, her eyes even filled with tears. “I really didn’t expect you to do something like this. I’m really shocked.”

Seeing her performance, Julian couldn’t bring himself to say another word. Fine. Even if he ended up behind bars, Tessa better not think she’d walk away from this unscathed. If it came down to it, they’d go down together. He didn’t care. He was the only heir of the Hayes family—his father would definitely find a way to get him out. There was no way they’d let him rot alone in prison.

Seeing that Julian had fallen silent, Tessa quietly shut her mouth as well.

Chapter 787

She knew exactly what he was thinking. But this was something she had to do. There were plenty of pawns—one more or less didn’t matter. Besides, she still had a hidden connection she hadn’t used yet. No matter how things played out, she wouldn’t lose so easily. She was going to push forward, step by step, and crush Aurora beneath her heel. She refused to fail, and she wasn’t going to stand by while Aurora kept flaunting her importance. Tessa would never allow that to happen.

But even looking at Julian now, there wasn’t the slightest flicker of sympathy in her eyes. If he had just moved faster, none of this would’ve happened. It was his own incompetence that got him caught. No matter what anyone said, he brought this on himself. Tessa kept repeating that to herself in her mind, over and over again.

Meanwhile, before heading off to find Lucas, Jason explained the full situation to the police. He pointed toward Julian slumped in the chair. “Take him in for questioning. There were plenty of people in the room at the time—they can all testify. As for how exactly he got in, you can check the security footage.”

The officer nodded in understanding. Jason had been working with them for years. They trusted him. And in a situation like this, there was no benefit in lying. What would be the point?

Jason added one final instruction, “Don’t worry about whatever identity this man throws at you. It doesn’t matter.”