Page 59 of Blackmail of a Billionaire

“No. And it was just that. A misunderstanding. Nothing beyond what a normal couple would go through, to be honest.”

“Have you given your statement yet?”

“No. Should I do that now?”

“When you’re ready. It may help quite a bit. If you’d like legal representation, I’d be happy to sit in with you.”

“Do you think I need it?”

Mitchell lifted a shoulder. “You’re not in any trouble, but if you’d like some guidance, it would be appropriate.”

Julia glanced at the dirty tile floor under her feet. “I don’t want to do anything that may make this worse for Grant, so I think I’d like to take you up on that.”

“Good. If you’re ready, I’ll arrange for it now.”

“Thank you.” Julia grasped the chair’s arm, her knuckles turning white as she tried to rehearse what she’d say within her statement. How could she explain all of this, and in a way that bolstered Grant’s case rather than shoot holes into it?

“Julia?” Mitchell’s voice tugged her back to reality. “We’re ready.”

She swallowed hard as she rose and strode toward Mitchell with a nervous smile. They settled in an interrogation room. Julia shivered as she eased into the seat, imagining Grant stuck alone in one of these.

A detective strode into the room, his shrewd eyes settling on Julia. He shifted a microphone around on the table before he offered her a polite smile. “Mrs. Harrington, it’s nice to finally meet you. You seem to be a woman who has set the world on fire.”

Julia tightened her grip on her purse strap under the table.

“Let’s keep the personal commentary to a minimum, detective,” Mitchell shot back. “Mrs. Harrington is willingly giving a statement as to the nature of the incident.”

“Incident?” The detective scoffed as he leaned back in the chair. “Do you mean the brawl where Mr. Harrington decked an upstanding doctor?”

Julia’s nervous energy twisted her features into an annoyed frown at his insinuation. Mitchell laid a hand on her arm as he spoke again. “Detective, are you interested in Mrs. Harrington’s statement or would you prefer to piece together what happened the way you think it did?”

The man held his hand up. “My apologies. All right, Mrs. Harrington, can you describe what happened earlier this afternoon at the Azalea Room?”

Julia sucked in a breath, sliding her gaze to Mitchell who offered her a nod. “I was having lunch with Dr. Carter–”

“Let me stop you there. Do you often have lunch with Dr. Carter?”

“No,” Julia answered. “This was our first lunch. Dr. Carter invited me after the Ballet Board meeting concluded. We both serve on that.”

“I see. So you went to the meeting together, then he took you to lunch.”

“No,” Julia corrected. “We didn’t go together. We both attended the meeting and then he asked me to lunch.”

“Are you in the habit of going to lunch with men other than your husband?”

“That’s not relevant,” Mitchell interjected.

“I disagree. Perhaps Mrs. Harrington loves to lunch with other men, drawing the ire of her husband.”

“No,” Julia said again. “I rarely lunch with anyone other than my husband.”

“So, why did you accept this invitation?”

“Dr. Carter told me he wanted to discuss something with me, so I accepted.”

The detective crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes. “And what was it he wanted to discuss?”

Julia sucked in a breath as she tried to piece together the nonsensical conversation. “I had been in the emergency room yesterday after an incident with a car nearly hitting me. He said he noticed some…concerning behavior and thought I may be in an abusive relationship.”

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