Page 74 of The Billionaire's Royal Crown

Maddie rounded the car, her young features etched with concern. “Come on.”

Elena bobbed her head, and they followed her into the station. People bustled back and forth in a chaotic dance as phones rang and police radios blared. They made their way through the madness to the desk where a young officer sat staring at her phone. “Help you?”

“I need to see Victoria Kingsley,” Maddie said.

“Who?” the girl asked, glancing up from her phone.

“My mom. Victoria Kingsley. She was arrested earlier,” Maddie said.

“Oh, you want to go to processing. Down the hall, make a left, follow the red arrows on the floor.” The girl waved a finger in the direction of a long hallway leading to another hall.

“Okay, thanks,” Maddie answered.

They waded through the others and into the hall, following the instructions to find processing. Maddie approached another officer standing behind a desk filling out paperwork.

“Hi, I need to see my mom, Victoria Kingsley.”

“Kingsley, you said?” the woman asked.

“Yeah,” Maddie answered her. “She was arrested earlier.”

The woman held up a finger, leaning back and glancing into another room. “Hey, Frank, you process a Victoria Kingsley earlier today?”

“Uh, yeah,” the man answered, hovering in the doorway.

“She in holding?”

“No, she’s upstairs with Homicide.”

Maddie’s shoulders slumped, and Elena slid an arm around her.

“Sorry, honey, you can’t see her if she’s with the detectives,” the female officer said.

“But we have evidence material to the case,” Elena answered. “The detectives must see it right away! It proves her innocence.”

The cop stared at the three of them for a moment before she nodded. “You’ll need to head up to the third floor. When you get off the elevator, take a right to Homicide.”

“Third floor, take a right.”

“Yep. Ask for the detectives on the Hartman case,” the man answered.

“Got it,” Elena said with a curt nod. “Thank you.”

They backtracked to a set of elevators and pressed the button. Maddie drummed her hands against her thighs as she danced from foot to foot. “This is a nightmare.”

“We’ll get there, darling. I know it’s frustrating. But we’ll get there.”

Maddie blew out a shaky breath as the doors finally opened. They plowed into the lift and pressed the button for the third floor.

When the doors opened again, they spilled into another chaotic zone of ringing phones and detectives bustling around workspaces.

“Right,” Caroline whispered, pointing toward a hallway leading to another room filled with desks.

They shuffled inside, scanning the space for anyone who could help them. Everyone minded their own business, ignoring them completely.

“Excuse me,” Maddie tried as someone wandered past staring at a file.

She received no response.

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