The Captain I Married by Chance novel Chapter 290

Nora's pen hovered motionless over the page.

That terrifying sense of déjà vu slammed into her with full force.

Yet, objectively speaking, not a single plot point in Liam's tragic romance mirrored the creepy stalker narrative from the thriller novel.

It was just an unsettling, ambient familiarity in the way he described the events.

Sure, there were a handful of overlapping vocabulary words.

But they were incredibly common terms used in everyday conversation. Trying to force a connection between a grieving boyfriend and a viral horror story felt completely unhinged.

"What exactly is on your neighbor's balcony?"

The lead detective pressed.

"I honestly have no idea."

Liam replied, his brow furrowing. "During that entire period, she became completely non-responsive. If you asked her a question, her answers were agonizingly slow, as if her entire language center was degrading in real time, or her brain was short-circuiting. Sometimes, someone would finish a sentence, and she would literally stare blankly at the wall for three or four solid minutes before registering that they had spoken."

"My family and I genuinely thought she was suffering from severe depression or a neurological issue. We tried to drag her to the hospital for a psych evaluation, but she absolutely lost her mind and fought back violently."

Liam rolled up the sleeve of his gray sweatshirt, revealing the back of his hand.

Even from across the room, Nora's trained medical eyes immediately zeroed in on the deep, vicious scratch marks gouged into his flesh.

The wounds were severe enough to leave permanent, jagged scars. Evelyn had fought him like a cornered animal.

"Did she exhibit any bizarre behavior recently?"

"Or did she mention encountering any strange individuals?"

"No." Liam shook his head with absolute certainty.

"Honestly, ever since the day she physically attacked me to avoid going to the hospital, she completely refused to leave the apartment. Today was actually my birthday. I invited a small group of close friends over to celebrate. She finally seemed like she was breaking out of her funk. She was actually having fun, laughing, and throwing back drinks. But she definitely overdid it and ended up throwing up in the bathroom a few times."

"I eventually carried her to bed, tucked her in, and then headed out."

"You headed out? To do what?"

"I bumped into one of the guys from the building down in the courtyard. He was out walking his dog and started asking me for updates on some old drama in the complex. We ended up just standing there shooting the breeze for way longer than I realized."

The detective gave a noncommittal nod, moving on. "Do you recall exactly what your girlfriend was doing around six o'clock this evening?"

"Six o'clock?"

"That's right in the middle of the dinner party. Everyone was already drinking."

"I was playing chef tonight. When my buddies showed up, she was the one who greeted them and played hostess. At six, a lot of the food was still cooking. I was locked in the kitchen, and she was out in the dining room with the guests. I remember it vividly because the apartment was so loud. Everyone was laughing and shouting over each other. The vibe was incredible."

"I was just standing by the stove, feeling so overwhelmingly relieved because it had been months since I'd seen her that vibrant and happy."

...

Once they officially concluded Liam's preliminary interview and had an officer escort him to a holding area, Nora immediately headed back to the Special Task Force bullpen.

Nathan had just returned from processing the bloody crime scene at the apartment. Spotting Nora, he marched straight over to her desk. "Well? How did the interrogation go?"

Nora pressed her fingers hard against her throbbing temples, looking up at him with dark, serious eyes. "Liam Jennings is definitely not the man who picked up Evelyn's phone earlier tonight."