Before Hiroto could respond, flashing red and blue colors enveloped the foggy night scene. Two squad cars pulled up, followed by an ambulance. Officers wearing wet plastic ponchos over their uniforms began securing the area with yellow police tape. They ushered the growing crowd back and separated Hiroto from Aiko and Paige.

A paramedic rushed to inspect the man lying behind Hiroto’s car. From his peripheral vision, Hiroto watched as he grimaced at the sight of Harold’s mangled body. An officer approached Hiroto, his face stern and questioning.

“Who was driving the vehicle?” he asked, pointing at the Pacer with his flashlight.

“I was,” admitted Hiroto, his voice steady despite his rapidly pounding heart. He knew he had to play this smartly; any hint of evasion would only land him in more trouble.

The officer nodded, scribbling notes on his rain-dampened pad. “I’m going to need you to take a breathalyzer test,” he said.

“I haven’t been drinking,” protested Hiroto, but after seeing the officer’s unyielding gaze, he silently complied.

He turned to find Paige speaking heatedly with another officer. Her face flushed, and she repeatedly jabbed a finger in Hiroto’s direction. Over the cacophony of sirens and chatter, her words were lost to him, but the accusation in her eyes was plain.

Hiroto’s heart fluttered as a female officer led Aiko away. She looked desperately back at him, and Hiroto felt his throat tighten. He wanted to go to her, but the officer holding the breathalyzer up to his lips was not about to let him go anywhere.

The test took longer than Hiroto thought it should. The officer frowned at the reading. “It’s clean,” he said. He put away the device and glanced back at Hiroto. “Can you explain what happened?”

“I saw my niece running from that man,” he pointed at Harold’s lifeless body, “and I swerved to avoid hitting her.”

The officer looked skeptical as he scrawled more notes down on his pad. “We’ll have to verify that with eyewitness statements,” he said flatly.

Hiroto could see Paige talking animatedly with another officer, her gestures displaying a dramatic version of events that undoubtedly painted Hiroto as a reckless killer. Meanwhile, Aiko was huddled under a blanket provided by one of the paramedics, tears streaming down her face.

Despite the cold rain soaking him through the skin, Hiroto felt a hot surge of anger. Paige was manipulating the narrative, turning the bystanders against him, and all the while, his niece was traumatized and alone. He had to get to Aiko.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Officer, I need to see my niece,” he pleaded.

The officer gave him a measured look before curtly replying, “Not until statements have been collected.”

The words fell heavy on Hiroto’s heart. No matter how hard he tried, the system always found a way to keep them apart. He couldn’t vent his frustration here; it would only worsen things. He took a deep breath and turned his attention back to the officer.

“Please ask her what happened,” Hiroto said quietly. “She’s scared and alone right now.”

The officer regarded him for a long moment before nodding, making a notation in his notebook, and then walking off toward where Aiko sat huddled under the blanket.

Time seemed to slow as Hiroto watched Aiko recount her story. The rain continued to pour down, soaking through his clothes and chilling him to the bone, but he barely noticed; his mind was occupied with worrying about his niece.

Eventually, the officer walked back over to Hiroto. His face was impassive, giving nothing away about Aiko’s statement.

“She has corroborated your story,” the officer said, his voice barely audible through the clamor of the rain. Hiroto’s heart surged with relief, but his face remained neutral. “We’ll be taking your niece to the station for formal questioning. After that,” he paused, eyeing Hiroto critically, “we’ll decide where she goes.”

“She’s a minor, and I’m family, so I will accompany her.”

“This woman,” the officer trailed off as he looked through his notes. “Paige Rothchild is your niece’s legal guardian. She will be accompanying Aiko.”

“I demand to be there during the questioning,” Hiroto said, his fists clenching at his sides. The prospect of Aiko in a cold, sterile police station filled him with dread. She was just a child thrown into an adult nightmare.

With a curt nod, the officer turned on his heel and walked away. The neon flashes of red and blue painted a grotesque mural on the wet pavement as Hiroto watched Aiko being escorted into one of the squad cars. She cast one last desperate look back at him before the car door closed, sealing her away.

Hiroto watched helplessly as the vehicle pulled from the curb, its red and blue pulses fading into brief blips in the blackened rain. Paige was steps behind, her features forming into a smug smirk, a triumphant stride in her walk. Hiroto’s blood boiled in his veins. He vowed, then and there, that he would not let them drag his innocent niece into an inescapable vortex of lies.

“Is there something that can be done?” he demanded of the officer beside him.

The officer shrugged a little too casually for Hiroto’s liking. “You can file a report to Child Protective Services if you believe she is in danger,” he said, “But I warn you, it’s a long process.”

“What if Aiko’s guardian is the one abusing her.”

The officer paused, looking at Hiroto sharply. “If that’s the case, we’re already in a new ballpark. Are you making that claim?”

“I am,” Hiroto said firmly. He thought about the fear in Aiko’s eyes every time Paige was near and knew he was making the right decision.

“Alright,” the officer sighed, his casual demeanor slipping away. He pulled out another form from his clipboard, “I’m going to need you to write down everything. The agency will review your report and decide whether an investigation needs to be launched.”

Hiroto took the form, his mind swirling with thoughts of Aiko.