Chapter 77:

Chapter 77:

A Scapegoat

A quarter of an hour later, Aiden and Veronica appeared in the interview room, separated by an iron table from Carmila, who had been brought over from solitary confinement.

"Never thought being in solitary would lead to a something fun. Suddenly calling me to this small room... does the warden wants some excitement?" Carmila smirked arrogantly at Aiden, then glanced at Veronica. "You even brought along your little secretary too? Playing hard, aren't we?"

"Watch your mouth, you won't be able to eat, if all of your teeth break" Veronica coldly retorted, locking eyes with Carmila.

The conversation started with a highly heated atmosphere, but both seemed accustomed to such exchanges.

Carmila, a former mob leader, and Veronica, a cop with a history of clashes with the mob, naturally found themselves at odds.

Aiden, who already accustomed to inmates' colorful greetings, remained nonchalant and straightforward. "We called you here because we have some questions to ask you..."

"Can I get a cigarette?" Carmila interrupted suddenly.

"Are you out of your mind?" Aiden remained expressionless.

Smoking wasn't entirely prohibited in prison, but there were significant controls over it.

especially for inmates that have low level treatment and those in solitary confinement. And, Carmila seemed to have both.

"Oh, come on, no need to be so serious. I'm Just kidding..." Carmila grinned again, playfully. "You know It's a torture being in there; a sip of cigarette will fix it. I'll cooperate Whatever you need!"

Veronica rolled her eyes. She disliked the manipulative type of seasoned inmates who made investigations tedious.

However, she wasn't in charge, and her gaze shifted to her superior sitting nearby.New novel chapters are published on

"But you seem pretty unconcerned."

Aiden crossed his arms, intrigued by her nonchalant attitude.

Carmila and Veronica, both believing they were wrongly accused and imprisoned, had vastly different reactions, with no intention of clearing their names.

Normally after knowing that she been Framed by His rival gang and imprisoned for so long, she should have been furious, based on His violent and aggresive personality.

"Yeah, I've been thinking I might've been set up for a while," Carmila shrugged. "These tactics aren't uncommon in the underworld."

"Why not appeal then? If you're innocent, there might be a chance to turn things around," Aiden questioned.

"Innocent?" Carmila widened her eyes in amusement. "Haha... Mr. Warden, just because I'm falsely accused doesn't mean I'm innocent. Considering my past deeds, even if I rot in this cell for eight years or end up on the gallows, it wouldn't be surprising."

She narrowed her eyes, shimmering with a golden glint. "You can Ask your little secretary here; I had a bit of a reputation in the police force before ending up in prison."

Aiden turned to Veronica, who nodded, "While I haven't directly handled her cases, I've heard about them. Carmila had numerous suspicions of intentional injury, robbery, extortion, kidnapping, and unlawful detention. If all those cases had solid evidence, it would be a lifelong sentence at least."

"that's it; I'm a real scumbag. Don't You know that, Mr. Warden?" Carmila laughed shamelessly"

"That's true," Aiden nodded lightly, having spent about a year dealing with Carmila. Finding someone with a completely clean record in the gang was nearly impossible.

As a longstanding, highly organized criminal organization, gangs often possessed sophisticated anti-investigation measuresdestroying evidence, bribery, and even framing others. Core members did everything to protect themselves from law enforcement.

"But your past crimes probably lacked convictable evidence, or else you'd be serving time for them already. Don't tell me you suddenly wanted to turn over a new leaf and chose to take the fall for this?" Aiden remarked.

"I didn't want to, but back then, I didn't have much of a choice," Carmila shrugged. "After all, those cops weren't all useless."

Aiden remained perplexed, ready to ask further questions when Veronica interjected, as if a revelation had struck her, "I see. Did you... make a deal with the police?"