The Bond Between Us (Anastasia and Herman)

Eight years ago, Anastasia and Monica went camping at Cloud Mountain and accidentally found themselves in the middle of a police raid. Back then, Jason was a lean, wild-looking young man with unruly long hair. Now, eight years later, he was almost unrecognizable to Anastasia. Jason's lips twitched slightly. "So, your first impression of me was that of an unlucky rookie cop, huh?"

Anastasia quickly apologized, "Oh, I didn't mean anything by it. It's just such a surprise, that's all."

The nickname "unlucky rookie cop" was actually Monica's doing, after Jason's less-than-stellar debut where he got accidentally injured.

"You still remember that? I'm impressed," Jason said.

"It was a memorable incident. Your pants were almost yanked down by the perp, and you were wearing red boxers..." Anastasia realized she had said too much and quickly shut her mouth, offering an embarrassed but polite smile. Why did she even bring that up?

Jason fell silent. That part of his past was something he'd rather forget.

"It's fine. I don't wear red anymore."

Anastasia was speechless. Why was he telling her about his underwear color now?

Discussing underwear in public was, to put it mildly, awkward.

Anastasia quickly changed the subject, "You didn't just bump into me by chance, did you? You came looking for me?"

She couldn't believe in such a coincidence.

After eight years, it seemed unlikely he was here just to reminisce.

Jason nodded, "I've looked over your case. I wanted to talk. I need to know the whole story behind Grannie Anita's death, in detail."

Anastasia didn't want to recall that day. Her mind had been clouded with hate, and she barely remembered the details.

Holding a magazine, Anastasia asked, "In what capacity are you asking? If this is an interrogation, it shouldn't be happening here."

"As a friend," Jason clarified. "I'm off duty today. Just friends chatting. What was going through your mind when you first stabbed Grannie Anita? Was the knife angled down, or did you strike straight? There are many aspects of the case that puzzle me, and maybe I can help you."

His professional curiosity surfaced as he talked about the case with utmost seriousness.

As Jason described the scene, Anastasia's mind was bombarded with memories of that day, and her grip on the magazine tightened.

She resisted those memories.

"The case is closed. I don't need any help."

"Anastasia," Jason pressed, his gaze intent. "What if the real murderer was someone else? Don't you want to find out who it really was?"

"What do you mean?" Anastasia was shocked. "The real murderer?"

"There are some inconsistencies in the case," Jason explained. "That's why I'm here. If you don't want to talk, or if you're scared, we can drop it. The case is closed, and the Salstrom family bailed you out. It's all water under the bridge."

If Jason hadn't said these things, Anastasia could have let it be water under the bridge. But now, she was stirred.

Anastasia bit her lip, "I was thinking about how Grannie Anita had caused my child's death... In anger, I stabbed her. I can't remember how, just that she started bleeding and fell, motionless."

"How many times did you stab her?" Jason asked gravely.

"Once," Anastasia said urgently. "Why are you asking this? I've already told everything to the police. The case is closed. You mentioned doubts? What doubts? I did follow Grannie Anita that day, in a haze of confusion and rage, so I..." "The autopsy report showed Grannie Anita was stabbed twice."

That one sentence from Jason silenced Anastasia's world. She looked at him in disbelief, "Twice?"

Jason watched her reaction closely. His suspicions, which had arisen while reviewing the case files, seemed to be confirmed by Anastasia's response.

"Two stabs, and the second one was fatal."

"No, I didn't stab her twice. I only stabbed once," Anastasia said, her emotions surging. She stared wide-eyed at Jason, "Could it be that there really is another murderer? Who killed Grannie Anita?"