One Man Band System

Despite her firm declaration, Emma remained uneasy, wringing her hands together. Watching her, Eric turned to look at Melissa and Norman, who both seemed eagerly awaiting Emma to speak. Eric then turned back to Emma.

"Do you... want to talk in private so you can feel more at ease?" Eric asked.

Emma looked up at Eric, her gaze hardening once more as a sudden calm washed over her. Letting out a heavy sigh, she spoke.

"First of all, my dad’s name is Arthur Reynold," Emma said.

The moment Emma uttered that name, the expressions on Eric, Melissa, and Norman’s faces shifted instantly. They all recognized the name, he was an actor who frequently co-starred with Miranda Cruz, as well as a screenwriter known for slice-of-life and romance television dramas.

"Wow... your dad... is a movie star?" Melissa asked.

"Yeah... both my dad and my mom built careers in show business," Emma answered.

"Hmm... makes sense. On-set romance, right?" Eric muttered.

"At first... no. That’s actually what I want to tell you guys about, the whole history between my mom and dad," Emma said.

Eric, Melissa, and Norman went quiet immediately, and the room turned dead silent once more. Emma began her story, starting from back when Miranda wasn’t famous yet and was dating Ethan—they were even engaged. But before they could tie the knot, one of Miranda’s movies blew up and became a box office smash. From then on, her agency started managing her image, which slowly drove a wedge between her and Ethan.

They stayed together, but things were never the same, even though they still loved each other, until Miranda suddenly got pregnant. Hearing this, Eric gasped, covering his mouth in shock, and Melissa did the same. Both watched Emma’s visibly saddened face.

"If you don’t want to keep going, it’s fine. You can just skip to the point," Eric said.

"No... you need to understand the connection between my mom and your dad," Emma replied.

"Oh... alright, but don’t push yourself," Eric replied.

Emma picked up her story. After the pregnancy, Miranda and Ethan had a massive fallout, even though Miranda explained that it was a total accident, she had gotten drunk at a party and was driven home by her co-star, Arthur Reynold. As it turned out, Arthur didn’t take Miranda home; he took her to a hotel. When it happened, Miranda protested to her agency, but the two agencies collaborated instead, deciding the scandal would be great PR for both of their images.

When Ethan heard the full truth, he called off the engagement. He didn’t hate Miranda, though, and Miranda eventually let Ethan go and continued her relationship with Arthur.

"Mom said... after that, Ethan spiraled out of control and got involved with your mom," Emma told Eric.

Eric could only sit there in silence, unable to say a word. Melissa was equally quiet, finally understanding the backstory behind Eric’s family. Emma then pressed on with her story. Miranda gave birth to twins, but given their financial situation at the time and because their manager insisted it was bad optics to be seen in public with two kids, they ultimately surrendered one child for adoption.

"Sorry... hold on, can I ask a question?" Melissa asked.

"Go ahead," Emma answered.

"Your parents were stars, so they must have been making massive royalties and huge paychecks. Why do you say it was a financial issue?" Melissa asked.

Emma paused briefly, letting out a breath as she turned to look at Melissa. Her gaze made Melissa feel uncomfortable for having asked, but before Melissa could open her mouth to apologize, Emma answered.

"According to my mom, my dad was buried in heavy debt back then, and... he was a gambler. Once his debts were cleared, all the money went straight down that drain," Emma said.

"Oh... I see. Sorry for asking," Melissa replied.

"It’s fine," Emma replied.

Emma resumed her story. A year after Emma was born, Miranda filed for divorce from Arthur after catching him cheating and draining their joint account to fund wild parties and gambling sprees. Arthur refused to accept the divorce, claiming Miranda’s career had only flourished because of his backing. Naturally, Miranda shot back that if Arthur hadn’t taken advantage of her and gotten her pregnant, she would still be with Ethan today.

Arthur held a deep grudge after that. For as long as Miranda had been with him, she had never loved him, even if she loved her children. Arthur then began digging into Ethan and discovered that Ethan was battling cancer. He waited for Ethan to pass away and then returned, wearing Ethan’s face and pretending to be Ethan, nearly kidnapping Emma when she was only seven years old.

"Ah... I actually read the details of that kidnapping case. Back then... the suspect’s name was indeed listed as Ethan Reed... if I’m not mistaken," Norman noted, pondering.

"Is that true, Officer Norman?" Eric asked.

"I’ll pull the cold case files later to confirm, but if that’s true, it ties directly to this Tony Malini guy we’re hunting down," Norman answered.

"He’s an actor. Disguises wouldn’t be an issue for him," Melissa muttered.

"Wait... we can’t just jump to conclusions based on a story, can we?" Eric asked.

"No, babe, they’re right. It’s very likely that the guy named Tony Malini is actually Ethan Reed, my father impersonating your father," Emma answered.

Eric opened his mouth to speak and closed it again. Emma’s words made perfect sense, it was extremely likely her father was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes alongside Jason. He couldn’t refute it because his own thoughts were pointing in the exact same direction. Still, he tried to dig deeper into another angle.

"Sure... but Mr. Richard knew my dad, right? He knew my grandfather and my dad. How could he be involved? If it was Emma’s father who met with him, shouldn’t he have been able to tell the difference?" Eric asked.

Silence fell over the room once more. Emma kept her head bowed, Melissa remained speechless, and Norman was deep in thought.

"Officer Norman, why is Richard Stone suspected of being involved?" Eric asked.

"His firm received a massive influx of funds from a man named Ethan Reed while handling an embezzlement case. But the funny thing is, that transaction happened after Ethan Reed was declared dead. That’s why we suspect he’s involved. We’re still requesting bank spreadsheets because that transfer was logged right after Elliot Reed passed away three years ago," Norman answered.

"Huh?" Eric froze, completely baffled by what he was hearing.

Then everything began to click, why Richard had called him up the moment he turned eighteen after being kicked out, rushing through the process to transfer his grandfather’s inheritance to him as fast as possible. He also recalled the anxious look on Richard’s face when he applied to change his last name to Reed. He understood now why Richard had been in such a hurry to hand everything over to him right after his birthday.

"If you ask me, he knows something, but that doesn’t mean he’s in on it. He was still trying to protect me," Eric muttered under his breath.

"That’s why we’re still looking into it, Mr. Eric. We’re still investigating whether it was him or one of his associates who accepted the money, but it definitely went through his firm," Norman replied.

"I see," Eric said, looking down and clenching his fists tightly.

Silence settled over the room once again. Melissa kept her eyes on Eric, who remained staring at the floor, before glancing over at Emma. Seeing that Emma looked like she still had something left to say, though clearly hesitant to speak in front of her and Norman, Melissa immediately looked for a way to give them some privacy.

"Officer Norman, Eric, Emma, I’m so sorry, but I really need to rest. Do you mind stepping out for a moment?" Melissa asked.

"Oh... sure," Eric replied, standing up.

"Yeah... I understand," Emma replied, standing as well.

"Very well, Mrs. Melissa," Norman replied, rising from his seat.

"Wait, Officer Norman. There’s something I’d like to ask you in private regarding my adopted sister," Melissa said.

"Oh, alright," Norman replied, sitting back down.

Melissa turned to smile at Eric and Emma, and both nodded before stepping out of the room. Afterward, the two walked down the hallway in silence, Eric leading the way with Emma trailing behind. As they made their way through a deserted corridor, Emma reached out and yanked Eric’s hand from behind.

"Can we talk for a second?" Emma asked.

"Oh... sure," Eric answered.

They sat side by side on a row of waiting chairs in an empty, quiet hallway. Emma then pulled her wallet out of her bag, opened it, and drew out a yellowed envelope. She handed it to Eric, who took it with a puzzled expression.

"What’s this?" Eric asked.

"Just read it," Emma answered, her cheeks flushing red.

Eric began reading the letter, his eyes darting back and forth across the page down to the very bottom. His jaw dropped instantly. The document was a deeply personal letter from Ethan to Miranda, written just one day before Ethan passed away. Inside the letter was a binding agreement, officially notarized. Eric slowly turned his head to look at Emma.

"You... knew you were my fiancée from the very beginning?" Eric asked.

Emma didn’t answer. She simply nodded, quickly turning her face away, not daring to meet Eric’s eyes.

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