"I don't know if I recognize this person in the photo or not, why should I tell you?" I forced myself to remain calm.

Xiao Zhang calmly took out a recorder from his pocket, his thumb resting on the play button,

"Ms. Song, I don't care about the relationship between you and the man in the photo, I just want to know, on the afternoon of the day your husband died, where exactly were you both, and what did you do?"

Avoiding Xiao Zhang's sharp gaze, I looked up at the ceiling,

"I don't recognize this person at all. I left for work at 1 o'clock in the afternoon that day, that's it."

I emphasized the last four words, hoping deep inside that Xiao Zhang would accept my answer.

Xiao Zhang denied my inner thoughts with a contemptuous smile,

He quickly pressed the play button on the recorder,

I heard a voice I knew all too well coming from the recorder,

"Song Qiaoqian is my lover. If you talk about murder, Song Qiaoqian must be the one who did it, and it has nothing to do with me. You must keep your promise not to tell my wife and children what I disclosed today..."

I couldn't take it anymore and tried to grab the recorder.

Xiao Zhang reacted faster, raising his hand with the recorder high up,

"Ms. Song, don't be anxious. The person speaking in the recording and the one in the photo are the same. Since you claimed not to know him, we might as well listen to it together."

The man in the recording continued, "For the past six months, meeting at the hotel was no longer satisfying for Song Qiaoqian. To seek further excitement, she pressured me to come to her warehouse every Monday afternoon, and then..."

"That's enough!" I exclaimed in anger,

Xiao Zhang stopped the recorder and slipped it back into his pocket, waiting for my response.

I was too angry to speak, feeling all numb and cold as if I had fallen into an icy cellar, suffocated by disappointment, deception, and betrayal.

My husband's face suddenly appeared in my mind. I remembered that although my husband didn't have the handsome and tall demeanor of the man in the photo, every time I was mistreated, he would stand by my side and console me without fail.

But the voice on the recorder wanted to blame me for everything and clean his own hands.

I was blind to be deceived by his sweet words.

After taking one final drag of my cigarette, I stubbed it out in the ashtray,

"I hope you understand, I didn't mean to hide anything. After all, it's not a glorious matter. If it comes out, it will be shameful on the faces of us widows and orphans."

Xiao Zhang nodded in understanding, indicating I should continue,