**Framed**

**Framed**

As soon as Ava Bennett entered the interrogation room, the pungent smell of alcohol hit his nose. He shook his head, thinking about how people say alcohol leads to mischief. It seemed to be true.

"Give him some sobering medicine," Ava instructed the male officer who had brought Ethan Parker in.

Ethan Parker was already sober but didn't know how to start. Just a few hours ago, everything felt like a dream, making it hard for him to distinguish reality from illusion.

Ethan Parker took the sobering tea handed to him by the officer and took a big sip before finding his words, "Captain Bennett, I was framed!"

"What did you say? Framed? What happened?" Ava Bennett was taken aback. Hearing Ethan Parker say this made him realize the gravity of the situation. Truth be told, he didn't want to believe Ethan Parker had become a rapist.

"Captain Bennett, here's what happened. A classmate invited me to dinner at the 'Paradise on Earth' hotel. We drank a lot, and I passed out. After a while, I felt hot and aroused. When I opened my eyes, I saw a girl lying naked beside me. I thought I was dreaming, so I…" Ethan Parker explained.

"Dreaming? Even in a dream, you shouldn't just have sex with someone. Where's your self-control?" Ava shook his head. While Ethan's story made sense, Ava knew that regardless of the circumstances, raping the girl was a crime.

"I don't know… Captain Bennett, to be honest, I felt like I had taken an aphrodisiac. I couldn't control myself!" Ethan Parker admitted, embarrassed.

"Officer Zhang, give him a urine test!" Ava Bennett ordered, suspecting Ethan might have been drugged.

"Yes, sir." The male officer stood up, grabbed a disposable cup, and handed it to Ethan Parker.

"What's this for?" Ethan was puzzled.

"To pee in!" Ava Bennett said. "You reminded me; I suspect your classmate might have spiked your drink with an aphrodisiac."

"Here? Now?" Ethan looked at the cup in his hand.

"We're all men here, don't be shy!" Ava laughed.

"Alright!" Knowing Ava was trying to help, Ethan unbuttoned his pants and started urinating into the cup.

"Captain Bennett, we have the girl's statement…" Charlotte burst into the room, holding a file, only to freeze when she saw Ethan urinating. "Pervert!" she yelled.

Ethan, startled, spilled half of his urine on the floor.

"Charlotte! How many times have I told you to knock before entering? You call him a pervert, but what if you walked into a men's restroom and yelled 'pervert' at everyone?" Ava scolded.

"Humph!" Charlotte glared at Ethan, but her gaze drifted to his lower body, making her blush. Knowing it was Ethan's member that assaulted the girl, she wanted to kick it off.

Ethan quickly pulled up his pants, fearing what this violent woman might do to him.

"Charlotte, take this cup for a urine test and get the results to me as soon as possible," Ava pointed at the cup in Ethan's hand.

"Me?" Charlotte was reluctant, especially seeing the cup's edge wet with urine, but she had to obey her captain.

Ethan deliberately pushed the cup into Charlotte's hand, wetting it further.

"You!" Charlotte was so furious she wanted to throw the cup at Ethan's face but knew she'd be disciplined if she did.

Police departments have specialized testing facilities, so the test results came back in ten minutes. Ethan's urine contained high levels of a potent aphrodisiac commonly used by hostesses in Ginza, Japan.

"It seems you were indeed framed by your classmate. Charlotte, you and Officer Zhang go to 'Paradise on Earth' and retrieve the bottles from the Purple Gold Pavilion for testing!" Ava quickly ordered.

But Ava was a step too late. All the bottles in the pavilion had already been cleared, and even the tables were spotless— all evidence destroyed.

"Bring Logan Carter in for questioning immediately!" Ava issued a second order.

Soon, Officer Zhang called back, "Captain Bennett, Logan Carter refuses to come with us."

"What? If he refuses, can't you bring him in by force?" Ava questioned.

"Logan Carter is having dinner with some officials. He told us to contact his lawyer. I got scolded by a leader for disturbing them," Officer Zhang replied dejectedly.

"Forget it, come back." Ava sighed. Knowing Logan had a lawyer meant this wouldn't be easy. All incriminating evidence had been destroyed. Without proof, there was nothing Ava could do if Logan denied everything.

From Logan's dinner with officials, Ava could tell that Logan's family was influential. Even if they had evidence, Logan's connections could easily mitigate his actions. At most, Logan might admit to spiking Ethan's drink, but the subsequent assault was still Ethan's responsibility.

Ava shook his head and picked up Charlotte's recorded statement.

The victim, Eleanor, was 18, a senior at North China Normal University High School. She was delivering lunch to her father when she was drugged with a handkerchief and woke up to find herself violated by Ethan Parker.