Euu Ki picked up his mobile phone, angled it and took a photo of her nipples visible through the wet T-shirt.

“We need a cover pic.”

Chapter 5

Jessica never imagined the day would come when everyone wanted to know about her. Specifically, they wanted to learn what had happened to her in that ambulance.

Had she or had she not been raped?

The reason her jeans were pulled midway down her thighs was because Haroon, the nursing student, had offered to examine her injury. But the news clip appeared to tell a different story. She had her eyes shut tight and her limbs hanging limp as she was carried by a hulking migrant worker towards the ambulance. Most of the viewers believed her to be unconscious. She was kicking and struggling when the STAR team member rescued her from the ambulance. Many of the viewers deduced that she was suffering from post-traumatic disorientation. The mystery that mesmerised the entire nation centred on that 15-minute interval when she was alone in the ambulance with the migrant worker.

What really happened?

Reporters were frantic to get to the bottom of the mystery. They were unable to get any details from the police or the hospital; the statements and medical reports were confidential. They were unable to interview the migrant worker either; the direct butt stroke to the head executed by the STAR team member had resulted in a grievous concussion and the man was lying comatose in the ICU. The doctors were uncertain if he would wake up any time soon.

The confluence of all these factors left the reporters no choice but to focus their energies on hounding the one woman who could solve the mystery—Jessica Tan Jia Lin.

But the woman wouldn’t talk.

The first person who tried to convince Jessica not to talk was the member of parliament who came to visit her at the hospital. Jessica vaguely remembered having seen her on TV before but could not recall her name.

“Hello, I am Sharon Shi, MP for Jalan Besar GRC,” the MP said and smiled gently. “Mr Elvis Overee, the anchoring minister, had wanted to come, but I convinced him you may still be in shock and may not be ready to receive too many visitors. He wants me to convey how sorry we all are about what has happened to you. Has the doctor prescribed you any medication?”

“I am alright.” Jessica thought the MP had a rather awkward smile. It was as though she was making an extra effort to pull back her lips in order to show more teeth.

“You are a brave woman.” There was that awkward smile again. “We are going to pull out all the stops to get to the bottom of this riot that should not have happened. And we will bring justice to you. That man will not walk away unpunished. We just ask that you be strong.”

“Are you referring to Haroon?” Jessica frowned.