With that interruption, Hou Yi and Anna sat back up, and Hou Yi looked at Anna and asked "Do you want me to sit right beside you as you talk to the police officer? If no, I will simply move to a chair within the room, but if you need me can come and sit by you to support you if things get too much."

Anna, paused for a second, and spoke "Yi, I think the latter. I have to deal with this myself, otherwise I will not be able to step in to get my revenge, or deal with matters in court where I have no support next to me."

Before Hou Yi could respond, they were interrupted by Butler Ge "Young Master, Young Madam, here is Officer Mu Tong." And with that Butler Ge stood aside and a young man walked down into the Lounge area.

"CEO Hou, Madam Hou, I am police officer Mu Tong. CEO Hou's a.s.sistant w.a.n.g Long advised me that Madam Hou had been a.s.saulted at the Key Plaza Hotel, and you wished to make a report. I have already spoke to the manager and security staff who have a.s.sured me that I will have a copy of the CCTV footage sometime tomorrow. They are simply reviewing it at the moment to ensure that they can protect the privacy of their clients."

"Officer Mu, as I was not present when the a.s.sault occurred, you need to discuss this with my wife. Hou Enterprises owns a stake in the company that among its other properties owns the Key Plaza Hotel. a.s.sistant w.a.n.g, has spoken to the company's senior management and they should have to you within an hour a copy of the CCTV footage from off-site backup recordings." Hou Yi paused, and then continued "While I want to sit with my wife and support her, given how shaken she is about this, I cannot deny her request to speak to you alone. However, I will be over the other side of the room, in case she requires my support at any time."

With that Hou Yi stood up, and shook Office Mu's hand. He then walked over to a chair across the room. With that he sat down, and apparently started to listen to the conversation that Anna was having with Officer Mu.

"h.e.l.lo, Madam Hou. My name is Officer Mu Tong, and I was a.s.signed by the police to come and speak to you about you being a.s.saulted. As I can see you are not from here, our practice is to record your statement on this recorder, which produces a digital file which we keep, and a copy on a USB stick, which I will give you as I leave. Subsequently a typed version of this is prepared, and you will be required to sign the original. Please note that I am going to start the recording now." With that, he placed a recording machine on the table to record the conversation, and pressed a b.u.t.ton, which Anna presumed was the record b.u.t.ton.

"This if Officer Mu Tong, and I am at the apartment of CEO Hou Yi and his wife, for an interview in relation to an alleged a.s.sault of Madam Hou, the wife of CEO Hou of Hou Enterprises. Madam Hou, could you please confirm your information for the record, including your nationality."

"My name is Anna Jones. No Sorry, I should correct that My name is Anna Hou, however professionally I will remain known by my maiden name Anna Jones. Hou Yi and I obtained our marriage certificate at the Civil Administration Bureau today, so I guess my new name will take a little getting use to. I was born in a town called Warrnambool in Victoria, Australia, hence I am Australian by nationality, but I understand that in obtaining our marriage certificate today I am also a citizen here. In Australia, I am employed as a Lawyer by a firm in Melbourne. I am 26 years of age. Do you need to know my date of birth?"

"No Madam Hou, at some stage I will need to obtain a copy of your Australia Pa.s.sport and your marriage certificate, but that can wait. Further I did not realise that you were a lawyer. Do you mind me asking which area or areas of law you work in?"

"While my firm's speciality is commercial law, we also have a more general practice, as when it was founded it was recognised that people tend to have overlapping issues, and wish to rely on one firm, rather than having to use multiple firms. The commercial law team focuses solely on commercial law, and the generalist team, which is where I am placed, works in areas involving, Family Law, Criminal Law, Wills and Estates, Property, and some a.s.sociated areas. I do not specialise in any of these areas but tend to handle Criminal and Family Law matters. Further, given the firm's focus, I do undertake some commercial work as well."

"Thank you Madam Hou. Given you undertake criminal law work, I am not going to go into the full extent of the warnings normally given to foreign nationals, as much of this would be as in Australia. However, I must warn you that if you lie in providing this statement, you are open to criminal charges for such a statement. Further, anything that you say can be used in court, if you are dealt with for making a false statement, or against those, if charged over a.s.saulting you. Further, before proceeding as a foreign national you are ent.i.tled to speak to your emba.s.sy before providing this statement, and are ent.i.tled to consult a local lawyer, if you wish to clarify anything before proceeding. Do you understand this?"

"Yes, I do."

"Do you wish to exercise any of these rights?"

"No I do not."

"Madam Hou, can you please let me know what happened today at the Key Plaza Hotel."

"After my husband Hou Yi and I had collected our marriage certificate from the Civil Administration Bureau. Oh, I just remembered that this was recorded, so we would be able to get you footage to confirm that our marriage certificate was validly issued. Hou Yi and I were collected by his a.s.sistant w.a.n.g Long, who drove us to the Key Plaza Hotel where I had been staying, for the purpose of collecting my personal belongings. Yi, apologise Hou Yi, offered to come with me for this purpose, but I indicated that I would do so myself. When I entered the lobby, I was confronted by my former fiancé Lu Jinhu who verbally abused me, calling me a b**ch, and asking who I was with. I felt I owed him on explanation and refused to answer his question as I did not want a confrontation between my husband and him today of all days. He invaded my personal s.p.a.ce, to the point I did not feel safe, and told him clearly I was not going to answer his questions." With that Anna had to pause and take some deep breaths to prevent the tears from spilling over.

Meanwhile, as Office Mu had commenced speaking to Anna, Hou Yi, sat down watching what was happening, looking for any sign Anna needed his help or support. However, this did not stop him thinking about six months ago, when he first saw Anna.