Adrian stared at the lieutenant for several moments, trying to figure out what kind of game he was playing.
"You know I can't do that," he replied. "This ring is an evidence material."
Steven crossed his legs and looked ironically at Adrian.
"Aren't you going to offer me a drink, Mr. Monk. Why are we bringing up the heavy subjects right away?"
"Be open, Lieutenant," he said without hesitation. "You and I both know that you didn't come here for a drink. You came because you know that I know the truth."
"What truth?"
"Don't try to lie," Monk shook his head. "You may have succeeded in deceiving Natalie, but you won't deceive me. I will use this ring to unmask you tomorrow!"
"You're really going to do that?" he asked, finally rising from his armchair.
"You think you can stop me? Are you going to kill me?"
Albright grinned and waved his hand.
"I don't dirty my hands with weaklings like you, don't worry."
Adrian frowned. "That's right, you kill young models with whom you spend nights in a luxury hotel, while your fiancee is waiting for you!"
"Oh, God, this is getting more interesting," he said. "Since when do you care about my fiancée? Are you so pathetic that you won't let her start a new life, away from her crazy boss?"
"I won't let you hurt Natalie!" Adrian said angrily. "Why don't you admit you killed Maria Smith and act like a man?"
"Like a man?" Steven grinned. "Like Adrian Monk - the man who was held down by ten people so the doctors could draw blood from him. The man who couldn't be in the hospital without his dead wife's pillow. Do you really think you're a man?"
"At least I didn't kill anyone," he replied curtly.
"You're so persistent," Steven shook his head. "Okay, if you want the truth, you'll get it! The truth is that I killed Maria Smith and that ring is the key evidence you can use to destroy me, but I don't believe you will."
Adrian stared at him in astonishment, then moved to the door. Steven also got up and walked towards him.
"What makes you think I won't do it? I have your prints, I have a confession, I think everything is clear. Unless you kill me."
Adrian swallowed the dumpling and Steven burst out laughing.
"You're boring, man! I told you I wasn't going to kill you. I need you alive. You have to show up at my and Natalie's wedding. I really don't know what she saw in you, but I'll respect her choice.
"What are you talking about?", Adrian was confused and nervous.
"Aren't you intelligent, detective? I said you'd show up at our wedding and you'd better forget about this stupid accusation."
"There won't be any weddings!" Monk snapped. "He'll end up in prison for murder. I'm sorry it's going to hurt Natalie, but it's the only right way."
Steven crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.
"You know, sometimes I can't believe she could fall in love with a dumbass like you. You're a total idiot."
Monk stared at him unblinkingly, processing his last words.
"What? What did you say?"
"That you're an idiot," Steven repeated. "You can't predict your opponent's next move at all. You're messing with the wrong person, Monk!"
Adrian shook his head and stepped closer to him.
"What did you say about Natalie? Who did she fall in love with?"
"At you!", he snapped, "but since you're a jerk it's logical that you didn't notice."
Monk was in shock. He couldn't fully believe Albright's words, maybe he was just playing a dangerous game, but the thought of Natalie ever being in love with him made his heart skip a beat.
"You're lying," he snorted, "that can't be true."
"That's right, it's not true anymore, Natalie is now in love with the man who will soon become her husband. I'm talking about the period when we just started dating."
"How is…How is that possible?"
"I don't know either," Steven waved his hand. "It was four years ago, when I asked you for help, former detective. Do you remember? I saved your life then."
"That doesn't change the fact that you're a killer now," Adrian frowned.
"That's when I realized Natalie had a crush on you," Steven continued, ignoring his words.
"She told you that?" Adrian stammered.
"Of course she didn't. I thought I was wrong, until I saw her again in December. I happened to find her hugging a photo of you together and crying. She mumbled how she loved you, even though she knew you would never return her feelings. I should have known why did she reject my advances while we were in the submarine..."
Adrian suddenly felt unable to stand on his feet and returned to the living room again. For God's sake, how was that possible? How could he not understand that Natalie loved him? Why was everything so damn hard?
"You don't know how long it took me to win her love. To make her forget you, the weirdo who is afraid of milk and doesn't respect her at all." Steven then lowered his voice. "I've never loved anyone like Natalie and I really think I can make her happy."
Adrian's eyes glistened with tears, but he didn't reach for the tissue, instead he smiled mockingly at Albright.
"Do you think she will really be happy next to a man who cheated on her and then killed his lover?"
"Okay, I was wrong," he said, "but I had no choice. That damned woman wouldn't leave me alone. We'd better forget about this and pretend nothing happened. Without your words and my ring, no one will accuse me."
"What? Can you hear yourself?" Adrian hissed. "Get out of here and prepare for the punishment you deserve. You will pay for what you have done."
Steven's blue eyes suddenly flashed at him and a dark shadow fell on his face.
"Listen to me now, detective Monk. I've had too much patience with you. You're going to do what I say, bring the ring to Natalie and apologize to me for the false accusation, and then smooth things over with her, or else you're going to stay without the one person you care about in your life."
Adrian's heart skipped a beat. The only person that Steven knew that Adrian loved was Molly.
"How dare you, you wretch!" he cried and grabbed him by the collar, but Albright roughly pushed him away.
"Get away from me, you coward! You've got it right, if you decide to expose me, your dear stepdaughter will end up like her mother. Do you really want her to be blown up by a bomb, and she's so beautiful?"
"You're a bastard, a common bastard," Monk hissed furiously. "I won't...I won't let you...". Then he collapsed into an armchair and wept loudly. Steven walked over and crouched next to him.
"As I assumed...So, do we have a deal?"
Monk stopped sobbing and gave him a look filled with hatred.
"One day you will pay for everything you have done."
He nodded. "And until then I will be happily married to the most beautiful woman in the world."
Adrian had to do what the lieutenant demanded of him. He loved Natalie and was especially devastated after learning that she had once loved him, but he also loved Molly and couldn't let anything happen to her. He remembered Dexter Larson, the creator of Sapphire magazine, who had killed the magazine's publisher because he wanted him to retract it. Monk was able to solve the case, but Dexter told him that he would release nude photos of his nurse, Sharona, if Monk did not drop the case, and he was briefly forced to do so. Now it was a similar situation, only Steven Albright seemed a much more dangerous opponent than Dexter Larson.
Natalie blindly trusted that bastard and said she forgives Monk and will give him an unforgettable birthday. Because of all this, he decided to retire completely and didn't leave his apartment for days, and he lied to Natalie that he was too busy. For the second time in his life, he felt his life falling apart, and there was nothing he could do to stop it...
However, he knew that it couldn't last and that's why he wasn't surprised when Leyla came to his door, but she was more than shocked when she saw his condition.
"Monk, for God's sake, what happened to you?"
She flew past him like the wind and realized that his apartment was a mess.
"Nothing happened," he replied in a hoarse voice. Leyla noticed that he was unshaven and looked like a dying man.
"I'm sorry, but I don't have time to talk. I'm in the middle of very important work," he said sharply when Leyla sat down on the couch.
"I guess that job is self-destruction?" she said sarcastically, raising her right eyebrow.
"Leyla..."
"Are you going to tell me what happened or do you want me to guess? You died and someone else took over your body? Were you visited by aliens and ordered to ditch the cleanse? Am I close?"
"Leyla, it's over," he answered in all seriousness. "I suspended the investigation."
"That's why I came here. Leonardo's lawyer can't do anything until the evidence appears to exonerate him. It's all one big misunderstanding. I expected you to hand the ring over to the police. Why didn't you do that and why did you stop the investigation?"
"I returned the ring to Lt. Albright. I'm sorry Leyla, but I couldn't take it anymore."
"What are you talking about?" she snapped. "Why did you return the ring to that man? Isn't he a murderer?"
"Yes, he's the guy we're looking for."
Leyla gave him an extremely confused look.
"I couldn't do otherwise," he defended himself. "He said he would hurt my stepdaughter if I said anything. I can't let that happen!"
"Are you going to let that man hurt Natalie?"
"Don't make it difficult for me, please," he cried. "It's hard enough!"
"You can't just let it go, Detective! Are you going to let an innocent man end up in prison, or let something bad happen to the woman you love?"
Adrian shook his head vigorously and leaned his head against the wall, but Leyla pulled him back.
"Listen to me, please! The lieutenant doesn't need to know about our investigation, we can ask the police captain to help us. Once we prove him guilty, he'll end up in jail and everyone will be safe."
"I can't do it," he kept saying. "Please go."
"Okay, I'll do it then," she retorted and stormed out of the apartment before Adrian could stop her.