Chapter 309 Is Secretly Taking Photos Also Illegal?

Chapter 309 Is Secretly Taking Photos Also Illegal?

That was Caspian's car.

Inside, Stefan turned to Caspian. "Caspian, Victoria's already handled the plagiarism issue. It's so late—did you really need to come check on her yourself?"

Caspian shot him a cool glance.

Stefan pressed his lips together and wisely shut up.

Seriously, Caspian drove all the way here in the middle of the night but wouldn't even call Victoria. Just sat there watching.

Victoria wasn't coming out anyway. What was there to see?

Caspian rolled a cigarette between his fingers, his gaze fixed intently on a particular window.

The legal team he'd prepared wouldn't be needed after all.

After taking a deep drag, Caspian stubbed out the cigarette, ready to leave.

Stefan suddenly made a surprised sound. "Caspian, isn't that the guy from Victoria's blind date? What's he doing here this late?"

Caspian's eyes followed Stefan's gaze.

Jeff was hovering around the Windsor family's gate, craning his neck like he was looking for someone.

Caspian's dark eyes turned cold, his voice cutting like ice. "Knock him out and take him away."

Stefan's expression sharpened. "Yes, sir."

Three minutes later, the area in front of the Windsor family's mansion was completely empty.

Caspian's car disappeared into the night.

Victoria watched the entire scene from upstairs, but she said nothing, her expression calm as she drew the curtains.

One annoying fly. Better that Caspian dealt with it—saved her the trouble of dirtying her own hands.

During Jenny's hospitalization, Mike practically lived at the hospital.

After sleeping for a day and a night, Jenny finally regained some energy.

Her lashes fluttered as she slowly opened her eyes.

The hospital room was quiet, with only Mike asleep at the edge of her bed.

Damon found Mike's constant presence irritating. Since Mike refused to leave the room, Damon had gone back to the office.

So when Jenny woke, only Mike remained.

He was sleeping.

This was the first time Jenny had seen him at such close range.

Sunlight fell behind him as he slept peacefully.

He was beautiful—his lashes long enough to make anyone jealous, his nose bridge high, his brow bone defined, his entire face exquisitely perfect.

With his eyes closed, his brow slightly furrowed, head pillowed on his arm, he seemed uncomfortable.

His hand had fallen near hers.

Jenny bit her lip, her heartbeat accelerating as she couldn't help reaching out.

Her lashes fluttered like tiny fans, color spreading across her pale skin as she carefully extended one finger, slowly touching his.

In that instant, Jenny's heart raced.

She remembered how he'd held her protectively before she'd lost consciousness.

Like a cautious snail extending its tentacles, Jenny felt the warmth of his fingertips.

A few seconds later, her face flushed as she tried to pull back—only to have her hand firmly grasped.

Jenny stared at him with wide, startled eyes.

Mike's eyes remained closed, but his large hand wrapped around Jenny's, gripping it tightly.

In that moment, the air seemed filled with pink bubbles.

Jenny's ears burned uncontrollably, red creeping down her neck, her previously pale complexion turning an enchanting shade of pink from shyness.

Neither spoke.

The hospital room was quiet, filled only with the deafening sound of heartbeats.

After washing up, Victoria came downstairs for breakfast.

Steve poured her a glass of water. "Going out today?"

Victoria took a sip and nodded. "Yeah, heading to the hospital to see Jenny in a bit."

Steve said nothing, but when Victoria stood to leave, he was already dressed and waiting by the door.

He wore a black turtleneck under a gray cardigan, glasses perched on his nose, looking as cool and composed as always.

Seeing him clearly ready to go out, Victoria asked, "Steve, don't you need to catch up on sleep today?"

"No need. I've already adjusted my sleep schedule."

Steve held the car keys.

"I'll go to the hospital with you."

Victoria said, "Steve, the rumors have been cleared up. No one's going to follow me anymore."

And even if someone did, she wasn't worried.

Steve walked toward the garage. "Better safe than sorry."

Seeing he'd already gotten in the car, Victoria said no more.

The moment they left Hilltop Residence, paparazzi who'd been staking out the entrance hurried to follow.

The Windsor family's eldest daughter wasn't just Marcyen but also the top-tier author Neo. Any news about her was guaranteed to be valuable.

These paparazzi only followed her to sell her whereabouts and photos to fans.

Marcyen and Neo's fanbase rivaled that of any A-list celebrity.

The paparazzi tailed them all the way to the hospital. Watching Steve and Victoria get out of the car, they couldn't help commenting, "The Windsor family's daughter really plays the field. The men around her just keep getting better-looking. This guy's even more handsome than celebrities. Lucky girl."

"These photos should fetch a good price. I've got to get more shots!"

They raised their cameras and snapped away furiously.

Just as they were getting into their groove, someone tapped their shoulders.

The paparazzi shrugged impatiently.

"Don't interrupt my work."

A serious voice came from behind them.

"You're both suspected of leaking state secrets. Come with us."

The paparazzi jumped, nearly dropping their cameras.

The two turned around nervously to find three stern-looking men staring at them.

Holding silver handcuffs.

Before the paparazzi could react, they were loaded into a car.

They were taken to jail.

The two paparazzi sat there confused and frightened. "Who are you? We didn't break any laws, did we?"

They'd only taken a few photos. How did they end up in jail?

Since when was taking a few pictures illegal? It wasn't like they'd photographed anything explicit.

Two upright-looking men sat across from the paparazzi.

"Know why we brought you in?"

The paparazzi shook their heads frantically.

No idea.

Please tell them!

The men flashed their credentials.

"We're from the National Security Bureau. We suspect you of leaking state secrets. Please cooperate with our investigation."

What?!

National Security Bureau? Leaking state secrets?

The paparazzi were dumbfounded.

"We just took a few pictures. How is that leaking state secrets?"

The NSB officers placed freshly printed photos in front of them. "Did you take these?"

The paparazzi nodded blankly. "Yes."

Was there something wrong with these photos?

Steve and Victoria's faces were clear, the composition was good, the shots had story potential.

Walking on eggshells, the paparazzi asked nervously, "We won't do surveillance photography anymore. I really didn't know it could get you arrested by the NSB."

The officer pointed at Steve's face, interrogating them seriously. "Why were you photographing him?"

The paparazzi blinked. "Huh?"

They'd been photographing Victoria.

That guy was just incidentally in the frame.

"Do you know who he is? Who put you up to this?"

The paparazzi shook their heads so hard they looked like rattles.

"No one put us up to anything..."

The officer slammed the table.

"Be honest. You're not leaving here until you tell the truth."

"Really, no one put us up to it. We just wanted to take some photos of Victoria to sell..."

The officer said something in a low voice, clearly realizing this was a misunderstanding.

These two paparazzi probably genuinely didn't know who Steve was.

Steve was a core member of a national research institute, leading multiple classified state projects. That's why NSB personnel protected him.

These two paparazzi had gotten greedy trying to photograph Victoria for profit, but instead caught the NSB's attention and got arrested as suspected spies.

Understanding it was a misunderstanding, the NSB officers gave the two paparazzi a stern lecture before releasing them.

The paparazzi felt wronged. They'd only wanted to make some money, never imagining the risk would be so high. They'd nearly ended up in prison.

No more. Never doing surveillance photography again.