Chapter 35: Police Involved in Gambling

Mason never thought he'd end up in cuffs, especially since he was a cop.

Henry didn't care about Mason; his focus was all on Olivia.

"Hey, you okay? Does your head hurt?" Henry asked, his voice filled with concern.

Olivia could barely hear him. She just shook her head before everything went dark and she passed out.

Henry panicked. "Olivia!"

An ambulance rushed Olivia to the hospital, leaving Benjamin and Henry pacing outside her room.

"I can't let anything happen to her. How am I supposed to explain this to Autumn?" Benjamin muttered, feeling his heart break. If he'd known, he would've never let Olivia join the Detective Unit. She hadn't been there long, and already so much had gone wrong. This time was the worst—she got beaten up by a fellow cop. The more Benjamin thought about it, the angrier he got.

Henry sat quietly on a bench in the hallway. Before long, William and Zephyr came running down the corridor.

"Mr. Phillips, how's Olivia?" William asked. They'd just wrapped up their work and got back to the station, only to hear that Mason had attacked Olivia. They were both scared and rushed to the hospital.

"She's still getting checked out," Henry replied, which only made William and Zephyr angrier.

"Mason's such a jerk. He's lazy at work and hits his colleague. He shouldn't be a cop!" William fumed.

"Yeah, and I always see him smoking those fancy cigarettes. On our salary, who can afford that?" Zephyr added.

Hearing their complaints, Henry thought for a moment and called them over.

"Mason's wife came to see me earlier. She said he's lost a ton of money gambling, and now debt collectors are hounding them. You two need to look into this ASAP," Henry said.

William and Zephyr exchanged a look, both thinking the same thing: Mason must be out of his mind. How could a cop be gambling? No wonder he could afford those fancy smokes. There had to be more to this story. Furious, William and Zephyr went to investigate. That night, they raided the casino with their team and arrested a bunch of people.

They uncovered Mason's mess, and it was bad enough to get the state police involved, who set up a task force to dig deeper. Benjamin was overwhelmed, and with Olivia hurt, he was even more stressed.

The doctor came out and said, "Mr. White, Ms. Smith has a mild concussion. She'll need to stay in the hospital for a few days for observation. Other than that, she just has some minor injuries that will heal in a few days."

Benjamin clenched his teeth in anger hearing about the minor injuries.

"Mason is such a bastard!" Benjamin spat out.

Henry was fuming too, but now wasn't the time for revenge. He took on the responsibility of looking after Olivia.

"Henry, I know you're responsible, but you're the team leader, and the team needs you! I've called my wife, and she can come to the hospital tomorrow to take care of Olivia. We've watched her grow up, and my wife taking care of her is only right," Benjamin said.

Benjamin was also trying to keep some distance between Olivia and Henry. After all, Olivia was a girl, and gossip could really mess things up for her.

Henry understood but still insisted on looking after Olivia.

"I promised Autumn I'd take care of her. Don't worry, Mr. White, it won't mess with my work!" Henry said firmly.

Benjamin was surprised by Henry's determination. And what surprised Benjamin even more was that Autumn actually accepted Henry to take care of Olivia. After all, Henry was Holden's son!

Out of the blue, Benjamin asked, "Henry, do you like Olivia?"

Henry just looked at Benjamin without saying a word. Benjamin was at a loss for words.

Olivia's background wasn't a secret. Thanks to Autumn's connection with Ivan, Henry knew who her father was. He also knew a bit about the feud between the Phillips and Smith families but hadn't dug into the details.

"You've got good taste, Henry. But Olivia lost her dad when she was really young. We've all treated her like our own daughter because she's had it rough. I won't say anything about your relationship, but if Olivia doesn't feel the same way, you can't push her," Benjamin said earnestly.

He then patted Henry on the shoulder and left the hospital.

Henry sat in the hallway for a long time, trying to figure out what Benjamin meant.

Olivia was in bad shape, with a big bump on the back of her head, swollen and bloody. She couldn't lie flat and had to lie on her side.

"Is there anything you want to eat? I'll go get it for you," Henry asked.

Olivia gave him a resentful look and huffed.

"I want something spicy, like Mexican food!" she said, sounding a bit pouty.

Henry laughed. "When you get better, I'll make it for you!"

Olivia's eyes lit up. "You can cook?"

Henry nodded.

Olivia frowned slightly, thinking about the chicken soup she had before. Suddenly, it all made sense. "So, the chicken soup you gave me earlier was made by you?"

Henry looked at Olivia in surprise. Seeing his astonished expression, Olivia rolled her eyes. He had such a good physique, but his brain didn't seem to work well.

"I borrowed the kitchen in the cafeteria and made it myself. I promised Mr. White I'd take care of you. Besides, you're the only girl on the team, and I couldn't find anyone else to help," Henry explained.

Well, that was a good reason. Olivia was so angry she laughed.

"You can't eat spicy food right now. It's best to eat something light. I'll make some oatmeal for you and get some sandwiches from Emerald City. They have good sandwiches!" Henry said.

Olivia's stomach growled. "No need to make oatmeal; it's too much trouble. Just get more sandwiches. I like them!"

Henry nodded with a smile. Seeing Olivia's weak state, he felt a pang of heartache. However, he couldn't show his feelings in front of Olivia, so he left to get the food.

Olivia leaned back on the pillow, feeling dizzy and nauseous. She had been pretending to be fine earlier because she didn't want Henry to feel guilty. She wasn't sure why she felt that way.

After Mason's incident, the department started a performance review. Officers who didn't pass would be reassigned or even asked to leave the force.

Ryan, being smart, transferred to the traffic division and became a traffic cop. The Detective Unit also underwent significant personnel changes.