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Chapter 35
Chapter 35
The moment the call connected, Lillian White burst into tears. “Uncle Sutton,” she sobbed.
Sutton Jared’s voice was gentle. “Don’t cry, Lillian. Tell your uncle what happened. Did that Annabel White bully you and your mother again?”
“Oh, Uncle,” Lillian wailed, “I hate her! I hate Annabell Today, the compromising photos of her and Charles.
Sutton sounded furious, as if his own daughter had been wronged. “Don’t cry, Lillian. Uncle promises you, she’ll suffer a hundred, a worse than you did!”
Satisfied, Lillian added pleadingly, “Uncle, can this just be our little secret?”
Sutton readily agreed. “Don’t worry, Lillian. I won’t tell your mother. Just wait for good news from your uncle!”
“Thank you, Uncle!” Lillian chirped, her tears seemingly forgotten.
thousand times
Meanwhile, Charles Shaw had taken Annabel White to a local bistro.
They had barely settled in when a man wearing a black ski mask burst through the door, brandishing a knife.
Clearly dressed like a robber, he sent the few other patrons screaming and scrambling out the side exit. A terrified waiter dove behind the counter, trembling.
Annabel and Charles were seated in a corner. By the time they realized something was wrong, the man was already rushing towards them with the knife.
His movements were slow, clumsy, full of openings.
Annabel spotted his weaknesses instantly. Just as she was about to kick him, Charles shoved her hard to the side.
The next second, there was the sound of fabric tearing.
Charles collapsed, clutching his bleeding arm. He groaned in pain but managed a ‘heroic‘ shout, “Annabel, get out of here! Run!”
Annabel just stared.
‘So this was Charles’s plan?‘ Annabel thought. ‘Terrible acting, zero suspense. He’s not just eye candy, he’s a lousy scriptwriter too.‘
Ignoring Charles, Annabel sprang into action as the attacker, having ‘stabbed‘ Charles, turned to flee. She lunged forward and kicked him squarely in the
knee.
The man crumpled to the floor, the knife skittering away.
He clearly didn’t want to stick around. Scrambling to his feet without even bothering with the knife, he tried to run, only to be slammed back down by Annabel’s foot pinning him.
“Hurt someone and think you can just run off?” Annabel pressed down. She applied enough pressure to keep the man completely immobilized.
Seeing his accomplice caught, Charles quickly yelled, “Annabel, I’m bleeding so much! I feel dizzy… I need a hospital, now!”
Annabel glanced back at him, her voice cold. “You sound perfectly fine. You’re not dying anytime soon.”
Charles was speechless, his face darkening with frustration.
With the attacker subdued, the other people cautiously emerged. Someone ventured, “Miss, we’ve already called the police. Is your boyfriend okay?
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Chapter 35
Should we call an ambulance?”
Before Annabel could answer, Charles interjected, “No, that’s okay.”
He struggled to his feet and walked over to Annabel, looking pitiful. “Annabel, it really hurts. Please, take me to the hospital.”
Annabel didn’t respond immediately. Instead, she crouched down and pulled off the attacker’s ski mask, revealing an unfamiliar face.
He glared hatefully at her, and then his eyes flickered towards Charles standing behind her.
Annabel turned just in time to catch a warning look flash in Charles’s eyes. Seeing her watching, his expression quickly shifted back to pained vulnerability. “Annabel,” he urged, “they’ve got him. Let’s just go.”
“Without giving a statement?” Annabel asked.
“But my arm… “Charles trailed off, gesturing weakly.
Annabel seemed to hesitate for a moment. Then, she instructed someone to tie up the attacker before finally agreeing to take Charles to find a drugstore to treat his wound.
Charles wanted to go to the hospital, glancing dismissively at the antiseptic and gauze in Annabel’s hands. “Annabel,” Charles whined, “I got hurt saving you. Don’t you even care?”
Annabel’s expression remained neutral. “This is just to clean it first. We’ll go to the hospital afterward.”
Without another word, she uncapped the bottle and roughly splashed the liquid onto Charles’s wound.
“Ah!” Charles yelled, forgetting his composure as pain shot through him. He shoved Annabel away hard. “Bitch! Are you trying to kill me? That burns like hell! What did you put on me?”
His eyes bulged, and his whole body trembled violently from the pain in his arm.
Annabel scoffed. “It’s just antiseptic. It stings on an open wound, sure. But aren’t you supposed to be a man? Can’t handle a little pain?”
Charles looked skeptical; it felt worse than just an antiseptic sting. But not wanting to look weak, he cleared his throat. “I wasn’t ready. And you were so rough, that’s why I…”
Gritting his teeth, he held out his arm again. “Go on.”
Annabel smirked. “Alright.”
The second splash made Charles wince and grit his teeth, even though he was expecting it. Determined to maintain his tough–guy act, he didn’t make a sound, despite turning pale and breaking out in a sweat.
Once done, Annabel took him to the hospital. ‘Saline disinfects too,’ she thought wryly. ‘If Charles finds out, I’ll just blame the pharmacy. They won’t make a fuss over something so minor.‘
But just as she was about to head back to the White family estate, the police called, asking her to come in to assist with the investigation.
She assumed it was just to give a victim’s statement, but instead, she was led straight into an interrogation room.
The officer waiting for her was a familiar face – Gideon Lynn.
Annabel spoke first. “I’m here to cooperate with the investigation. Why are you treating me like a suspect?”
A cold smirk played on Gideon’s lips, his eyes narrowing. “Miss White, are you playing dumb? You really don’t know why we brought you in?”
“I really don’t,” Annabel replied, her voice steady.
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Chapter 35
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Gideon slammed his hand on the table. “No idea? Then why did the attacker claim you hired him to go after Mr. Shaw? Because you didn’t want to marry into the Shaw family?”
“That’s what he said?” Annabel found it almost funny. “With no proof? Mr. Lynn, you seem to conduct your investigations based purely on personal feelings.”
Her words made Gideon furious. “Who says I have no proof! The suspect provided transaction records! You transferred three hundred thousand to him
for this hit!”
“If there are transaction records, then you can easily trace the source and see the money didn’t come from me.”
Annabel leaned forward, closer to the table and Gideon, her eyes filled with ice. “Don’t try to bluff me, Mr. Lynn. I’m just an unfavored daughter of the White family. I don’t have access to three hundred thousand dollars to hire a hitman.”
The money she had access to–legally and traceable–was nowhere near that amount.
Gideon snorted. “Who knows what tricks you pulled? Point is, we have a witness now. You just wait, you’ll be detained. I’ll find the hard evidence to lock you up for good!”
Annabel raised an eyebrow. “Detained? In that same holding cell as before?”
Gideon didn’t answer, which was answer enough.
Annabel let out a short, sharp laugh. She’d been busy and had almost forgotten about this officer. Since he was practically serving himself up on a platter, she wouldn’t let the opportunity pass.
“I want to see your chief.” Annabel directed this at the officer taking notes nearby
He hesitated for a second before Annabel continued, her voice laced with cold amusement, “I wish to report Officer Gideon Lynn for corruption, abuse of power, framing innocent people, dereliction of duty, and colluding with criminals… ”
AD
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.