bChapter /bb128 /b

bIn /bthe break room, the deeply asleep Briar was abruptly awakened by a phone call.

Being woken up mid–nap made her expression rather unpleasant. When she saw it was Georgiana calling, her irritation only intensified.

“You better have a good reason,” Briar snapped.

She was supposed to be on vacation right now.

Georgiana shivered at Briar’s icy tone. “Briar, I really didn’t want to call at this time, but something happened on your end.”

All of them had location ess to Briar’s phone, so they knew exactly where she was, and it was currently her nap time. Briar’s notorious post–bnap /btemper wasn’t something to take lightly.

“What happened?” Briar sat up and rubbed her throbbing temples.

Georgiana hesitated, then blurted, “Last night, two female students from Shoneport University disappeared after going out. This morningb, /btheir bodies were found with their organs cut open and dumped in a park near campus. And… there’s evidence pointing to you.”

Briar’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of evidence?”

Georgiana answered cautiously, “There’s surveince footage showing you near the park… and your fingerprints were found on the bodiesb…/b”

Briar’s brows furrowed. “My fingerprints? Under which identity?”

Georgiana replied, “Just your in, unimpressive Briar student identity.”

Briar’s voice turned cial. “Looks like the rats from back then are finally poking their heads out again.”

Georgiana trembled on the other end. “Briar, are you okay? What are you going to do? When we got word, the evidence was already in the police’s hands. Do you have a way out? Should we…”

“No need. If this is the best trick they’ve got, they’re not even close to touching me,” Briar cut Georgiana off. “That’s it. I’m hanging up.”

Georgiana rushed to say, “Briar, take it easy, okay? Don’t go overboard out there…”

Briar had already hung up.

There were still forty minutes before afternoon sses beganb, /bbut she was fully awake now. She stood up, folded the thin nket neatly, ced it at the head of the bed, and walked out of the room.

At the front desk, Ashton and Hamish were chatting. Hearing the door, Ashton turned his head. “You’re awake?”

“Got woken by a call.” Briar’s lips were pressed tight, and the sleepiness hadn’t fully faded from her cold expression.

Ashton poured her a cup of water. “Want to sit for a biti? /iOr heading back to theb building?”

“I’ll sit for a while.” Briar took the cup and drank slowly.

If what Georgiana said was true, then it was only ba /bmatter of time before the police came looking for her.

What she hadn’t expected, thoughb, /bwas that instead ofing straight to her, the police first called Edgar. Which meant Briar got his furious bphone /bcall before anything else.

He snapped, “Briar, just what the hell have you been doing out there? Why are the police saying you need to assist in ba /bmurder investigationb? /bbDo /bbyou /bhave any idea what this could do to our family’s reputation? If you’re involved in a murder case. How could you bdo /bthatb?/b”

b1/3 /b

14.15 Sat, b16 /bbAug. /b71)

Chapter b128 /b

b“/bbShut /bup. My business is none of your concern,” Briar said tly, her bface /bexpressionless, as if Edgar’s angry branting /bon bthe /bother end of bthe /bline wash i even directed at her.

bEdgar /bchoked. “None of my business? I’d love to not care, the ceb! /bYou…”

but the police just called the house! And now the news about the bodies in bthe /bpark all bover /b

Briar ended the call without hesitation, and when she looked up, she met Ashton’s gaze,

who

had risen to his feet with a furrowed browb. /b

At that moment, Ashton also received a message from Brandon on his phone. [Mr. Wade, the police found Miss Jennings’s fingerprints on bthe /bbtwo /bbodies. They’re requesting her presence at the station for questioning.]

Though Briar hadn’t put her call on speaker, Edgar had been yelling so loudly that even Hamish sitting nearby couldn’t pretend he hadn’t heard it. bHe /balso caught a glimpse of the message on Ashton’s phone. Hamish, who had been smiling moments ago, now stared in disbelief.

‘Holy shit! So this whole thing is really targeting Ashton’s girl? Shoneport’s about to get real interesting!‘ Hamish thought.

If someone were targeting Ashton directly, those people might still survive.

But if they were going after Briar? With Ashton’s infamous protectiveness and cunning, blood would definitely be spilled.

“Mr. Wade, I need to go to the station.” Briar shook the phone in her hand. She was calm, like she was just heading out to run an errand.

Ashton grabbed his coat from the back of the chair. As he followed her out, he typed a reply to Brandon. “I’m taking her there myself.”

Hamish watched Ashton’s cold, nk expression and couldn’t help but feel uneasyb/ /bGrabbing his car keys, he ran after them. “Wait, I’ll drive you two. And I’ll pick up Marvin while I’m at it.”

Since this was targeted at Ashton and Briar, there was no way the matter would be resolved quickly at the police station. And Marvin, being an aging man, shouldn’t be kept running around like this. It was better to pull him out early so Ashton had the room to fully respond.

Ashton didn’t refuse and pulled Briar into Hamish’s car.

They sped all the way to the district police station. Hamish parked right at the station entrance, the blindingly shy 00003 license te making bthe /bguards too intimidated to chase them off.

Hamish yed the role of the arrogant heir to perfection. Spinning the keys, he grinned. “Ashton, Briar, let’s go.”

The guards were furious but didn’t dare speak up.

At the police station entrance, even from a distance, they could hear Marvin yelling angrily, “Ronan! If you dare brush me off on this matter, I swear I’ll have you removed from that chief position the same way I helped you up there! The Haynes family might be powerfulb, /bbut they’re nothingpared to

us!”

“Looks like Marvin is really pissed. He’s even pulling the power card,” Hamish muttered.

The Goodwin family usually didn’t unt their influence, since their reach extended deep into the military. When they did throw their weight around, bit /bmeant things had gotten very serious. One wrong move from anyone else could mean copse.

And with Reece alone being a major deterrent, few in Shoneport would dare cross the Goodwin family.

But Marvin throwing down the gauntlet like this meant the conversation before they arrived hadn’t gone well at all.

Brandon spotted them first and hurried over. “Mr. Wade, Miss Jennings, Mr. Parkinson. You’re here?”

Hamish looked as nonchnt as ever. “We heard there’s crucial evidence implicating Briar, so we brought her over. Where’s the person bin /bbcharge/bbi? /i/bbGet /bthem here. Let’s get this over with. Our car’s still blocking the gate, and we’re in ba /brush.”

bChapter /b128

bHearing /bHamish’sid back btone/b, Marvin turned at once. His face changed the bmoment /bhe saw bBriar /bbstanding /bbeside bAshton/b. b“/bbAshton/b! Why that et byou /bbbring /bthis girl here?”