"What’s going on in here?" George asked as soon as he entered the police station and saw Elara, her hair disheveled, sitting with an angry face before one of the officers.
When he rushed to the hospital to see what the matter was, all he found was a list of seven people in the hospital, poorly beaten, admitted under Elara’s name.
The first thing he did was go call Antonio and ask what was happening for real, and that was how he found out Elara wasn’t at the hospital but was being detained at the police station.
"Mr. George," the officers, who were well aware of his identity, stood from their seats to greet him out of respect, not just because he was rich, but because his family had donated a lot to security measures in the government fund.
Elara looked up when she heard her brother’s voice and sulked further into her seat.
Her sharp eyes landed on Antonio. What the fuck? She mouthed to him, and the man shrugged.
He only told his boss they were here since he was already at the hospital. But the main question was, who told him they were at the hospital, or what happened in the first place?
When Elara noticed Antonio’s confused expression, she immediately knew who had given her brother her whereabouts.
Xylon, you nincompoop! She cursed in her head.
"They are bullying me," She pointed at the officers.
The officers looked at the girl, flabbergasted— "..." When did we do that? We didn’t even touch you or ask you anything.
The police officers felt tongue-tied, unsure of what to say when they didn’t know the connection between the girl and Mr. George.
Once George ensured she was fine and wasn’t hurt much, he massaged his forehead.
"What exactly happened?" He asked no one in particular, and just like that, no one answered.
The police stayed silent because they didn’t know what had happened either.
Antonio didn’t know how much to share.
And Elara? Well, Elara only glared at everyone before wiping the blood from her nose.
When George saw her bleeding, his eyes softened, and he pulled out his handkerchief to offer to her, but before he could extend his hand, someone beat him to it.
"What happened to you? Who dared to lay his hand on you?" Daniel asked, kneeling before her with his handkerchief already pressed against her nose to stop the bleeding.
Elara narrowed her eyes, her brows arching when she saw Daniel with her brother.
"I will explain it later," George said before he looked at the police officers.
Since Daniel’s back was facing the officers, they could not see who the man was kneeling before the girl.
"What formalities do I need to do to take my sister back home?" George asked.
The police officers looked at the girl in surprise.
George’s sister? But wasn’t she announced dead?
"A cousin," Elara smiled to cover the slip-up, and the officer nodded in understanding.
"Sir, we couldn’t find any other information about Miss Elara, just the fact that she is married to Mr. Andrew Lloyd. Since he is her guardian, we have already called him," the officer stated.
Daniel’s fists clenched at the mention of Andrew.
"She is already divorcing him, which makes him a disqualified guardian. But she is my future wife. Thus, I have the right to take her home, right?" Daniel asked.
The officer furrowed his brows.
He was being lenient with Mr. George because he was an influential person, but who did this person think he could bend the law like this?
"That’s not how things work, Mr." The officer said.
Daniel raised his brows before he turned, and at the same time, Alen and the rest of his team entered the police station.
Seeing so many men in black entering the station, the chief officer left his cabin to see which influential person had come to their small unit.
"Is that so?" Daniel turned to look at the officer.
The officer, who didn’t recognize him, was about to rebuke him when the chief rushed to their side.
"Sir! Mr. Macros! What a pleasant surprise." The chief removed his hat and placed it under his hand to show the man his utmost respect.
Elara arched her brows at the scene unfolding before her.
"As a high-grade officer, does it suit you to act like this? What are you teaching others?" Elara scoffed without a filter on her mouth.
This was exactly what she hated most about the VIP culture.
She looked at Daniel with disdain.
Daniel - "..." But I didn’t even do anything this time. He wondered.
"Ma’am, our sir isn’t just a normal businessman. He has served as a lieutenant, and his grandfather is the brigadier," Alen tried to clarify his boss’s reputation.
Elara looked at Daniel, and when the man nodded to confirm, she made an ’o’ with her lips in realization.
At the same time, Andrew, who was having a drink with Sean earlier, scrunched his nose, pinching the area between his brows helplessly, as he returned to his seat in the club where he was enjoying some time with his friends.
"Who was it?" Beatrice asked innocently.
"It was from the police station. They said they have detained Elara, and since I am her guardian, I should take her home," Andrew said.
Carla scoffed loudly at his choice of words.
"What guardian? Wasn’t she the one who applied for the divorce? Since she wants to prove she is capable of handling everything alone, why bother us now?" Carla said.
Andrew, who was angry about what happened earlier, found his sister’s words reasonable because, for some reason, he doubted that it was Elara’s bodyguard who laid a hand on him, and then didn’t he make Carla kneel too?
However, she was still his wife. Despite her wrongdoings, her name was still connected to his.
"I understand what you are saying, and I’ll make her apologize to you. Don’t worry. But for now, I should go to the police station and help her. She is my wife," Andrew said and grabbed his coat to leave.
However, as soon as he stood, Beatrice held his hand.
"What?" Andrew asked, partially annoyed because he had to go to the police station when he just wanted to have a peaceful evening.
His snapping tone made Beatrice leave his hand immediately.
"I... I am sorry, Andrew. I just wanted to say... but never mind. You are pretty angry already. Whatever I say won’t matter," Beatrice said.
Andrew’s eyes softened when he saw Beatrice’s eyes moistening.
"Hey, I am sorry. I shouldn’t have used that tone on you. It’s just... I feel Elara keeps getting into trouble or bringing more things to worry about to the table these days. It’s wearing me out," Andrew groaned.
Beatrice shook her head, refusing to look at him, making Andrew sigh and sit beside her.
"What did you want to say? I am listening," Andrew said.
Beatrice turned to him to make up an excuse to keep him, but before she could say anything, Sean beat her to it.
"What the hell?! And you are telling me this only now?" Sean roared on the phone, kicking the table in anger.
The glasses from the table fell, breaking into thousands of shards.
Andrew quickly shielded Beatrice.
"Aa!" The girl shouted in pretentious fear before she slid down the couch and grabbed one of the shards, punching the side of her thighs with it.
"Beatrice, are you okay?" Andrew asked.
Beatrice looked at him with teary eyes before shaking her head.
Andrew looked at her bleeding thigh and pressed his lips into a thin line.
"Fuck!" He cursed before picking her up.
When Sean noticed she had gotten hurt, he quickly stepped ahead.
"Beatrice, I am sorry. I just couldn’t control my anger," Sean said, following the duo out of the club.
He sat in the shotgun seat while Andrew and Beatrice sat in the back seat.
"It’s okay, Sean. I am sure you didn’t want to hurt me like that." Beatrice smiled through her pain.
"I would never. It’s just... A group named Nocturnal Hunters has activated out of nowhere, and they are taking away all the girls that were brought illegally into the business. They have literally wiped a clan of offenders clean tonight. I didn’t know the clubs owned by our business brought girls through this method, too," Sean said.
Andrew raised his brows.
It was not new to any of them. They knew the major part of Sean’s family’s wealth came from these clubs, which were often visited by high-class people, businesspeople, and celebrities, and which even offered escort services.
But to say they were surprised to know those girls were actually trafficked would be an understatement.
Andrew’s family was involved in the illegal weapons business, but this... this was another level of low.
"How did you never find out their source?" Andrew asked.
Sean rubbed his temples, annoyed.
"The money was good, bro. Why would I suspect? Besides, who would’ve thought a group like that would emerge out of nowhere?" Sean groaned, cursing out loud.