“W-wait!”Seeing what they were about to do, Joseph flushed to the ears.“Joseph, we’re only doing this for your sake.”Alice’s eyes shone with earnest concern.“Ahem, I’ll handle it myself.”Joseph cleared his throat and tugged his pants down.Mason moved in and began treating the wounds.From Alice’s angle, it looked for all the world like Mason was crouched doing something… questionable. The image flashed through her mind, and her cheeks warmed.Then shame pricked her. The old lady was tending to Joseph, serious and meticulous—how could she let her thoughts run wild?Joseph’s legs, like his torso, bore more than a few cuts. None were grave, but none could be ignored.Kneeling between Joseph’s legs, Mason carefully cleaned and dressed the wounds.This close, his scent was unmistakable—warm and distinctly male. She felt her face heat.It was achingly familiar. His scent—his alone.Every time it reached her, it sent her pulse quickening.But now was not the time to drift. She had twee

“You’re asking me? I don’t know either. Maybe it’s just my physique—something about me is… different.”Joseph only chuckled as he spoke.“Mr. Wilson, you really are a strange man.”Mason Alvarez lifted her head slightly to look at Joseph, a bright gleam flickering in her eyes.“What kind of strange? The way you say it sounds oddly strange in itself.”Joseph couldn’t help but laugh.“Your strength is strange, your body’s strange, and even in that respect, you’re far beyond other men. You can’t be measured by common sense at all.”At the mention of that respect, a faint blush warmed Mason Alvarez’s delicate face. It took her a moment to force the words out.“Ahem… I don’t know why either!”Joseph’s face flushed too. Put that way, he did sound rather unusual.For the next two days, the three women scarcely left Joseph’s side. Even Heidi stayed over two nights.In those two days, Joseph was more or less relentlessly pampered by Alice and Heidi.As for Dr. Mason Alvarez, she took charge of

“It shouldn’t be Charles Martin. Didn’t he say he was coming this afternoon?”“And besides, Charles has a key. He’d just come in.”Panic flickered across Stephen Cooper’s face.Ding-dong. Ding-dong.The bell rang again, more insistent this time.“Who is it? Stop leaning on the doorbell!”Maria Long raised her voice.“Auntie, it’s me—Charles Martin.”The voice came from outside.“Charles… Charles Martin!”Stephen and Maria froze.“Quick—drag her into the room. Hide her. I’ll stall him.”Maria hissed, her voice low and urgent.“Right.”Stephen bent to haul the girl away, but she was seventeen or eighteen—hardly weightless. She wouldn’t budge easily.“Auntie? Open up.”Charles called out again.“Charles, didn’t you say you were coming later? I’m right in the middle of packing. I don’t have time to see you now. Come back this afternoon.”Maria’s voice shook.“I’m here to help. I’ve already called a moving company. They’ll be here in a few minutes.”Charles replied.“Auntie really can’t to

“I… we…” Maria Long stammered, at a loss for words.“Save it for the station. Take them away.” Captain Christopher gestured to his men. They understood at once, snapped handcuffs onto the pair, and led them out.Maria Long kept hurling threats, but Captain Christopher didn’t so much as blink. Word about the Cooper family had spread far and wide; even if they hadn’t been directly involved, they’d heard enough.Never mind that Maria Long had nearly gotten old Mr. Cooper killed—setting that aside, the old man was hardly the unreasonable type.“Mr. Martin, we’ll need you to come in and give a statement,” Captain Christopher said to Charles Martin.“Fine, but I need to check on my cousin at the hospital first.” “Whether she’s close family or not, I was the one who called her here. I have to take responsibility—otherwise I won’t be able to look my own relatives in the eye.”Charles Martin exhaled lightly.“That’s acceptable,” Christopher replied. “But don’t take too long.” “I’ll e

“Intentional injury, robbery and extortion, unlawful detention, and abuse of a minor—what is this nonsense? Has she lost her mind? She dared to commit actual crimes?” Fiona’s voice shook as she drove, emotions running high.“Who knows with her. In her world, she’s always the center of gravity. Once she’s worked up, there’s nothing she won’t do,” Heidi said, analyzing as she spoke. “She’s not even short on money. Why would she rob or extort anyone? Has she gone mad?” “And how would she pull that off alone? I’d bet Dad was involved too.”Fiona exhaled slowly, the car filling with a heavy silence. She kept her eyes on the road, her face clouded, heading for the Nova City Police Department.Half an hour later, she pulled up at the station. The two of them hurried inside.It was after hours, but in a place like this, overtime and late-night cases were nothing unusual.“Excuse me, I’m family of Maria Long. Which one is Captain Christopher?” Fiona asked a policewoman as soon as she stepp