2026-08-02 22:11:28
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Chapter 57: Installing Cameras
Ethan got back to the apartment and barely had the door open before Mia threw herself into his arms like someone who had been holding themselves together on willpower alone and had just run out of it.She was crying properly, the kind that came from genuine relief after genuine fear."Hey. Hey." Ethan wrapped his arms around her and patted her back slowly. "Don't cry too much, you'll be a mess. Look, I came back in one piece."Mia pulled back just enough to look at him, eyes wet and searching."I need to check that for myself," she said, her voice still unsteady. "Come take a shower. I need to make sure they didn't do anything to you."Looking at her face, Ethan felt something soften in him that he hadn't been expecting.He bent down, picked her up, and carried her toward the bathroom.---In a rented apartment across the city, Ashley Carter and Ryan had also seen the footage of Ethan being walked out in handcuffs.Ashley was still bandaged, moving carefully, watching the video replay
Chapter 56: Do You Really Have Nothing to Do with the Arms?
After Walsh exchanged a few words with Sophia by her car at the curb, he left. Sophia's car didn't move, she was clearly waiting for Ethan.He had barely taken three steps toward her when a voice came from behind him."Mr. Cole."He knew who it was without turning. He suppressed a sigh and turned with a smile already in place."Agent Park. Do you have something for me?""I have my eye on you." Park's gaze was direct and carrying no diplomatic softening whatsoever. "Don't make any mistakes. If you show a single crack, you will regret it."Ethan raised an eyebrow."Can I interpret that as a threat, Agent Park? Because I want to make sure I'm characterizing this accurately.""Interpret it however you like." Her expression didn't shift. "I have decided that you are not what you appear to be, and that you are connected to this case."Ethan looked at her for a moment.Honestly, he found her both genuinely impressive and genuinely exhausting. The relentless focus was almost admirable in the
Chapter 55: I Need Money to Maintain My Reputation
When Reyes found Agent Park and delivered Captain Mitchell's decision to release Cole, she was pacing the corridor outside the interview room, a list of follow-up questions in her hand.The words "release him" landed and she went still for a full second.Then,"We can't let him go." Her voice came out sharp and immediate. "Cole has too many unresolved points. The supplies vanishing without trace, the Shelter design, the loans from a company with organized crime flags, something is wrong. He is connected to this case.""I know it looks wrong." Reyes's tone was tired. He put a hand briefly on her shoulder. "But the public narrative right now is already bad, Mitchell is under serious pressure from above, and Walsh is in the building. He's not someone we pick a fight with. We don't have the footing.""We're releasing a suspect because of social media and a defense attorney?" Park's voice went up. "We are a federal law enforcement agency. Our mandate is public safety. If we let Cole walk a
Chapter 54: The Attorney
"Does anyone have suggestions?"Captain Mitchell looked around the table, her tone carrying the particular exhaustion of someone who has been running on frustration for too long.Nobody answered.One senior agent picked up his coffee cup and found it fascinating. Another turned slightly toward the window as though the weather outside required study. Others looked at files or found their phones suddenly interesting.The conference room was so quiet the ventilation hum was audible.Just as Mitchell was about to say something sharp, the door opened again.The communications officer came back in, his complexion even worse than before."Didn't I send you to handle the public situation?" Mitchell's patience snapped. "Why are you back? If you can't manage it, write me a memo explaining why and I'll find someone who can."He flinched visibly."Captain, it's not, the department head had a situation and asked me to deliver this in his place"He'd agreed without thinking it through, and was now
Chapter 53: A String of Bad News
The gray walls of the interrogation room seemed to suck away all warmth, and the red light of the camera on the ceiling blinked on and off like a pair of cold eyes, staring fixedly at the person inside.Agent Park's pen scratched repeatedly across her notebook, her fingertips turning white from the pressure.She had been questioning Ethan for six consecutive hours, from the flow of funds to the purpose of the Shelter, from the underground warehouse to the whereabouts of the supplies, but Ethan remained completely impervious, either playing the rogue or blocking her with "politically correct" rhetoric, leaving her no room to retort."Mr. Cole, we have discovered that in just over ten days, you spent almost $350 million."Agent Park looked up, her eyes full of exhaustion yet still resolute."This amount of money is enough for an ordinary person to live on for several lifetimes, yet you spent it all in such a short time, and your only reason is to enjoy life? This doesn't make sense."Et
Chapter 52: I Am a Distinguished Taxpayer
As Ethan was escorted into the living room, he saw two female agents flanking Mia, speaking quietly, trying to calm her down.Mia's eyes were red and wet. The moment she saw him, she tried to move toward him and was gently held back."Ethan"Her voice broke on his name."It's fine." He gave her the most reassuring smile he could manage with his hands cuffed behind him. "This is just a standard interview. I'll cooperate and be back before you know it."He held her gaze for a moment."Call Sophia Chen. Tell her I've been brought in by federal agents and ask her to find me a lawyer. Can you do that?"Mia nodded hard, tears finally spilling.He wanted to say more, but the agents moved him toward the door. The early morning light outside was sharp and bright, and he squinted against it, his mind already calculating.Twelve days. I need to be out well before then.In the transport vehicle, Ethan and Agent Park sat facing each other across a security partition. The AC was running, the air cr
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