Chapter 31 - Framed

"Of course, you don't have to go. If you don't want to." Zhang Xin added.

"What?" She lifted her head and saw the sinister smile on the woman's face. For a few seconds, a sense of danger traveled through her body. She could feel the chilly gaze of Zhang Xin bored through her.

"In fact, you can just stay in this city from now on. No need to feel scared. I will take care of that."

This sentence rang into her ear like a bell. She jolted up and turned towards the security personnel who were walking into her. "What are you doing? You told me that you would not come after me anymore! I have been keeping my promise! I have been low key! I stopped my contacts!"

"Sera dear…" Zhang Xin was still sitting, her voice was still sweet. But the malicious gaze that she was giving her was enough to convince Sera that she wasn't here because of some goodwill. "When you decided to be born, you already offended me. I am only here to do the things that I failed to do when you first arrived at my house."

"What are you—" Sera's words were interrupted when one of the guards suddenly approached her. He tried to hold her arm, but she sidestepped and avoided him. Without thinking, she let go of a kick towards the man's face. Who would have thought that the man could easily dodge her leg? She was expecting him to throw her towards the wall, however, the man just restrained her. She let out a few curses.

How could a five-foot woman easily overpower a guy who is more than six feet in height?

"Zhang Xin! What are you doing? Let me go!" For some reason, she didn't get scared. In fact, she felt angry. She already told the woman that she would never bother the Zhang Family again. She ran away and tried to stay low key. She hid her skills and even let Xu Je'er become the CEO of her company just so she could avoid the spotlight!

True, she schemed against this woman's daughter, but she didn't succeed in hurting her! She failed in her schemes and ended up being kicked out of the Zhang Family with nothing but her suitcase! It has been years since that accident!

She had moved on and is trying to rebuild her life. She wasn't even trying to provoke them or have revenge. She knew she was wrong, and she was sincerely trying to change her life! But why are they here now?

For a few seconds, she thought Zhang Xin would ask her people to kill her. They could easily make it look like she killed herself. However, what happened next surprised her.

"Make her slap me." Zhang Xin said with her smiling face.

"You — What are you doing?"

"Sera everyone knows that you are malicious. Surely, slap from you is expected, right?"

Her words made Sera confused. What is going on here? But she didn't have the time to think anymore, the man who was holding her arm and dragged her towards Zhang Xin and borrowed her hand to slap the woman. The man held her hand tight, gripping it and using it to slap Zhang Xin's face. The sudden pain of her hand hitting Zhang Xin's flesh made her grimace. It actually felt like her hand hit a wall!

Wide-eyed she watched as Zhang Xin fainted, her cheeks instantly turned red.

"Do it!" She heard one of the bodyguards hissed behind her. Zhang Xin tried to struggle, she opened her mouth to scream but the man quickly covered it. She then felt a dull ache from her neck. Slowly, Sera felt she lost her strength, her arms turning numb.

Are they going to kill her after all? The thought swirled in her mind as darkness took her consciousness away.

...

The sound of people talking woke her up. Sera opened her eyes and frowned. Prison? Obviously, the thick metal bars and the police who just walked past the cell made her conclude that she was indeed in a prison cell. She gritted her teeth. It seems that Zhang Xin was here to frame her?

"Hey!" she stood. "I want a lawyer!" Her face darkened when she realized how dry her throat was. She swallowed. "Hey! Can anyone hear me?" She eyed the other cells. Most of them have a few people in each cell. "Hey!"

"Hey shut up!" Someone from the other cell said. "No one will help you here!"

She pursed her lips. She wanted to continue shouting, but her throat was really painful. So she sat on the concrete rectangular seat and leaned against the wall. Contrary to one's expectations, she wasn't nervous this time. Nor was she angry. In fact, she only felt stupid.

All this time, she had been thinking that she was free from them. That they were magnanimous enough to let her go. Turns out, that wasn't the case. Turns out Zhang Xin was still after her. The only thing that she couldn't understand is the fact that Zhang Xin had to frame her just so she could stop her from going to see Old Man Zhang?

Why?

She lowered her head, her mind was already thinking of ways to get out of here. What happened earlier was totally a surprise to her. All her life Zhang Xin never treated her like that. Even when she tried to scheme against her daughter, Zhang Xin never slapped her. In fact, Zhang Xin only cried and acted as she failed in raising her.

Thinking back, it seems that her seventeen-year-old self actually fell into a trap.

Was that really the case?

"Miss Sera Zhang?"

Sera lifted her head and eyed the man wearing the police uniform. Before she could answer the man already opened the metal bars. "You are free to go. Someone bailed you out."

Sera didn't say anything. She stood and went out of the cell.

"You are one lucky woman."

She heard the police murmured behind her. She clenched her hand into a fist. She couldn't help but wonder if it was Xu Je'er that bailed her out.

Cross mentioned that he would be out traveling, so he can't help her out now.

"Miss Zhang, please follow me."

Sera Zhang froze. She stared at the man whom she thought was a scammer. Lan Xing… his name should be Lan Xing, and he claimed to be that man's secretary.

Then the person who saved her should be… Mr. Quinn?