Chapter 53: 53- Dealing with Lin Wanruo

A few moments ago...

"It was hassle-free." As Edward moved outside the building, he glanced toward the main headquarters, where the number of police officers was slightly lower than usual, given that they had mostly gone out on patrol searching for Damien Raphael. This gave him enough time to escape this place without harming any officers.

"Stop there, Edward!"

Suddenly, a voice startled Edward, causing him to halt. He turned and clenched his fist while charging his internal energy into his feet. With a cold look, he instantly directed his gaze towards the voice before charging his internal energy to close the distance between them, forming a fist to hit him, but halted the movement when he heard,

"The head of the Crimwell family gave these keys. Escape now." A police officer presented Edward with a key, which caught him off guard for a moment. After confirming that nothing seemed amiss—his instincts weren't alerting him—he quickly took the key and dashed toward the parking lot. Using the smart key, he located a sedan.

Vroom!

With the engine's roar, he drove the car out of the headquarters as the gates opened. Yet, no one seemed to stop him since the car belonged to one of the police officers—Lin Wanruo.

Gazing at the car that was fading away, the police officer shifted his focus to the building with interrogation rooms and cells from which Edward had broken free before moving in that direction.

-----

Present...

"What?!" The police chief, hearing that the prisoner had escaped from the main headquarters of the police department, felt his blood run cold. Stopping mid-step, he swiftly turned and sprinted towards the cell, knowing very well that if any reporter got wind of this incident, his reputation would be ruined.

At this moment, the image of the police department was already severely tarnished due to Lin Wanruo. And now, with someone escaping from the main headquarters, it could be catastrophic for him to even consider keeping his position as police chief secure.

'H-he slapped me?!' Lin Wanruo held her cheeks while feeling the heat and pain assaulting her face.

Due to the slap, her cheeks had swollen from the force while her ears rang violently as she slowly tried to lift herself to follow behind and ask for an explanation as to why the police chief hit her.

She hadn't done anything wrong and had always followed justice. Then why was she treated this way and blamed just because some media outlets were publishing articles against her?

Shouldn't her previous merits be considered enough to overwrite all these false allegations against her?

'It hurts.' While making her way to the interrogation building, Lin Wanruo felt the overwhelming swelling on her left cheek. The agony was so great that it hindered her ability to see clearly, a direct consequence of the sudden and powerful slap that had caught her off guard.

Struggling to maintain a normal pace and cradling her cheek with both hands, she could feel the warmth radiating from her inflamed skin, which bore the mark of five fingers imprinted on her face. Searᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Come here, you dumb bitch!"

Suddenly, a voice from the direction of the main building caused her to lift her gaze towards the police chief, who was glaring in her direction, his expression filled with anger.

'What happened?' Lin Wanruo, still holding her face due to the intense pain, knew that something was amiss. Given all the circumstances today, where she was unjustly blamed, it was clear that even now she was likely to be blamed for Edward's escape.

But this time she wasn't going to remain quiet and accept a slap, knowing very well that since most of the technical team had gone to collect data from CCTV in other road surveillance departments, there was no one available to check the CCTV at that moment. This would make it impossible for the police chief to blame her due to the lack of any evidence against her presence there.

"Chief, you can't slap me; I wasn't even here!" Arriving near the police chief, she lifted her gaze and observed saliva dripping from his mouth, as if showcasing the intensity of the anger burning within him. But she had already prepared an excuse in advance.

Because of the ringing in her head, she couldn't concentrate on the left side of her face, which was throbbing with pain that urged her to cry.

The tears forming in her eyes were a clear indicator of her agony, but she managed to suppress her breakdown, motivated only by her standing in the police force.

"What is this, bitch?" Frustrated at seeing that this woman, who had made so many mistakes, was trying to lie to him, he used his trembling hands to control his anger and offered her the evidence he had found inside the interrogation room.

"Chief, you shouldn't have slapped—th-this?!" Lin Wanruo wanted to tell him that he shouldn't have slapped her, as she could report him to higher authorities for assaulting an innocent woman like her. However, her eyes widened the moment she saw him holding her ID card.

"N-no, Chief! I am being framed!" Lin Wanruo distinctly recalled taking off her identity card from around her neck as she left the building, where she had fastened it near her waist. It puzzled her why it was positioned like that, clearly indicating that Damien was involved. She added, "Y-yes, it must be Damien—"

SMACK!!!

A sharp slap struck her right cheek, delivering enough power to knock her onto the harsh ground. As she hit the ground, she grimaced, a wave of intense pain coursing through her, "ARGHH!"

"You dumb idiot slut! Are you blind?!" The police chief had finally snapped, lifting his leg to kick her, not caring a bit about the repercussions since the rules were for the weak.

Given that he himself sat in the highest seat of justice in the country and city, no one had the power to file a complaint against him.

Individuals who believe that their innocence will ensure the law and justice work in their favor are oblivious to the stark truth he aimed to reveal to this woman today.

"Ch-chief! She is a woman!" Seeing how their bulky chief had lifted his foot to kick a woman even though she was at fault, both police officers tried to stop him without using force, knowing that their jobs were at stake.

"I support gender equality!" Under the influence of alcohol, the police chief's mind was not processing clearly, making his judgments solely based on his emotions as he kicked Lin Wanruo's abdomen.

Smack!

"Kheeukk?!" Her eyes grew wide as saliva spilled from her mouth. Her cheeks puffed up, and her eyes brimmed with tears, splattering around from the force that hit her stomach, bringing her deep, searing pain that made her feel as if her world was crumbling.