The moment he looked at Aurora, Lucas finally felt that his once drifting, restless heart had found a place to anchor.

Meanwhile, the chief was still complaining over the phone. After all, without a direct, verbal promise from someone like Lucas, he didn’t dare make a move on someone with ties and a reputation. Just thinking about crossing the wrong person made him nervous. There were simply too many powerful families these days, and the chief truly didn’t know what to do anymore. He was just a small figure, someone who only wanted to manage his precinct in peace. But the moment he sat in that seat, peace stopped being an option. He knew things like this were inevitable.

Lucas couldn’t listen any longer. He pinched the bridge of his nose and cut in, “Enough. Stop complaining. Just do what needs to be done. Make him talk. If anything goes wrong, I’ll take responsibility.” With that, he hung up.

The chief, however, wasn’t upset in the slightest. In fact, he smiled with relief. This was good. With Lucas‘ guarantee, he could finally move forward without worry. He could deal with the rest later. He turned to his men and gave his orders. “Don’t hold back with those people. I don’t care what they say—just get them to talk. And make sure they admit what was in that drug—out loud, in their own words.”

After hearing the instructions, the officers knew exactly what to do. It seemed the doctor had been right from the start. No matter what kind of powerful background these two had, it didn’t matter anymore, because someone even more powerful was standing behind them. It seemed this time, they had really messed with the wrong person. The officer’s mood visibly lifted. “Don’t worry, Chief. I’ll make sure the job gets done.”

Hearing that, the chief ended the call without another word. Everything that needed to be said had already been said. He could leave the rest to his men. He had climbed to this position; it was time he enjoyed a bit of it. He wasn’t going to spend his later years being manipulated and cornered by people like this. After all the effort it took to get where he was, what would be the point if he couldn’t even enjoy it? Would that mean his fate was simply to suffer? The thought nearly made the chief laugh out loud.

Back in the interrogation room, the officer returned after the call. He looked at Julian and Tessa, both handcuffed, and felt a wave of disgust rise in his chest. “You two still have no intention of telling the truth? What exactly was in that compound, and how did you get your hands on it?”

Julian leaned back with a defiant expression. “You’re just a low-rank cop. Who do you think you are, talking to me like that? I’m telling you—let me go now, or you’ll be the one in trouble. I’ll make sure you pay for this!”

Tessa sat quietly beside him, but her eyes said the same thing. She was just smart enough not to shout and draw attention to herself like Julian did. She preferred staying in the shadows, pulling the strings.

Seeing how arrogant Julian still was, the officer remembered the chief’s words, and suddenly, he wasn’t afraid of anything anymore.