Chapter 56: I’m the Victim Here

Watching Olivia’s perfect impersonation of a wronged and helpless victim, Lucas could only marvel. He’d give her a standing ovation if it weren’t so surreal. If he hadn’t witnessed Olivia singlehandedly taking down those thugs with the precision and flair of a martial arts master, he might have believed her innocent act.

But the police? They hadn’t seen Olivia in action. All they saw was a petite girl, wearing oversized glasses, with an aura of meekness that screamed “model student.” And sprawled around her were a group of burly, tattooed thugs with more muscles than common sense.

It wasn’t a hard decision. To the officers, it was obvious who the victim was.

“Are you alright, young lady?” one of the officers asked with genuine concern.

Olivia nodded timidly, her demeanor that of a frightened sparrow. “I’m fine, thanks to these two classmates. They saved me just in time.” She gestured toward Lucas and Benjamin.

Lucas felt an awkward pang of embarrassment. We saved her? Seriously? He exchanged a bewildered glance with Benjamin, who just looked resigned.

The officer nodded approvingly, glancing at the two boys. “Well done. It’s great to see young people stepping up. Just be careful in the future, alright? You don’t want to get hurt.”

“Uh… sure,” Lucas muttered, unsure how to respond.

Meanwhile, the thugs lying on the ground felt their world spin with injustice. They wanted to yell, She’s the one who stepped up and stomped all over us! The leader, clutching his stomach in pain, was especially bitter. If the cops hadn’t shown up, he was sure Olivia would have snapped every finger he had. But now, here she was, playing the innocent lamb while they were treated as villains. Unbelievable!

The officers, seeing the severity of the injuries, couldn’t help but scold Benjamin and Lucas. “You boys showed great courage, but maybe ease up on the force next time. Look at the state of these guys!”

Lucas almost choked. Ease up?! She did most of the damage!

The police then turned to Olivia, Benjamin, and Lucas.

At the station, the thugs were lined up against the wall, battered and bruised beyond recognition.

Olivia, sitting primly in front of the officers, recounted her story with perfect composure. She described how the thugs had cornered her, how Benjamin and Lucas had heroically swooped in to save the day, and how she was ever so grateful. She conveniently omitted her role in beating them into pulp.

“I don’t know these men,” Olivia said, her voice soft and trembling. “But they clearly came for me. They knew my name.”

This caught the officer’s attention. He turned to the thugs, fixing them with a stern glare. “Someone hired you to target her?”

The thugs hesitated, then all their eyes turned toward their leader. The leader opened his mouth to deny it, but then caught Olivia’s gaze. Her lips curled into a sweet, innocent smile, but her eyes flicked pointedly toward his fingers. He shuddered.

“Yes, yes! Someone hired us!” he blurted, the fear palpable in his voice. “It was a guy I met at a bar. He gave us money to break her hands.”

“Who?” the officer demanded.

“I… I don’t know his real name,” the thug stammered. “People at the bar called him Mr. Armstrong. It was at Lock Bar. He gave us money and showed us her photo and name.”

Hearing the name Lock Bar, Lucas’s eyes narrowed slightly, though he said nothing.

The officer jotted everything down and nodded. “We’ll investigate this Armstrong and the Lock Bar connection. You three are free to go for now.”

Olivia stood and smiled sweetly. “Thank you, officer. I appreciate your help.”

The officers, charmed by her politeness and apparent vulnerability, couldn’t resist giving her a few more words of advice about staying safe.

As the trio left the station, Lucas glanced back at the still-complaining thugs and muttered under his breath, “You know, this might be the first time I’ve ever pitied a group of criminals.”