"I'm here." As soon as Adrienne started having a nightmare, Jefferson held her in his arms and comforted her over and over again, "Don't be afraid, it's just a nightmare." Jefferson knew that Adrienne liked to act tough during the day, but she was actually terrified on the inside. This case was making her relive the scene of her parents' murder. How could she not be afraid? Besides being by her side, he could not do anything else to help her. He wished he was stronger, so strong that he could shield her from everything and keep her under his protection. "Was it really just a dream?" Adrienne wondered. Why was the dream so real? It was so real that she could smell the chilling scent of fresh blood as if the murderer had just committed a crime before her. "Little Specky, I know the case yesterday was also about dismembered bodies, but you have to know that they're not your parents. The murderer may not be the same person." Jefferson held her tighter and ru
"Ring, ring, ring—" In the middle of the night, the phone suddenly rang. Jefferson grabbed the phone and silenced it. After confirming that Adrienne hadn't been woken up, he got out of bed and went to the balcony to answer the phone. "What's the matter?" "Captain Hefner, I've received word that tonight at 2 a.m. there will be a deal carried out at Mangrove Bay." A familiar middle-aged man's voice came from the other end of the phone. This man was a gangster and often played double agent for both sides of the law. He didn't have any big forces behind him, but he had a wide network of friends and was very well-informed. He was typically known on the streets as 'Aero'. After Jefferson became the leader of the narcotics team, he reached out to Aero to cooperate with him. However, Aero was a man who liked to play both sides. He still wanted to live a couple of years more. Naturally, he was unwilling to be tied down to the police. But of course, Jefferson had his own
"That sounds pretty cheesy. I wonder how it tastes." Jefferson smiled and gave in. "Since it's your signature drink and I'm here, why not give it a try? Give me two cups of Killing Magre." The waiter quickly answered, "Sir, I'm sorry! One person is only allowed to order one a day. You can also choose other drinks to try. Although they're not as delicious as Killing Magre, they have their own uniqueness as well." Jefferson tapped on the table with his fingers and asked, "What if I insist on drinking two?" "Sir, it's our restaurant's rule that only one Killing Magre is allowed per customer each day. Please don't make things difficult for me." "Make things difficult for you? What do you mean?" Jefferson raised his eyebrows slightly and mocked with a faint smile, "I want two glasses of the drink but you insist on only selling one to me. Do you think you're the one who's making things difficult for me, or am I the one who is making things difficult for you?" "S
Jefferson couldn't help but take a third sip. On his third sip, it was no longer strong or aromatic. It suddenly made him feel a little light-headed. He felt like the bar was shaking along with everyone in it. What kind of alcohol could let a person have so many different experiences within such a short period of time? Jefferson had no idea. However, he knew of one substance that, once taken, could make people feel immortal. It could also make people fall into an infinitive hell — drugs! Drugs! Most legitimate bars hated this kind of thing. For a business to lace their own drinks to get their customers addicted and earn money was horrible. Such a person, even if he was not a drug dealer, should be arrested and locked up for decades. "How do you feel now?" The woman put down the glass and took out a cigarette from her bag. She lit it, took a puff, and slowly spat out a ring of smoke toward Jefferson. "Do you want one?" "Feel?" Jeffer
Before dawn, Adrienne woke up again. When she woke up, she instinctively touched the spot beside her but she did not feel any familiar warmth. She was stunned. Then, she immediately sat up. She stared at Jefferson's side of the bed dazedly. "He's not here?" she wondered. "Jefferson?" When she called his name, she looked to the bathroom, but there was no light or sound from the bathroom. He wasn't there, so where could he be? Had he gone to carry out a mission? Adrienne quickly grabbed her mobile phone. There was indeed a message from Jefferson. "Little Specky, I am off to work. Remember to eat your breakfast in the morning before going to work. Don't starve yourself. If you don't listen to me, I will teach you a lesson when I come back." Although it was meant to be a message of concern, Jefferson had written it in such a harsh tone. Anyone else would've felt uncomfortable reading it, but Adrienne knew what kind of a person Jefferson was. She k
At this point, Hilda was so scared that her whole body shook. She opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn't make a sound. Quill said, "Did you personally witness the murder?" Hilda nodded in panic and said in a choked voice, "Yes." Quill asked again, "Who was it?" Hilda thought for a moment and said, "He was a man. He was very tall... I didn't manage to see anything else." A man! He was very tall! Any man on the street could fit this description. It wasn't a clue at all. Quill felt another headache coming on. Recently, all the cases that had been popping up were a mess. These cases were even more annoying than those he had dealt with in the past. He asked with a calm face, "Is there nothing else?" Hilda shook her head profusely. "At that time, the lighting in the bar was very dim, and the bar counter was against the light. Plus, I was scared silly at that time. Even if I saw his appearance, I won't be able to remembe
"Ring, ring, ring—" Adrienne had just completed the autopsy and returned to the office when the phone on the desk suddenly rang. She picked up the receiver and said politely, "Adrienne Carter from the forensic department speaking." "Adrienne, I don't care if you're done with your work, you'd better come to my room quickly," Quill's voice came from the other side of the phone, sounding both troubled and impatient. "What is it?" Adrienne asked. However, Quill had already hung up the phone. She put her work aside and hurried to Quill's office. When she arrived, Quill sat her down in his office chair. Then, he pointed to the computer screen and said, "Can you help me identify who this person is? Is it Mr. Hefner?" "Jefferson?" Adrienne looked at the computer screen. Quill immediately played it and explained, "It was taken from the CCTV footage of the bar. Jefferson had been to the crime scene and this morning, he had gotten into an altercation with the victim.
"We can't rule out such a possibility. But as I said before, what we need is evidence." Quill took the report from Adrienne, cleared his throat, and said, "Now the evidence is unfavorable towards Jefferson. If we can't find him soon, he'll be construed as escaping the law." The police officer said, "If someone is really framing Jefferson, and he's currently missing, isn't it possible that he's dead too?" As soon as the police officer said that, Adrienne's heart trembled. She had been worried but she hadn't dared to think of the worst-case scenario. The police officer's words were like a sharp arrow, piercing straight into her heart, making her legs tremble. Her knees almost gave way. Fortunately, she held onto the desk in time to stabilize herself. "No! Jefferson will be fine!" Adrienne forced herself to calm down. "Sergeant Scott, I'll keep trying to reach him. You send some men out to search for him as well. Whether he killed someone or not, bringing him back
...... Eight months later. Adrienne had given birth to a daughter, gathering the entire Yard family in Chatterton Town. Everyone was in high spirits but Jefferson had a sour expression on, as if that was the worst day of his life. Sierra found a moment and went over to Jefferson. "Hey, Jeff. Adrienne just gave birth but why do you have such a long face on? Did you want a son instead or something?" Jefferson responded rudely, "It doesn't matter to me whether it's a boy or a girl. That little girl is our daughter, and I'll love her no matter what." Sierra continued, "Why do you look so upset then?" "Must I have a reason for that?" Well, he was angry at himself. Adrienne had almost lost her life in the labor room earlier, but he hadn't been able to offer any help. Throughout Adrienne's pregnancy, Jefferson had done an enormous amount of research and found out that a C-section birth was relatively safer. Hence, he'd insisted that Adrienne und
...... Johan was still clamming up. Maxtor was so anxious that he couldn't stand still. "Johan, what happened between you and Sierra? Can't you at least explain the situation to me?" After a long silence, Johan looked up and out of the window. "There have been so many fights and misunderstandings between us in the past years and it seems that the past was a time that we can never go back to." Upon hearing this, Maxtor seemed to have put his finger on the crux of the problem. "Did Miranda make Sierra misunderstand you?" Maxtor said earnestly, "Johan, I've told you before that woman has a twisted psyche and you need to stay away from her. You pitied her for being an orphan, but look at what she has been up to." "It has nothing to do with Miranda. It's me. If I..." If he had explained everything to Sierra back then, she wouldn't have felt that insecure about their relationship. He knew everything, but he still got mad at her. Maxtor continued, "He
...... On the first day of school, Miranda was once again met with an unpredicted truth. She found out that Sierra was the top scorer in the entrance exam. She was the overachiever that every university was dying to recruit. Not only did Sierra come from a good family, but she was smart and beautiful to boot. Sierra possessed everything she could have in life. Miranda couldn't figure out why she had to take Johan away from her when she already had so much. What made Miranda even more disappointed was not her inferiority but Johan. On the first day of school, she was over the moon to see that Johan was at the gate to receive her. However, when Johan took her luggage from her and she was wallowing in her excitement to see him, He said to her, "Miranda, that is the girl I like, Sierra. She will be your sister-in-law in the future. You should get on well with her." She didn't want to be nice to her. Instead, she hated her. Mirand
...... Johan's words frightened Miranda so much that her face turned pale. "Johan, Mrs. Silas adopted me. I would have died a long time ago if it weren't for her. How could I have nothing to do with the Silas family?" Johan's face was somber, and his voice chilled Miranda to her bones. "You know that my mother was the one who took you in, but look at what you've been up to all these years?" "Johan, what-what did I do?" Miranda said, trembling with fear. Miranda was an expert at feigning a pitiful appearance and reaping sympathy from others. She even managed to tear up and gazed heart-wrenchingly at Johan at that very moment. However, Johan did not buy into her ploy at all. Not only did his eyes demonstrate her no pity, there was also a trace of disdain that Miranda had never seen before. He loathed her. Upon realizing that, Miranda's heart was broken. Johan had been her dream for those past years. She had worked so hard to do so many things in
...... Sierra wasn't able to refute because what Miranda said was the truth. It was indeed true that many could never compare with her background. However, although she was born privileged, that didn't spare her from putting in effort for her own future. Prestigious universities wanted her because she was the top scorer in the entrance exam but not because of her family background and connections. All of a sudden, Miranda smirked sinisterly. "I know you like Johan, and you want to be with him. Sierra, I like him too, and I want to be with him. You have everything so why do you still want to take my man away from me?" "Excuse me? Who took your man?" Displeased, Sierra said, "Miranda, you were the one who told me that you two were siblings, and that there was nothing going on between you guys. And mind you, you were also the one who encouraged me to go after him." Miranda shouted in a low voice, "Sierra, if I hadn't told you that, would you have remained fri
...... Averting her gaze, Sierra turned around with difficulty. However, just as she had taken a step forward, Miranda's voice sounded from behind. "Sierra, I didn't expect you to come to the airport to pick me up. Imagine my delight to be able to see you on the first day of my return." "You've misunderstood, Miss Attwood. I'm not here to pick you up." Sierra did not conceal her hatred for Miranda as she could not even be bothered to dole out the niceties at her. Miranda chuckled. "I haven't seen you for so many years, but you're still so adorable." It seemed that Miranda couldn't sense the despise Sierra had for her. She approached Sierra with a smile and wanted to give her a hug. Sierra stared at Miranda's outstretched arms and quickly dodged her. A single glance at Miranda and her eyes would be sullied. Sierra thought that she would even throw up should her body come into contact with Miranda's. Miranda was never good at reading between the
...... Stopping her car, Sierra quickly got off to check the situation. No sooner had her feet been on the ground that four men got off from the car in front of her and surrounded her. One of them pointed at her and barked, "Don't you f*cking know how to drive? If you don't, then don't drive. Say it, how much are you going to pay for the damage!" Sierra was driving in accordance to normalcy, but the other party had, so suddenly, cut into her lane without a signal. As hard as she had stepped on her brake, she still collided with the car. They were supposed to be the ones held accountable for the collision. However, they got out of the car and shouted at her, extorting compensation. Sierra suspected that these men had done so deliberately to scam her. She took out her mobile phone and was ready to call the police. However, before she could even unlock her phone, one of the men had already wrenched the phone away from her. "We have something important t
...... In the middle of cleaning the table, Rosie said, "He doesn't only come here to have meals, but he would also get one to go every time. No jalapenos on the one to go. He says that you can't take spices because your stomach doesn't handle it well." Sierra did have a stomach problem, but it wasn't till the point that she couldn't take spicy food at all. Moreover, Johan had never brought any tacos back for her. Sierra figured that he was probably getting it for someone else so she asked, "What did he say to you when he asked you to pack it?" Rosie smiled and said, "He said that he was going to bring it for his girlfriend. He's obviously talking about you, isn't he?" "Oh, his girlfriend." Smiling, Sierra did not put forth any more questions as she knew that Johan had never regarded her as his girlfriend. For him, she was nothing more like a leech that he couldn't shake off. Rosie looked at Sierra and said earnestly, "I know you two fought tod
...... "My ability to act coy?" Sierra said inwardly. She had no idea from where did his temper sneak in again. However, she knew that somehow everything she had done seemed to piss him off. If he didn't like her, then why did he come looking for her? Did he have nothing else better to do? She smiled and said, "Mr. Silas, since you don't like being around me, then let's not meet anymore in the future, nor have any meals together. I'm afraid your appetite will take a nosedive when you see me." "You shouldn't say that, Sierra." Rosie handed one of the plates to Sierra and said, "Every couple gets into fights, but you must know your boundaries. Some words are too hurtful, and you shouldn't just say everything that comes to your mind." Sierra didn't make a sound. She wasn't a fan of others poking their noses in her affairs. Besides, she was not close to Rosie either so she found her rather meddlesome. Rosie didn't seem to register in her mind that Sierra was d