The lawyer nodded. "Go ahead. I'll take care of things here."Zada replied, "Okay."She walked out of the police station and pulled out her phone, dialing Halsey's number. The line rang once before being picked up at a calm, unhurried pace. Halsey's voice came through. "Hey.""Where are you? I need to see you. There's something really important I have to ask you!"Halsey replied, "Let's meet at our usual café.""Okay," Zada said before hanging up. She then headed straight to the café.At the same time, Halsey was in the CEO's office at Lane Corporation with Shaun and Warren.After hanging up, Shaun asked, "What did Zada want?""She wants to meet me at a café," Halsey replied."Go," Shaun said. "I'm sure you know already. There can't be such a weird coincidence. I arranged for the three guys to show up in front of Zada."Warren added, "You had Shaun investigate Zada's situation. He found the three guys, taught them a lesson, and then arranged for them to appear in front of Z
The lawyer nodded at Zada. "You can count on me. I promise I'll do everything to make sure you win this case!"The three guys sat frozen in their chairs, faces pale with fear. "Please… Just let us go. We really don't wanna go to jail."Zada's eyes narrowed. "Let you go? In your dreams!"The men panicked. "Honestly… We were acting on someone else's orders that night!"Zada froze. "What did you just say?""We'll come clean! Someone paid us to follow you that night," another admitted.Zada couldn't believe it. "Are you kidding me? Someone paid you to do this? Who?" She was an ordinary college student with a nice personality. Who would be cruel enough to hire these guys to humiliate her? Only a monster would do that."We'll tell you everything, but can you at least write a statement so we don't go to jail? We were short on cash, and when someone offered money, we just lost our heads," one explained."We didn't actually hurt you, right?" the other added nervously.Zada fixed them
"What do you mean?" Zada asked.Halsey squared her shoulders. "I mean exactly what I said. You ready to bet me?"Zada thought for a second. "Why not? Sierra keeps saying she wants to patch things up with you and stay friends. I believe she'll say yes.""Great. It's a bet, then. I'll be waiting for good news," Halsey said, and she walked off.Zada stood there for a moment, planning to go find Sierra. Just then, she saw three familiar figures—the same guys who had tried to assault her that night. They were loitering, arms over each other's shoulders, sitting outside a little BBQ joint and eating ribs and fries. Zada couldn't be mistaken—she would recognize them anywhere.She pulled out her phone and dialed 911. "Hello? Is this the police?" That night, those three had cornered Zada while she was out for an evening run, and Sierra had happened to walk by and save her. The men had run off then, but now seeing them again made Zada determined to get them locked up.Inside, the three
Sierra was over the moon.Shaun's eyes widened in shock as he asked Halsey, "What did you say? You're breaking up with me?"Halsey's tone was firm. "Yes. I'm a jealous person, and since you've been tangled up with another woman, there's no reason for us to get married."Shaun's face fell. "But you're carrying my baby!"Halsey shook her head. "We can raise the baby together once it's born, but I won't marry you."With that, she turned and started to walk away.Shaun grabbed her arm. "Are you sure you want to break up with me?"Halsey's voice was sharp. "I've already made myself very clear. If you didn't hear me, I'll say it again. Yes, I'm breaking up with you! Now let go!"She tried to push him away, but Shaun held on.Halsey had no choice. She carefully pried each of his fingers off her arm. "Shaun, we're done!"Then, she walked out.Sierra, peeking from the door, immediately grabbed Zada, and the two of them ducked behind a corner.Halsey disappeared from view as she left
Halsey had saved Shaun's number as "Mr. Lane" on her phone.Shaun was calling.Sierra immediately perked up, listening closely.Halsey pressed the answer button. "Hello?"Shaun's deep, magnetic voice came through right away. "Hey… Are you still upset?"Halsey glanced at Sierra from the corner of her eye. She knew Sierra was eavesdropping.A cold laugh formed in Halsey's mind, but she forced herself to sound annoyed. "Shouldn't I be upset?"Shaun tried to explain. "Listen to me. Nothing happened between me and Sierra. You've got it all wrong!"Halsey snapped, "If nothing happened, then why were you together?"Shaun hesitated. "She came into my room."Halsey frowned. "If you hadn't given her the chance, how could she have gotten in there?""I—"Halsey cut him off. "Forget it. I don't want to hear anything else. That's it. I'm hanging up."Shaun's voice grew urgent. "Wait! Come to the restaurant now, and I'll explain everything in person!"Halsey shook her head. "I don't wan
Sierra looked at Zada. Even though she had tried to drive a wedge between Zada and Halsey, she knew that Zada still genuinely cared about Halsey.Seeing Halsey, pregnant and betrayed by Shaun, clearly made Zada anxious.Sierra smirked to herself. She really couldn't understand what made Halsey so special that her fiancé and friends all treated her with such genuine care.Sierra grabbed Zada's arm. "I was really scared back then, but I told him no."Zada patted her on the back reassuringly. "You did the right thing. Mr. Lane and Halsey are getting married. We can't cross lines like that. Some moral boundaries just shouldn't be broken."Sierra nodded obediently, playing the part of the good girl. "I know."Zada glanced toward the schoolyard. "Right now, the media is going crazy over what happened between you and Mr. Lane. I have a feeling this is only gonna get bigger. Maybe it's better if you and Halsey meet up and talk it out calmly."Sierra frowned. "Talk it out? How?"Zada sh