Chapter 13: Chapter 13

1,384 words

<html><head></head><body>The police car blared as it sped away from the school. A total of nine people, including Lucille, were in the car, the other eight being the culprits involved in the drowning incident. As she watched Lucille and the others leave, Zoey suddenly felt a surge of anxiety. For some reason, she always had a sense that things were going to spiral out of her control. Zoey immediately called Howard, feigning panic in her voice. “Dad! Bad news! Lucille suddenly reported to the police and took her classmates to the station. Even the Zanes family’s daughter, Jenny, is there! What are we going to do? You’re supposed to collaborate with the Zanes family soon, right?” Howard was furious. He screamed on the phone, “That d’mn girl! Let me handle her!” The incident was so big that even the principal was alarmed and rushed to the police station to find out what happened. Upon learning that it was Lucille who called the police, the principal’s face turned black. It was that troublesome girl, Lucille, again! Was she trying to ruin the school’s reputation?! The principal quickly called the dean in an empty corner, “Quickly inform the Zanes family and have them figure out a way to get people out of the police station! We can’t let this matter get out to the media. It’s crucial that we keep it under wraps.” As soon as Lucille arrived at the police station, she was promptly called in to give her statement alone. She recounted the events of that night in great detail, and presented the hospital’s medical records that she had prepared beforehand. The medical records clearly indicated that she had suffocated and suffered a heart attack due to drowning. It was only after an entire night of intense rescue efforts by the doctors that she was finally revived. After completing her statement, the officer looked at her with sympathy and said, “You may leave now.” Lucille stood up, thanked him, and left the interrogation room. However, as soon as she stepped out into the police station’s main hall, she was met with a slap to her face. The unexpected blow caused her face to tilt to one side, and a fiery pain surged through her face while a metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. She raised her hand to touch her red and swollen cheek, her eyes flashing with a wave of fierce and chilling anger. “Lucille! You ungrateful beast!” Howard’s eyes blazed with fury, as he wished he could tear her apart with his gaze. “We have raised you for years, and this is how you repay us?” With his rage still unquenched, Howard raised his hand again and tried to strike her once more. The nearby officers could not tolerate his behavior and quickly grabbed his hand, reprimanding him, “What’s all this noise? This is a police station, not your home!” Taking a deep breath, Howard forced a smile and said, “Officer, I’m just teaching my daughter a lesson.” “Even if that’s the case, you can’t resort to violence! This is domestic violence, a serious crime. We can press charges against you!” The officer’s voice was firm and resolute. Immediately scared, Howard cowered and apologized, “I’m sorry, officer. I’ll be more careful.” As soon as the officers left, Howard revealed his true colors and glared at Lucille with disgust. He growled in a low voice, “You b*stard! Who told you to call the police? Drop the case now! Don’t you know that the Zanes family is my important business partner? By sending their daughter to the police station, are you trying to sabotage me?” “Drop the case and apologize to your classmates! Beg for their forgiveness!” he ordered. Looking at her heartless father in front of her, Lucille couldn’t help but feel sorry for the original owner of this body. How could such a cold-blooded person be so heartless to his own daughter? Did he even deserve to call himself a father? Seeing Lucille’s silence, Howard’s anger grew. “You evil creature! Are you deaf? Are you playing dumb with me? Watch me beat you to death!” Unable to bear it any longer, a female police officer ordered Howard to be kicked out. She handed Lucille an ice bag and said, “Put this on. Don’t leave any scars on that beautiful face of yours.” Lucille whispered a thank you and took the ice bag. She stood aside and quietly applied the ice to her face. With her lowered gaze and silence, she appeared well-behaved and quiet, exuding a captivating charm that drew sympathy from all who beheld her. The police officer gazed upon her with a compassionate expression, shook her head gently, and turned to enter the interrogation room. Seated in the interrogation room was Jenny, wearing an arrogant expression. She and the other seven individuals were brought into an unused interrogation room. Yet they remained unafraid, for they had secretly exchanged their confessions long ago. Jenny was unwavering in her confidence; she knew her family would come to her aid shortly, having already arranged for her protection. Seated across from her, the police officer began the interrogation, starting with the question of her name. Jenny impatiently rolled her eyes and replied, “I am Jenny, the eldest daughter of the Zanes family.” “Age?” She calmly replied, “I am nineteen years old.” The officer then asked, “On the night of the incident, were you the first person to push Lucille into the water?” Jenny nonchalantly gazed at the ceiling and replied, “No, I wasn’t.” The officer didn’t believe her and directly presented a screenshot of the surveillance video, challenging noveldrama her to tell the truth. Jenny crossed her legs and remained fearless. “Even if you asked me ten thousand times, I would still say the same thing: no!” The officer inhaled deeply and suppressed her rage. “We had the video verified by an expert. There are no traces of fabrication. You may choose to lie, but remember, once the police find the evidence, a new charge will be added to your crimes!” Jenny sneered, “Whatever you say.” In any case, they had coordinated their stories, all eight of them. They would unanimously claim their ignorance of Lucille’s accusation. What could the police do to them? However, what Jenny didn’t expect was that a boy from their group, unable to withstand the police’s interrogation due to his humble background, confessed everything. “At first, Jenny was the one who pushed Lucille into the water. She did not allow her to swim to the shore. We… We wanted to stand up for Zoey, so we held Lucille’s head and kept her submerged.” -The officer frowned, “How is what you did any different from murder?” The boy shifted his gaze uneasily. “Later, she drowned and lost consciousness. We were afraid and immediately rescued her. Who would have known that as soon as she made it ashore, she woke up and became a different person. She suddenly choked me, and then she hit all of us. I still have bruises on my body!” After speaking, he seemed to remember something, and stared at the officer with wide eyes. “Sir, what Lucille did constitutes intentional harm, right?” The police officer’s face turned grim. “That was a case of self-defense. As a university student, you should learn some basic laws.” The boy shrank back and added, “We didn’t intend to harm her. After all, she was the one who pushed Zoey down the stairs first.” The officer suppressed his desire to strike the boy and demanded, “You were present when the incident. occurred. Why did you not intervene and stop her from shoving Zoey down the stairs? We have investigated the matter and discovered that you and your group constantly isolated and bullied Lucille. So, why did she invite you to her birthday party?” The boy stammered for a prolonged moment before finally confessing. “She did not invite us. It was Zoey who invited us as she feared that Lucille’s birthday party would be too lackluster.” The officer and the recording staff beside him exchanged a knowing glance as Zoey’s name had been. mentioned numerous times throughout the investigation. It appeared that the crux of this incident revolved around her. “Fetch Zoey Johnson here,” ordered the officer, determined to uncover the truth. </body></html>

Chapter 13: Chapter 13

1,384 words