The fine purple clay cup fell to the floor, shattering into several pieces, yet his face still held a frustrated anger.

...

...

「The Interrogation Room」

Michael Freenan pushed the door open and walked in. The officer in charge of interrogating Irene Spencer immediately stood at attention.

"How’s it going?" Michael asked.

A subordinate pursed his lips, then showed him the notebook. Apart from the details in the top section, the rest of the page was blank.

Clearly, Irene had said nothing.

Michael took the notebook from his subordinate, casually tossed it onto the table, and with a light wave of his hand, dismissed the others. Soon, he was alone in the interrogation room with Irene.

He pulled up a chair, sat opposite her, and offered her a bottle of water. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Staying silent like this is pointless. We’ve tested the contents of the syringe; it’s a prohibited substance. We can apply for an arrest warrant at any time. The only reason we haven’t is that we hope you’ll appreciate this chance."

Irene didn’t touch the water, merely lifted her eyes to look at him.

"I want to see my lawyer. I won’t say anything until I see him. It’s my right."

Michael simply shrugged.

"Alright. Since Miss Spencer insists, I’ll have to follow procedure and apply for your arrest warrant."

"You..." Irene’s brow twitched, but she quickly regained her composure. "Suit yourself."

Michael didn’t say anything more. He just straightened up and walked out of the interrogation room.

"Boss, did she talk?" a subordinate asked, leaning in.

"No, she just demanded to see her lawyer. Is her lawyer here?"

"Waiting outside."

"Arrange for them to meet."

Michael gave the order, then crossed his arms. Irene’s expression was remarkably resolute, as if she had some hidden assurance. Considering she was caught red-handed, she ought to be terrified. Where is all this composure coming from?!

A short while later, a lawyer was brought in and shown to Irene’s interrogation room. Michael followed and listened in from the side.

"Miss Spencer?" the lawyer asked with concern. "Are you alright?"

"I’m fine," Irene replied.

They briefly discussed the case. Soon, their time was up, and Irene glanced at Michael.

"There’s a check in my suitcase for your fee."

"Alright." The lawyer nodded, then turned and left, rejoining her assistant outside.

"Miss Spencer said there’s an envelope in her suitcase. Where is it?" the lawyer asked her assistant.

"The suitcase is in the car!" The assistant led the lawyer to the car, retrieved the suitcase, and opened it. Sure enough, there was an envelope inside. The lawyer took it and found a check and a note. The note read: "Call Nathan Leafcastle. Tell him if he doesn’t get me out, I’ll drag him down with me."

Beneath the message was Nathan Leafcastle’s phone number.

The lawyer folded the note and put it, along with the check, into her briefcase.

"How is Miss Spencer?" the assistant asked anxiously.

"I’ll do what I can." The lawyer glanced at her watch. "I should get going. We’ll be in touch if there are any developments."

"You must help Miss Spencer," the assistant pleaded.

"Don’t worry."

After saying goodbye to the assistant, the lawyer returned to her car. She drove to a secluded spot, parked, then took out her phone and dialed the number from the note.

A moment later, a deep male voice answered.

"Hello, who’s this?"

"Mr. Leafcastle? This is Miss Irene’s lawyer."