CHAPTER 21: CHAPTER 21: SKILLFUL

The phone rang for a few seconds before being answered.

"Hello."

A pleasant female voice, crisp and decisive.

"Is this Lawyer Warner? I’m in a bit of trouble."

Jean Ellison’s voice was hoarse, her heart full of anxiety, fearing Lawyer Warner would refuse her.

The person on the other end was silent for a moment, "Please continue."

Jean briefly explained the situation, and as soon as she mentioned the two words "the Jennings", Lawyer Warner interrupted her.

"Miss Ellison, you should find someone else. I’m very busy at the moment and can’t leave."

Lawyer Warner didn’t understand why, since Justin Holden had already agreed to help her with the case, she still sought trouble with Ian Jennings.

Stealing a child?

She could really come up with that.

The newly hired legal team for the Jennings family not only included Justin Holden’s teacher but also her teacher.

She didn’t want to cause trouble for herself.

The call was disconnected, and before Jean could react, a police officer snatched the phone from her.

"I..."

She wanted to say that she could call other lawyers.

The words were on the tip of her tongue but didn’t come out. Should she call Justin Holden? Would he be willing to come and help her?

The officer glanced at her worried expression, thinking the timing was just right.

It had to be at such a desperate moment for her to compromise and agree to his demands.

"Actually, this isn’t a big deal. You don’t need a lawyer."

"As long as you..."

He stopped mid-sentence, looking at Jean, who frowned, sensing something bad was about to happen.

"You want money?"

She asked him.

The officer sneered, reaching out to touch her cheek. Jean recoiled, and he reached forward again.

His rough hand backed by her smooth and delicate skin, fingers sliding to the side of her slender neck, his eyes lecherous as he looked at her.

"I don’t lack money."

Jean felt nauseous, glaring at him, "Get your hands off me, or I’ll call for help."

The officer pinched her sharp chin with two fingers, forcing her head up to look into his eyes.

"This is an interrogation room. Scream all you want; no one will hear you."

Jean stared at him coldly, enduring the pain on her chin, "If you dare touch me, I will report you and have that police uniform removed."

The officer released her, slightly moving his jaw.

"Don’t worry, I won’t leave any marks on you."

His fingers clamped onto her cheek. Jean’s whimper was choked in her throat, broken beyond recognition.

His other hand covered her lips, forcibly prying open her mouth.

"Acting all virtuous in front of me? Coming out from a place like that, you should be used to it."

Jean struggled, her hair disheveled over her shoulders, her eyes red, shaking her head futilely.

"So... beautiful, even fallen here, you still carry such a pitifully attractive appearance."

"Having a beauty like you, your boyfriend is quite lucky."

The man’s desires took hold, restraining her lips while impatiently undoing her buttons.

"Help... help me."

Jean whimpered, her voice too soft to pierce the thick walls of the interrogation room. Just then, footsteps came from outside, and the man snapped back into himself, hurriedly pulling up his pants.

The door was abruptly pushed open.

Jean’s vision blurred, tears filling her eyes.

She saw a familiar face, a tall man’s figure blocking out the light, followed by a few officers in investigator uniforms behind him.

"Officer Shaw, you don’t have the authority to interrogate a suspect alone, nor can you turn off the camera during interrogation and use private punishment on a suspect."

"We are now, according to the law, suspending you for investigation. Please come with us."

The officer was taken away, and Justin Holden carried Jean out of the interrogation room and into the car.

Inside the car was a small first aid kit.

Jean stared blankly as he took out the kit. It was one she had bought to keep in the car.

Five years ago, she and Justin often did such things in the car, unrestricted by time or place.

He liked it, although she was always worried they’d shake the big Mercedes apart.

Her skin was tender and white; just touching the steering wheel would leave a bruise.

She was afraid of being seen, so she’d apply medicine in the car.

This first aid kit was from then.

Justin placed the kit aside, his long fingers pinching a cotton swab, the tip dabbed with a cool ointment, applying it gently to the corner of her lips.

It hurt a little, and when she backed away, he held her in place.

His fingers were slender and cool at the tips, but his broad palm was smooth and warm, pressing against the back of her hand.

The two were very close, and he applied the medicine to her lips for a long time, long enough for her to almost count how many eyelashes he had.

"How did you know I was here?"

When Jean spoke, it tugged painfully at her lips.

"A colleague told me."

"Was it Lawyer Warner?"

"Yes."

Jean felt a sense of post-disaster relief, couldn’t help but touch her burning lips with her hand, only to be stopped by a look from Justin.

"Don’t touch it, and avoid water. Sleep, and it won’t hurt by tomorrow."

"...Okay."

Jean nodded. Her wrist hurt too, and she reached out to the first aid kit on the back seat, found a tube of ointment, and squeezed out some white cream, applying it to the red circle on her wrist.

Her movements were skillful, so practiced that the man beside her frowned slightly.

It seemed like she got injured often, and she had mentioned her ex-boyfriend didn’t love her, so how did her previous injuries happen...

Justin’s expression turned colder.

His hands went to the wheel, turning it, and from the rearview mirror, he saw Vic, carrying a heavy camera bag, running breathlessly into the police station and grabbing a passing female officer.

"You arrested my sister!"

"Accusing my sister of stealing a child? Don’t you have eyes to see that little kid looks exactly like my sister, claiming the mother stole the child, how could you even think that?"

His tall, muscular build, with a small braid at the back of his head and a circle of stubbly beard on his cheeks, thoroughly frightened the young policewoman.

Upon hearing Jean’s name, the young policewoman quickly explained it was all a mistake on their part, and she had already been bailed out by her lawyer.

The officer responsible for interrogating his sister wasn’t an official employee, suspected of taking bribes and molesting the suspect, and had already been taken away for investigation by the relevant department.

Only then was Vic satisfied, sending a message to Jean, saying he would head back to work to file his reports and photos and told her to rest well at home.

After work in the evening, Justin drank near the company.

He couldn’t sleep at home, always seeing Claire Caldwell’s shadow drifting in the room, so he simply didn’t go back.

Taking out his phone, he glanced at the call log.

The top number had a very short call time, only forty seconds.

Claire Caldwell’s name stood out among the notes of various lawyers, directors, and managers, though the number no longer belonged to Claire Caldwell.

Holding the phone, he drank glass after glass of strong liquor, his index finger absentmindedly sliding, pressing on Claire Caldwell’s name.

The call dialed through.