After the Rescue, He Regretted It

When we went to rescue my fianc's childhood friend, my mother became their hostage.

My fianc, the squad leader, shot and killed her.

Afterward, he held me, his eyes red-rimmed, explaining, Your mother was trying to push Willow out to cause a riot. I had no other choice.

I'll convince Willow not to expose your mother, to try and preserve her good name.

I couldn't believe it, yet with each piece of damning evidence, I was forced to accept it. The immense pain extinguished my will to live.

One time, as I slit my wrist again, I heard Sebastian Stone scoff in his study.

"She knew Willow grew up without a mother, yet she flaunted their mother-daughter bond in front of her. She deserved to be punished."

"All I did was switch out the evidence, to let Willow vent her anger."

As my consciousness faded, I finally understoodmy mother had been framed.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day we rescued his childhood friend. I directly took my mother and smashed three jewelry stores, personally handing her over to the police.

I thought this time, there would be no accidents.

But to my surprise, Sebastian still shot and killed a middle-aged woman.

Crossing the caution tape, the hostage's body lay before me.

My teammates looked at me, their faces pale. "Captain Reed, your mother tried to incite a riot just now, pushing Willow out to take the bullets."

"She was in the wrong first, that's why she was shot..."

My brows furrowed instantly.

Impossible.

I had personally sent my mother to the police station. She couldn't be out.

So, who was it, then, who died by Sebastian's gun in this timeline?

I rushed toward the body, bending down to untie her hood, wanting to see her face.

But my arm was suddenly grabbed.

Sebastian held me tight, his eyes full of reproach. "Blair Reed, Willow was almost killed by your mother just now."

"As a law enforcement officer, instead of checking on the victim first, you're looking at this murderer?"

At his words, everyone around me looked at me with disdain.

"That's monstrous. Even if the killer is your own mother, you can't cover for her like this, can you?"

"I think this kidnapping might even have been orchestrated by her, just out of jealousy over Willow and Sebastian's good relationship."

I glanced over. Sebastian was comforting Willow Finch, oblivious to everything else, his fingertips gently wiping away her tears.

Hearing the torrent of accusations against me, he didn't even shift his gaze.

Even after living through it once, it still hurt immensely.

I took a deep breath, scanning the scene. "Does anyone here have proof that my mother pushed Willow?"

"Are you going to convict someone based on just two people's words?"

The scene fell silent instantly.

Those who had been gossiping lowered their heads guiltily.

Willow broke free from Sebastian's embrace, knelt before me, tears streaming down her face. "Blair, I know you're the Chief Captain, powerful and influential. No one dares to contradict you."

"But there are no cameras at the kidnapping site, and the kidnapper has been shot. Where would we find evidence?"

"Do you truly believe I would falsely accuse your mother in a life-or-death situation?"

She cried pathetically, like a fragile white flower.

Pity reappeared in the eyes of those around her.

Sebastian hurried forward, picked her up, and looked at me with nothing but impatience. "Blair, what more evidence do we need for this?"

"I'm your fianc, your mother's future son-in-law! How could I possibly frame her?"

"Just stop making a fuss, okay?"

Hearing Sebastian's words, the crowd, already biased towards Willow, believed him even more.

They pointed fingers at me with disdain, and a fresh wave of vile insults assailed me.

In my previous life, they had done the same, their words one after another nailing my mother and me to the pillar of shame.

This time, I absolutely would not allow it to happen!

I shoved them away fiercely and strode to the hostage's side.

I ripped off the hostage's hood.

"Whether it's a false accusation or not, won't we know once we see?"

The next second, my eyes widened in shock!

Not just me; after seeing the hostage's face, everyone who had been arrogantly accusing me bent over, dry-heaving.

The body's face had been smashed beyond recognition.

The kidnapping location was on a rooftop. After the hostage was shot, she had fallen directly from the building.

Now, her face was gruesome, utterly unidentifiable.

Willow covered her nose, kicking the body with a look of utter disgust.

"That old hag, she stopped Sebastian and me when she was alive, and now she's still disgusting me even in death."

"Someone just drag her away and dump her."

Hearing her utterly depraved words, my pupils constricted, and I clenched my fists tightly.

Sebastian blocked my path. "Blair, what do you have to say now?"

"Don't tell me you're going to disown your own mother's body just to clear your name?"

I simply laughed, a bitter, humorless sound.

What did he mean, I was clearing my name?

They were the ones who killed an innocent hostage and framed my mother!

Too tired to argue further, I pulled out my phone and called my squad.

"Arrest Sebastian and lock him up. And immediately notify the coroner to perform an autopsy on the hostage."

Hearing my words, Sebastian's face went pale.

Based on the bullet trajectory and wound morphology on the head, the coroner could determine the hostage's state at the moment she was shotwhether she was motionless or struggling.

Then, Sebastian's lies would fall apart.

I waved my hand, motioning for the squad to take Sebastian away.

But they didn't move.

Just as I wondered why, several of them silently surrounded me.

Their eyes darted away, and after a long moment, a few voices, faint as whispers, tried to persuade me. "Captain Reed, please don't make things difficult for Captain Stone. Your mother, in the heavens, would have wanted to sacrifice herself."

"We're all family. Let's just let this go."

I looked at them in shock, meeting Sebastian's mocking smile.

"Blair, still think you're the all-powerful Chief Captain?"

"Don't forget you're on leave right now. You can't control me."

"Furthermore, as a family member, you should recuse yourself. It's not appropriate for you to interfere with our proper case procedures."

I froze instantly, my limbs turning to ice.

Half a month ago, Sebastian and I were on a mission together. I took a knife for him, directly to the heart. The doctor said two centimeters more, and I wouldn't have survived.

At that time, Sebastian, his face tear-streaked, knelt and swore he would protect me my entire life.

How long had it been? All those vows were cast aside.

And the injury I took for him had become an even sharper blade in his hands, stabbing back at me with ferocity.

Willow delicately clung to Sebastian's arm.

"Sebastian, I told you she'd try to get your squad to come after you, all so she could steal the credit for this hostage rescue, didn't I?"

"So what if she saved you before? When it comes to real benefits, she's still selfish."

"Good thing you had the foresight to get her squad members under control first."

Listening to her, Sebastian's gaze toward me grew increasingly disappointed.

"Blair, I thought you were just being a little temperamental, but I didn't realize you actually wanted to harm me!"

He roughly shoved me toward the body. "You stay right here. Don't go anywhere without my permission, and don't you dare call the coroner!"

I fell sprawling to the ground, my arm cut by the pebbles, leaving a long gash.

Pain seeped from my skin into my heart.

I clenched my fists tightly.

Now, my only comfort was that I had saved my mother's life.

As for who this hostage was, I would definitely find a way to find out.

After an unknown amount of time, I struggled to my feet.

My fingertips accidentally brushed against a wristwatch on the hostage's wrist.

I froze instantly.

That was the watch I had custom-made for my mother. How could it be on the body's hand?

My mother's previous watches were easily damaged, so I had specially ordered a reinforced one for her.

My hands trembling, I picked up the watch to examine it closely.

Indeed, her name was engraved on the strap. It was definitely the one I had given her.

My gaze slowly fell upon the body, and I panicked.

I hadn't looked closely at the body before, but now, the more I looked, the more it resembled my mother's build.

But shouldn't she be in custody right now? How could she be here?

Cold sweat broke out, and I couldn't bear to think further.

I immediately turned to leave. I had to go to the police station and see with my own eyes if my mother was still there.

Suddenly, a cold, stinging sensation shot through my wrist.

Sebastian had handcuffed me to the spot!

Meeting my shocked expression, he looked impatient. "Blair, don't even think about going back to report to the superiors."

"This matter concerns Willow's reputation. Be sensible. There's no way I'm letting you go."

The handcuffs on my wrist tightened, biting into my flesh, even drawing a trickle of blood.

Even with hardened criminals, Sebastian had never tormented anyone like this.

Rage mixed with helplessness, scorching my chest.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted in the distance.

The Chief of Police was here!

He was the elder I respected most; he would surely help me.

Sure enough, after learning of the situation, the Chief's gaze darkened, and he stepped forward to carefully examine the body.

I had just breathed a sigh of relief.

The next second, Willow's high heel savagely slammed into the picture!

The sharp heel mercilessly dug into the corpse's head.

One stomp, two stomps, each with full force.

The already mangled head was now completely disfigured by her stomping.

My mind went blank.

By the time Willow strutted away, I was on my knees, tears streaming down my face.

The Chief sighed, a flicker of pity in his eyes. "Blair, it's not that I won't help you."

"Right now, our department is up for evaluation, and without Captain Stone's case, it will be very difficult."

"The evidence has already been destroyed. Please accept my condolences."

I stared blankly at the unrecognizable body on the ground, all sounds around me seemingly fading away.

Faintly, I heard my teammates' sneering.

"So arrogant usually, she totally deserved this!"

"Blair has just lost her mother and is too emotional, Chief. Why not give the Chief Captain's position to Sebastian Stone?"

"Our department still needs a cleaner. Blair can take over when her leave is up."

My heart turned to ice.

I wiped away my tears and stood up calmly.

"Now that the evidence is gone, and I no longer want the Chief Captain's position, may I leave?"

My teammates exchanged glances, then finally made way for me.

Just as I lifted my foot to leave, Sebastian grabbed my arm again.

"Blair, don't think I don't know what you're planning."

"You want to trick us, then go to the provincial authorities to complain?"

"If you continue to be so headstrong, don't blame me for not being able to preserve your mother's good name."

My mother was a retired police officer.

In my previous life, after the incident, Sebastian immediately applied to the higher-ups to strip her of all her honors.

Those were things she had earned with her life, incredibly precious.

I unconsciously stopped.

Sebastian ordered a few squad members to lock me in a room, then threw the hostage's body in as well.

The body hit the ground like a broken rag, kicking up a cloud of dust.

A sharp pain pierced my heart.

Kneeling beside the body, I wanted to tidy her appearance.

My gaze fell upon the corpse's hand.

The watch was unchanged, but this time I noticed something different.

My heart jolted.

This person wasn't my mother!