Chapter 455
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Tanner. We’re the police in this area. Presently, your sister and mother are in a room on the second floor. The suspect requests to meet with you.”
The hostages were still in the suspect’s hands, so the police didn’t dare do anything drastic.
“Got it. I’ll go upstairs right away.”
“For your safety, Ms. Tanner, I’d advise you not to do so. Just entrust this matter to the police.”
Although the suspect put forth this demand, this lady was the one who handed the evidence of Clayton Zales’ crimes to us. Therefore, she’ll be in danger if she were to go upstairs now.
“It’s okay. Don’t worry, for I know what I’m doing!”
I’m not afraid of him. Instead, I’d like to see what else he wants from me.
“In that case, put on a bulletproof vest, Ms. Tanner. You’ll have a layer of protection if the suspect is in possession of a weapon.”
“No, it’s fine.”
At the end of her patience, Sophie strode right up the stairs.
“Attention, everyone. Be on standby, and once there’s an opportunity, take the suspect down at once!”
Initially, the plan was to arrest the suspect and bring him back to the station. But now that he poses a threat to others, we’ve got no choice but to eliminate him.
“But that’s Clayton Zales!”
The Zales family is a prominent family in Jipsdale. If we were to shoot to kill, they’ll probably demand an explanation.
“Lives are at stake here, so listen to me. If something really happens, I’ll bear the responsibility alone.” So what if he’s a member of the Zales family? Clayton Zales committed a crime, so he still has to be arrested.
At that exact moment, Eustace arrived.
“Why are you here, Captain Sheppard?”
I don’t think such a trivial case would be assigned to him.
“Where’s Sophie? Has she gone upstairs?”
Eustace happened to overhear that something happened at the Tanner residence, so he immediately put everything aside and rushed over.
Despite knowing that Sophie was pretty capable, he still couldn’t help wanting to come over for a look at such a time.
In truth, he hoped that he could be of some help.
“Yes. The suspect requested to see her.”
“Okay, got it. Right now, have your subordinates obey my directives.”
Mere moments after Eustace arrived, Tristan and Felix arrived as well.
When Tristan didn’t see any signs of Sophie in the living room, his expression darkened.
“Where’s Sophie?”
“Who are you? This is a crime scene, and only authorized personnel are allowed!” a police officer stated bluntly, for he didn’t recognize Tristan.
“Calm down, Mr. Tristan. Sophie is highly capable, so she’ll be fine.”
He rushed over the instant he learned about the matter. And he’s currently looking grim, so he must be worried sick.
“I only want to know where she is right now!”
No matter how capable Sophie was, she was an ordinary woman to Tristan, and he didn’t want to see her suffering the slightest harm.
“She’s upstairs.”
This man’s aura is simply too strong that I can’t handle him.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Tristan. With me here, Sophie will be fine.” Eustace once dined with them, so he was naturally aware of Tristan’s relationship with Sophie.
“I’ll protect my woman myself.”
After saying that, Tristan made a beeline for the stairs.
“I know you’re anxious now, but you’d only anger Clayton if you were to go upstairs now. Let’s wait for a bit more.” Felix promptly held him back.
Sophie isn’t a brainless person. Since she dared to go in, I’m sure she has a way of getting back out.
Meanwhile, Sophie had already entered the room bare-handed. At the sight of Charmaine on the floor, a frown marred her countenance.
Clayton, on the other hand, cackled upon seeing that she had finally come.
“Do you find yourself incredibly capable, Sophie? I’ve already humbled myself and begged you, yet you still sabotaged me? You don’t intend on leaving me any way out, right? How could you be so cruel?” At that juncture, he was filled with rage.
As he talked, he had his hand around Willow’s neck.
Willow had been beaten up badly, and she didn’t say a single word even when she spotted Sophie.
After all, there wasn’t much she could say then.
She couldn’t possibly bring herself to admit that she had been blind in the past.
After a long while, Charmaine finally reacted. “Save us, Soph! I know I hadn’t shown you sufficient care in the past and was even biased. But no matter what, we’re a family. Please save us!”
“I know you’re exceedingly capable. Don’t come close to me. Prepare a car for me and take me away from here! Otherwise, I’ll kill Willow.”
However, Sophie merely got herself a chair and sat down.
In the face of such a situation, she remained calm and unruffled.
Seeing that, even Charmaine was stunned.
“What are you doing, Soph? Willow is your sister! You can’t sit back and watch her die!” Charmaine bellowed urgently.
“Can you please shut up? You’ve been rowdy ever since I arrived.” Sophie detested noisy environments, finding them irritating beyond words.
Charmaine was promptly struck dumb.
Rage blazed within her.
What kind of attitude is this?
Unfortunately, she couldn’t show her anger at that juncture.
“It looks like you still don’t know me all that well after so long, Clayton. I don’t like being threatened. Besides, my relationship with Willow has always been tense. What has her well-being got to do with me?”
“Really? Since you’re not at all concerned about her well-being, I’ll just kill her.”
Clayton’s eyes brimmed with bloodthirsty murderous intent.
“Sure! Go ahead if you so wish to do so. Anyway, the police are crawling all over the place outside. Make your move if you think you can escape,” Sophie replied nonchalantly.
“Why, Sophie? Why must you target me like this?”
“No reason. I merely find you displeasing to the eye. Is that a problem?” Sophie was as arrogant, cocky, and domineering as ever.
Wilbur almost fell to his knees before her.
“There must be some misunderstanding here, Ms. Tanner. Clayton merely wants to marry Ms. Tanner. Please explain things to the police!”
The man was on the verge of tears.
All I wanted was to keep this job, but I never thought that it would escalate to murder!
At the same time, despair inundated Clayton.
He felt as though he had lost all hope.
“Are you saying that all this has been Clayton’s doing and has nothing to do with you all?” Needless to say, Sophie understood what Wilbur was trying to say.
Wilbur and a few bodyguards who were around instantly nodded.
“This really has nothing to do with me! We aren’t murderers!”
“In this case, go downstairs. While you’re at it, help bring Mrs. Tanner downstairs.” That way, she won’t affect my mood here.
“Don’t you dare!”
Clayton had been beaten up by Sophie before, so he naturally knew the brutality of her methods.
If he were to go through it again, he really couldn’t guarantee that he would survive.
“We really didn’t want things to get to this, but all we wanted was to make a living!” After saying that, Wilbur hastily helped Charmaine up and went downstairs.
Charmaine initially didn’t want to leave, but at the look in Sophie’s eyes, she had no choice but to follow the others downstairs.
“All right, we’re finally the only ones left here. Willow is your fiancée, so go ahead if you want to kill her.”
Willow closed her eyes.
From the very beginning, I’m destined to be the loser. No one cares about my well-being!
“But if you manage to escape today, I’ll concede defeat.”
