Ethan glanced at the burly guy charging at him and ignored him completely.
Instead, he turned and slammed a vicious kick right into Alexander’s groin.
“Ahhh!” Alexander screamed, immediately collapsing to the ground, clutching himself in agony.
“Cousin! Beat the crap out of him!” The guy who rushed over was none other than Kevin Davis—the one Ethan had roughed up earlier in the garden.
Waking up with bruises and anger, he had sprinted over, hoping Alexander would get revenge for him.
But seeing Alexander groaning on the floor stopped Kevin in his tracks.
Thud!
Ethan delivered another solid kick to Alexander’s stomach, then glared sharply at Kevin, sending a clear message.
Kevin froze for a second before quickly changing his tune.
“Yeah! Good hit! He totally deserved that!”
With a stiff smile and his hands over his head, Kevin backed away while the kids burst out laughing behind him.
Woo-woo!
Woo-woo!
Out of nowhere, two police cars screeched to a halt with lights flashing.
Doors flew open, and a few officers jumped out.
Leading the group was a tall woman, around 5’9″, with a sharp uniform, striking features, and a fit figure.
A handgun strapped to her slim waist completed the look.
Her powerful walk had more presence than a runway model—pure authority.
“Martha! You’re finally here!” Martha Brooks rushed over to greet her.
The officer was Cynthia Bloom, captain of the Major Crimes Unit at Northfield Police Precinct.
She once won a national hand-to-hand combat championship at one of the top police academies, earning her the nickname “Dragon Lady.”
She’d brought a couple of orphans to Starhaven Orphanage before, so she and Martha knew each other well.
Since the orphanage was nearby, Cynthia came immediately after getting the call.
“What’s going on?” she asked in a clear voice.
“There!” Martha pointed first at Alexander, then at Ethan.
“Alexander showed up with some thugs and picked a fight with our kid, Ethan…”
“Captain Bloom! He beat me up! You have to help me!” Alexander was lying on the ground, still holding his midsection and breathing heavily.
Spotting Cynthia, he started yelling.
Cynthia walked over, shot Alexander a cold glance, and smirked, not saying a word to him.
But when she turned to Ethan, her expression softened just a little.
As a cop, she knew Alexander’s kind all too well.
In this area, barely anyone dared to cross him.
But this young guy in front of her just did.
That alone made her take him seriously.
“You’re Ethan, right? Martha mentioned you.” Her tone was calm but interested.
“So, tell me, what really happened?”
“Captain Bloom, Alexander showed up with his crew trying to force Director Brooks to hand over the orphanage.
He even laid his hands on her.
I couldn’t just watch, so we fought,” Ethan pointed at Alexander and said with a shrug, “No idea what happened—next thing I know, they were all lying on the ground. The source of this chapter is novelping . com.
Oh, and Alexander just said he was gonna give me a full-blown Chrysanthemum Surprise.
Captain, do you even know what that is?”
Cynthia blinked, caught off guard.
Ethan casually kicked Alexander right between the legs.
“That’s a Chrysanthemum Surprise.”
“Ow—!” Alexander shrieked, curling up as his eyes rolled back from the pain.
“Captain Bloom!
You saw that!
He attacked me!
That’s intentional harm!
Arrest him now—he should get at least three years!”
Trying not to laugh, Cynthia said flatly, “Mr.
Rex, you brought a whole group with you, and Ethan was on his own.
You really want people to believe one guy bullied all of you?”
Alexander groaned, furious and clutching his groin.
“You saw it!
He kicked me!
I demand justice!
You’re a cop—you have to protect the public!”
“‘The public,’ really?” Cynthia gave a cold chuckle.
“If you’re the public, then the rest of us must be peasants.
Enough with the act, get up.”
“Damn it!” Alexander cursed, face twisted in rage and pain.
He couldn’t even stand.
“Cynthia, I’m warning you—don’t push me. I can get you fired with one phone call!”
Cynthia’s expression turned icy.
“Go ahead. Call.”
She pointed at the groaning men sprawled on the floor.
“You know exactly who these guys are.
Are they just hired muscle?
Or are some of them part of a theft ring?
Human trafficking maybe?”
“Watch it,” Alexander snapped, eyes full of venom.
“You’re a cop, not a fortune teller. Prove it, or you’ll find yourself in deep trouble.”
Seeing how blatantly arrogant he was—even towards law enforcement—Cynthia clenched her jaw.
One hand drifted toward the pistol at her waist.
A part of her wanted to just end it all right here.
With all the dirty things he and his father had done, and now he dared to threaten her?
But she had no evidence—yet.
“I have something to report,” Ethan said suddenly, raising his hand.
Cynthia looked over, startled.
Alexander sneered, “Look at you, barely keeping yourself together, and now you want to report me?
About what, exactly?”
“Don’t say it if you don’t have proof,” Martha warned softly, clearly worried.
“It’s okay, I got this.” Ethan patted her shoulder gently, then pointed at a black Mercedes van parked nearby.
Loud and clear, he asked, “Whose car is that?”
“That’s mine.
What about it?” Alexander snarled, face twisted in pain.Ethan turned to Cynthia and said loudly, “Captain Bloom, there’s a black backpack in the trunk of that Mercedes van.
It’s got a bunch of cell phones and several gold chains inside.”
Cynthia glanced at Alexander.
“Mr. Rex, mind if we check it out?”
Alexander froze.
He was stunned—how the hell did that punk Ethan know exactly what’s in his car?
After a second, he shot a sideways look at Cynthia and snapped, “No.
That’s my car.
I have the right to refuse.”
“The keys are still in the ignition, under the steering wheel,” Ethan added helpfully.
Cynthia nodded and motioned to the two officers nearby.
“Check it.
I’ll take full responsibility.”
“You touch my car without a warrant, I’ll sue your department!” Alexander barked, all bluster and no bite.
A few moments later, one of the officers came over holding a black backpack and handed it to Cynthia.
She unzipped it and took a look—inside were over ten phones.
All high-end.
There were also a dozen gold chains.
“We’ve had reports of stolen phones and jewelry. Some of these match the descriptions,” Cynthia said, looking straight at Alexander.
Her voice turned cold.
“So, Alexander, care to explain how this ended up in your car?”
Alexander was shell-shocked.
He twisted his head toward his crew and shouted furiously, “Who the hell dumped that in my trunk?!”
The men exchanged looks, none daring to speak.
“Step up right now or I swear I’ll find out who it was and come for your whole family!” Alexander roared.
Sweat broke out on their foreheads.
Everyone knew he wasn’t bluffing.
After a tense pause, a blond-haired guy shakily stepped forward, stammering, “S-s-sorry, Mr. Rex… I’m the one who put it there…”
Alexander turned to him, eyes blazing with fake righteousness.
“I can’t believe you’d do this. You’re disgusting. Turn yourself in already!”
The blond guy knew the drill—he had to take the fall.
No way he could drag Alexander down with him.
So he slowly walked over to Cynthia.
She sneered, gesturing to her officers.
“Cuff him.”
Two officers stepped up, slapped the cuffs on, and dragged the guy into a squad car.
Alexander, now smug as ever, grinned.
“Cynthia, this has nothing to do with me. You wouldn’t dare arrest me too, would you?”
Cynthia’s jaw tightened.
Watching him smirk like that made her want to scream—but without hard evidence, she could only hold back.
Then Ethan raised his hand again.
“Captain Bloom, I’ve got another report to make.”