Alexander froze, shooting Ethan a glare before snapping, “You say one more word, and I swear I’ll end you!”
To threaten someone in front of cops?
That was bold.
Furious, Ethan suddenly bent down and landed a heavy slap across Alexander’s face.
Smack!
Blood instantly streamed from Alexander’s nose and mouth.
He couldn’t believe Ethan actually dared to hit him right now.
He glared, ready to curse and shout, but when he saw that fierce look in Ethan’s eyes, his words died in his throat.
He shrank back and turned pleadingly to Cynthia.
“Captain Bloom, you saw that, right?
He just hit me!
I’m bleeding!”
“Sorry,” Cynthia said, rubbing her eyes casually, “something flew in.
I didn’t see anything.” She turned to her team.
“Anyone see what happened?”
The other officers also pretended to rub their eyes.
“Nope, sorry, bugs in our eyes too.”
Alexander looked like he’d blow a fuse.
“My guys saw it!”
“Your people can’t be your witnesses,” Cynthia said matter-of-factly, glancing at him.
“Come on, Mr. Rex, you’re a well-known rich kid and the vice president of the Cloudshore Medical University student council. You know that’s not how it works.”
Anger blazed in Alexander’s eyes, but all he could do was grit his teeth in silence.
Cynthia turned to Ethan with interest.
“You mentioned something about a report?”
“Yep.” Ethan waved and pointed at the black Mercedes van.
“That same van—check under the rear right seat. There’s a package stashed under it. Why don’t you see what it is?”
Hearing that, Cynthia signaled to a male officer.
The officer responded quickly and went to inspect the van.
Alexander immediately stiffened, eyes darting nervously to his closest men.
A moment later, the officer returned, holding a black package.
“Captain Bloom, found this under the seat.”
Cynthia took it and opened it.
Inside was another smaller bag.
As she took a look, her expression changed—wide-eyed with alarm.
She inspected the contents closely, even sniffed it, then handed it off.
“I suspect this is… drugs.”
The officer’s eyes widened.
He quickly tested it.
Two minutes later, he looked up and nodded excitedly.
“Captain, you’re right. That’s methamphetamine. 100% illegal substance.”
Cynthia couldn’t hide her satisfaction—this was a big win.
She shot a grateful look at Ethan, then turned her eyes—now cold as ice—toward Alexander and snapped, “Alexander, explain! Now!”
Alexander stood frozen like a statue.Finding those phones and necklaces already left him stunned—he never imagined Ethan would even sniff out the drugs…
and get busted by Cynthia right on the spot!
If convicted, that meant at least fifteen years behind bars!
Cold sweat dripped all over him.
After a brief blank stare, he whipped his head around and glared at the few thugs beside him, barking, “The hell? Whose is it? Who freaking left it in my car?!”
The men exchanged looks, all visibly shaking.
They knew very well—owning up to that meant sayonara to their freedom, forever.
So, not one of them dared speak.
“Silent, huh?” Alexander’s eyes were bloodshot, throwing daggers at each of them.
He was so angry steam practically poured out of his head.
“Own up now and I’ll make sure your family’s taken care of. Don’t? Then I’ll make sure your bloodline ends with you!”
The thugs looked around again, sweat beading on their foreheads like rain.
“Working under Alexander is freaking stressful,” Ethan muttered with a sigh.
Cynthia shot Alexander a cold look, eyeing him closely.
She quietly gave her team a look—ready to move the moment he flinched.
“You!” Alexander suddenly pointed at the bald guy.
“Quit pretending.
Step up and confess.”
“Me?!” The bald man looked like he’d been zapped.
His knees gave out and—yep, warm and wet right in his pants.
Everyone saw it.
He’d peed himself.
“I’m talking to you!” Alexander glared at him like a predator eying prey.
The bald thug looked downright miserable.
Internally he cursed: Damn it, Alex, I don’t even smoke.
Why the hell would I mess with drugs?
“Baldy, just confess already!”
“You know this is your mess.”
“Yeah man, you’ve done stuff like this more than once!”
“Come on, Alex has your back. Just tell the truth.”
One after another, the other thugs chimed in, all pointing fingers his way like that settled it.
The bald guy wanted to cry.
Some brothers they were—throwing him under the bus without a second thought!
Absolute scumbags.
He thought of his parents, his wife who owed millions in gambling debts…
And if he didn’t do what Alex wanted, the fallout would be worse.
He clenched his jaw and forced himself to stand, head down, slowly walking toward Cynthia.
When he passed Alexander, he muttered, “Alex, I’m leaving my family to you.”
Alexander let out a breath of relief, gave him a firm nod, thinking silently: Don’t worry, bro.
I might not bother with your parents…
but your wife—I’ll definitely take care of her.”Cuff him!” Cynthia snapped at the officers beside her.
In an instant, the bald thug was handcuffed and dragged toward the squad car.
Damn it, is this guy not done yet?!
Alexander panicked, scrambling up from the ground and making a run for the nearest exit.
Still in pain down there, he clutched his crotch as he stumbled forward, looking like a total mess.
The rest of the thugs didn’t dare stay—they scrambled to their feet and bolted after him.
Moments later, they’d all vanished without a trace.
They didn’t even bother grabbing the Mercedes van.
“Haha!” Cynthia burst out laughing, giving Ethan a big thumbs-up.
Ethan laughed as well.
So satisfying.
Let’s see if that jerk Rex ever dares disrespect me or goes after Martha again.
“Ah!” Martha Brooks couldn’t hold back her tears.
“They’re finally gone!”
Ethan smiled and gently patted her shoulder.
“It’s over, Martha. They won’t be bothering anyone for a while.”
She hadn’t expected things to wrap up so nicely—eyes warming up, she threw her arms around him.
Ethan held her close, the sweet scent of her hair and skin brushing against him.
A smile tugged at his lips as he gave her a gentle squeeze.
“Ethan’s amazing!”
“Yeah!
Ethan is awesome!”
“Big bro Ethan is the best!”
The kids nearby started shouting in excitement.
Ethan and Martha exchanged a grin, waving at the children to head back into the classroom.
“Ethan, seriously, great job today.” Cynthia reached out for a handshake.
“Those crucial leads you gave us—never saw it coming.”
Ethan shook her hand, chuckling.
“Just doing what needed to be done, Captain Bloom.”
“Oh, by the way, how’d you even notice the stuff in the van?” Cynthia asked, genuinely curious.
Martha looked at him too, eyes full of curiosity.
Ethan smirked.
“To be honest, I’m not that skilled—I’ve just got great instincts.”
“Haha, classic humblebrag,” Cynthia laughed, pulling out her phone.
“Come on, give me your number and your WhatsApp. Makes it easier to stay in touch.”
It was just their first meeting, but she already admired his quick thinking.
She had a feeling they’d make a good team down the line.
Ethan quickly pulled out his phone and exchanged info with her.
Getting to know a badass officer like Cynthia wasn’t just useful—it was flat-out awesome.
And more than that, he planned to ask her to visit Starhaven Orphanage more in the future, to help Martha and the kids out.
Just then, his phone buzzed twice.
He glanced at the screen—it was the logistics manager from Carewell Pharmacy texting with urgency.
“Crap!” Ethan jumped up.
“Gotta run, something just came up!”