Rift in the perfect picture
Chapter 80

Chapter 0079

+25 BONUS

Nicholas raised his arm and placed it on my shoulder, pulling me toward him as if declaring his authority over me. The more I struggled, the tighter he held me.

Suddenly, a leg inserted itself between him and me, forcing him to let go.

Neal quickly retracted his leg, and in that sudden outburst, his entire demeanor changed. He seemed even colder than before, but the vibe he gave out was different from Nicholas.

One was the oppressive aura of a long–time leader, while the other exerted brutality and bloodthirstiness.

Neal reached out to undo his uniform, neatly taking it off and placing it aside. “With the uniform on, I’m a police officer who serves the people. Without it, I’ll beat you into a pulpl”

With those words, he launched an attack, and Nicholas pushed me aside. The fight between them was on a completely different level from the previous one with Pete. I had no chance to intervene at all.

Pete only looked up after finishing his haircut. Seizing the opportunity, he quickly ran forward and punched Nicholas in the side of his face.

Nicholas could have held his own against Neal, but with Pete joining the fray, he quickly fell into a disadvantage.

The men seemed to have lost their minds, and no matter how much I shouted, I couldn’t get them to stop. No one listened to me.

It wasn’t until Neal’s team members heard the noise and rushed in that they were finally separated. All three of them showed signs of injury.

“Do you think I’m afraid of you?”

Neal became even more arrogant with his team members present, which was completely different from his usual soft–spoken self when talking to me.

“Neal,” I called out softly, shaking my head at him. With an ordinary family background, he had no way to match Nicholas.

From the moment I called his name, the fiery aura around him seemed to extinguish instantly. Nicholas wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and upon seeing the bloodstains, he laughed.

“Captain Steele, right? I hope you can hold onto your position as the commander of the Criminal Investigation Division for a long time.”

“Nicholas, don’t drag innocent people into this!”

“I see that you’re quite capable now, Ariana.” Nicholas sneered through gritted teeth as if he had heard something utterly ridiculous.

Before he could react, Pete got angry and glared at me with a gaze cold enough to freeze me. His jaw was clenched tightly, and he looked like a wolf that was ready to pounce.

“Ms. Ari, what’s your relationship with him?” His dark eyes no longer showed the concern from before, and

he enunciated each word clearly, “Why didn’t you protect me?”

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+25 BONUS

Chapter 0079

I looked up at him and replied, “You can protect yourself.”

Since childhood, Pete had never needed my protection Besides, no matter how angry Nicholas was at Pete, he wouldn’t really do anything to Pete considering the relationship between the two families and the fact that they were friends.

However, Neal was different.

I carefully chose my words and explained, “Neal has helped me a lot. If he hadn’t gathered evidence tirelessly for me, I wouldn’t have been able to clear my hame so quickly.”

After speaking. I looked up at Nicholas. He stood there silently, staring at me intently. When he spoke, his slightly hoarse voice carried a hint of mockery.

“Don’t jump to conclusions so soon. The truth and the law will ultimately decide whether you’re really

innocent.”

His words, though seeming to not bear weight at all, extinguished the last bit of hope in my heart. I never expected him to apologize to me, but I thought he would at least feel some degree of remorse,

He had been so certain that I hired someone to attack Claudia, causing me to be wronged and aggrieved without reason. Yet, in his heart, none of that mattered. He only believed in his beloved stepsister.

During this time, Pete remained silent. His expression was indifferent and cold as he looked at me for a long time. The entire room fell silent, and he laughed loudly, his tone self–mocking.

“Alright, got it,” he said.

Then, he turned to leave. When passing by Nicholas, he stopped and patted his shoulder.

“Nick, don’t take today’s incident to heart. Don’t let a woman come between us. I’ll treat you to a drink another day.”

With that, Pete walked out, habitually raising his hand to fix his hair. His hand paused abruptly as he only felt his prickly short hair. He laughed again, lowered his hand, and swaggered out.

I looked at Pete’s slightly resentful back with a mix of emotions. He was probably upset. As his figure swayed in the sunset light, his shadow blurred and distorted until it gradually faded away.

I was grateful to him, but I wasn’t good at expressing it in words. If I invited him for a meal someday, I wondered if he would come.

Neal gently nudged me with his elbow, bringing me back to reality. “Come on, I’ll take you out.” Then, he put his uniform back on and led the way, keeping a distance from me.

As we were about to leave, I turned back to Nicholas and said, “Nicholas, you’re right. The law will give me an apology on your behalf. We shall see.”

Facing Nicholas and the entire Hawk family, I wasn’t confident that I could ensure Claudia received the punishment she deserved, but I was determined not to let this matter go easily. I would seek justice for myself.