Chapter 1400: Bail the kids out

Patricia and Shawn studied the approaching officers from their side. Slowly, they turned to face the two officers, clear puzzlement on their faces.

At the same time, Teddy stopped in his tracks and turned toward them. His brows furrowed as soon as he saw the officers standing before those two care bears.

"What’s going on here?" Patricia asked, studying their faces. "What do you want from me?"

"Miss Miller, we’d like to invite you to our station regarding an incident last night," one officer said sternly. "Please come with us."

Upon hearing that, Patricia quickly took a step back. "What? What incident?"

"There was an attack on Miss Cassandra Smith last night. During our initial investigation, we discovered an unprovoked attack on her some time ago in a restaurant," the officer explained. "We need you to come in for questioning."

"No!" Patricia refused without hesitation. "I don’t care what happened to that two-faced woman. If she was attacked, she probably deserved it!"

"Right." Shawn stepped in nervously. "Officers, I think there’s been a misunderstanding. Miss Miller couldn’t have—"

"Sir, please step aside." The officer raised a hand to stop Shawn, his other hand already resting on the gun at his waist. "Step back and do not approach."

Shawn froze at the officer’s demeanor. He could tell that if he moved forward, things wouldn’t end well.

"Miss Miller," the second officer focused on Patricia, "please come with us."

"I don’t want to!"

"Don’t force us to take you in."

"Why do I have to go to the station?! I didn’t do it!" Patricia’s voice rose. "I’m not going anywhere! You can’t force me! I have my rights—"

"You are a suspect in an assault case, Miss Miller. If you’re innocent, then come with us and clear your name."

"No way!" Patricia huffed. "I’m not going anywhere. Do you know I have a final interview in less than an hour?! This is important, and I won’t let that woman ruin it for me!"

The officers’ expressions darkened as they exchanged glances. Shawn cleared his throat.

"Patricia, I think you should go," he muttered nervously. "I’ll let someone know. Maybe they can reschedule—"

"No way!" Patricia flung her arm, sending the ring on her pinky flying. It hit one of the officers.

She froze. The officer barely reacted before her ring clattered to the ground. But a second later, he swiftly pulled out his handcuffs.

"Miss Miller, you’re under arrest for assaulting an officer. You have the right to remain silent..."

"What?!" Before Patricia could fully process what was happening, the officer took a large step forward and grabbed her arm aggressively.

Stunned, Patricia struggled. But that only got her slammed face-first against a car as the officer forcibly cuffed her.

"Assaulting an officer?!" she shrieked. "How is that assault?! Hey! You’re hurting me! I’m not a criminal! This is abuse of power!"

"Patricia—"

"Step back, sir." The second officer placed a hand on Shawn’s chest as he stepped forward. "Step back, or you’ll be arrested too."

"But you’re arresting her just because her ring accidentally hit you!" Shawn barked, his nervousness rising. "This is unfair! She didn’t do anything wrong! Why are you arresting her?!"

"Sir, step back, or I will have to take you into custody as well."

But Shawn was too overwhelmed to back down. He kept trying to reason with them, stepping forward—

"Sir—"

The officer snapped. And just like Patricia, Shawn was suddenly being cuffed.

The commotion had quickly drawn a crowd. Employees arriving for work stopped to watch. Others inside the building pressed against the glass walls, observing the situation unfold.

"Hey!!" Patricia screamed at the top of her lungs. "Why are you arresting him too?! Is this what police do nowadays?! Arrest people because a ring hit them by accident?! You better prepare because I’m pressing charges!"

Her shouts fell on deaf ears as the officers dragged her toward the police car.

Shawn, meanwhile, paled at how the situation had spiraled. This wasn’t what he had expected when he woke up this morning. Instead of enjoying a cup of coffee, he was now in cuffs.

At this point, he might as well have just drunk the office coffee—no matter how terrible it was.

Meanwhile, Teddy stood behind the crowd, his jaw tightening. His grip on his briefcase clenched.

Then, without a word, he turned and walked toward the building. This had nothing to do with him. That Shawn guy was foolish for getting involved.

But just as he neared the doors, he stopped.

"Damn it," he muttered.

Turning on his heel, he jogged to hail a cab to the station.

---

Sometime Later...

VROOM!

Penny pulled into the parking lot on her motorbike. She had an early meeting that morning, and thanks to Zoren’s usual morning dilemma, she had to rush back to the office.

Oblivious to what had happened outside the building an hour ago, Penny started her day as usual.

Jumping off her bike, she marched toward the elevator. Everything seemed peaceful—nothing out of the ordinary.

Until—

DING!

As soon as the elevator doors slid open, she spotted Yugi leaning against the wall. Penny arched a brow at the grim look on his face.

"Did someone die?" she asked, strolling toward him. She casually tossed her helmet at him. "If this is about the shootout at Mr. Desmond’s rally, no one’s dead. One of our men got shot in the arm, but he’s fine. I called him earlier."

Slowly, Yugi lifted his head, meeting her eyes. "I’m postponing the final interview."

"Huh? Is that what this is about? You’re more invested in this than I am." Penny cocked a brow as he handed her helmet back.

"One hour ago, our applicants were arrested—because a pinky ring accidentally hit an officer, and they called it assault." Yugi’s gaze darkened. "They arrested not just Patricia, but also that big guy from yesterday."

Penny studied his face, her expression unreadable. A shallow breath slipped past her lips.

Casually grabbing her helmet, she muttered, "Fine."

Then, turning on her heel, she added, "Let’s bail the kids out. Fill me in on the way."