Chapter 176

Gwendolyn turned around, her eyes filled with a mixture of anger and hatred as she glared back.

It was then she noticed that the person who was stopping her was none other than Charles.

Charles narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression serious. “Gwen, you can’t take matters into your own hands. Since I’m here, you should hand over this matter to me. I’ll bring him back to Fairlake Police Station for questioning,” said the man in a measured tone.

“He wanted to throw sulfuric acid on my face, so I fought back. Is that not allowed?” Gwendolyn’s tone was cold as she attempted to pull her hand back.

Charles tightened his grip around her wrist, refusing to let go. His expression remained stern as he uttered, “He hurt someone, so he deserves punishment. But if you hurt him too, you’re no different from him. Don’t forget that we’re at a bar. Even if you clear out the customers, there are still staff watching. They’re all witnesses.”

She paused for a moment, the corners of her mouth forming a sneer. “But I’ve already made a move. What are you going to do about it?”

Charles was silent for a long time before saying, “I can pretend I didn’t see anything and help you clean up the mess, but you can’t hit him anymore. Maverick is just your housekeeper and your pet now. There’s no need for you to get yourself into trouble because of him.”

His words left Gwendolyn greatly shocked. “If Maverick hadn’t shielded me, it would be my face that’s injured now. How could you still say something like that?”

The man was at a loss for words.

Gwendolyn forcefully shook off his hand, her cold eyes staring at him in disbelief. “Charles, you’ve become so unfamiliar to me now.”

Charles’ pupils quivered slightly, and his deep blue irises vaguely showed hurt. Silently, he took a step back, no longer trying to stop her actions.

With nothing stepping in her way, Gwendolyn smirked coldly and crouched down in front of the man again. “Come on, let’s continue.”

“No… don’t…”

Ignoring his pleas for mercy, Gwendolyn once again aimed at the back of his left hand, raising the wine bottle high.

“Stop it!” Just as the blow was about to land, a voice sounded from the doorway, instantly stopping Gwendolyn.

The commander of the Public Security Division, Matthew, had rushed to the scene with a team of police officers.

“Mr. Newton, you’re here too.” Matthew burst in and saw Charles first, so he greeted the latter. After noticing Charles’ lack of expression, he then stepped forward and snatched the wine bottle from Gwendolyn’s hand.

Upon seeing the terrible state of the man on the ground, he let out a soft hiss. She’s really a ruthless woman.

Matthew carefully observed Charles next to him, noticing the man’s unpleasant expression and lack of intention to chime in, before saying, “Ms. Shalders, we received a report that someone was causing trouble at the bar. We’d appreciate it if you could come with us.”

Gwendolyn smiled faintly, and her voice was soft and gentle. “He splashed sulfuric acid on me and hurt my people. I’m just seeking revenge. It’s just that I accidentally went overboard for a bit.”

Matthew glanced at half of the man’s face, which was a bloody mess from being slashed by the broken wine bottle. He unconsciously swallowed his saliva. Did she really go overboard by accident?

He then said in a serious tone, “Ms. Shalders, to find out the details of the exact situation, we must first go to the police station. Please come with us.”

Gwendolyn blinked her beautiful eyes at him. “Investigation and questioning are fine by me, but how long will it take?”

Matthew put the electronic handcuffs on her while replying, “We’re uncertain about that. It depends on whether or not you’ve actually committed a crime.”

The other police officers also stepped forward, placing handcuffs on William and Quinton, respectively.

Jasmine heard the commotion and ran forward, grabbing onto Charles. “Charles, they’re taking Gwendolyn away! You can’t just stand by and do nothing! Charles!”

Nevertheless, the man remained silent, his eyes deeply fixated on Gwendolyn’s retreating figure as she was led away.

Seeing that her persuasion was in vain, Jasmine wanted to step forward and stop them, but she was blocked by Charles’ men. In the end, all she could do was watch helplessly as Gwendolyn was taken away by the police car.

Maverick, feeling weak and drained of his stamina, fainted for several hours before finally waking up in a groggy state.

The wound on his back had already been bandaged and treated. The doctor, seeing his great physique yet such frail body, felt deeply distressed. In addition to the anti-inflammatory liquid, the doctor also gave him an extra bag of nutritional fluid.

When he woke up in the ward, it was already late at night. Elven and Ezra were fast asleep, sitting on the bed next to him.

After looking around the room, Maverick could not find the reassuring figure he was looking for.

He called out of subconscious panic and woke Elven up. “Where is Gwendolyn?”

Elven yawned. “Ms. Shalders is probably dealing with the mess at the bar. I guess she must have finished by now and gone back to the villa to rest.”

Maverick’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, and his deep voice trembled a bit. “She… hasn’t been here?”

Elven replied, “No, she asked Ezra and me to bring you to the hospital.”

Maverick’s dark eyes gradually dimmed, and a burning pain gripped his heart.

The pain was even more intense than having sulfuric acid splashed on his back.

Seeing Maverick’s distressed expression, Elven quickly comforted him, “Don’t worry, Mr. Wright. It’s quite late, and Ms. Shalders must be tired after handling everything. I’m sure she’ll come over first thing tomorrow morning.”

Maverick’s pale, thin lips pressed into a straight line, not saying a word. He turned over and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

Yet, he knew deep down that since Gwendolyn did not come tonight, she probably would not show up tomorrow either.

It was a sleepless night for Maverick.

At Fairlake police station, as the police officers happened to witness the scene of Gwendolyn injuring someone, and considering it was too late at night for an official investigation, Gwendolyn had no choice but to spend the night at the police station until the investigation could begin the next morning.

Only later did Matthew realize Gwendolyn’s true identity from Charles, and his legs went weak. Oh, my lord!

Gwendolyn was the precious daughter of the wealthiest family in Salinsburgh, which was the Harris family. She also happened to be Asher’s beloved little sister.

Did I almost lock up such an important person in the confinement cell last time? When Matthew thought about it, he felt a shiver running down his spine.

Given the investigation of the issue was still ongoing, Matthew arranged a luxurious single room in the police station for Gwendolyn, and William and Quinton were also accommodated in a double room.

It was late autumn, and the accommodations provided by the police station for the suspects were essentially partitioned empty rooms. There were no bed sheets or a comforter, not even a chair, let alone a place to wash up. To use the restroom, one had to file a report too.

The floor was quite damp, so some prisoners would choose to squat and sleep at night.

However, Gwendolyn’s room was quite different. It was fully equipped with bed sheets, a comforter, and a single bed. The floor was covered with flannel crystal carpets to keep her warm since they were scared she might get a cold from the cold weather. They even thoughtfully provided her with a table and a computer.

The computer could only connect to the internal network within the police station and had no way of connecting to the external network.

Nevertheless, if Gwendolyn could not fall asleep, she could still get up and play some games on the computer.

Occasionally, the police would come by and kindly ask her if she needed any late-night snacks, offering to help her get some delicious takeouts from the five-star restaurant next door.

The only downside was that, due to regulatory requirements, her cell phone was confiscated.

Gwendolyn lay on her small bed. Feeling utterly bored, she organized everything that had happened today from beginning to end in her mind.

While at the bar, she also noticed that Justin had disappeared, but since Maverick had asked Nico to go after him, there probably was not much of an issue.

However, the night’s events were too strange. She thought back to the man she encountered in the aisle, who closely resembled the one Justin had described. If it really was that man wanting to cause trouble, how could it be limited to just splashing sulfuric acid? Or was it because Maverick suddenly appeared with his team that that man’s plans were temporarily thwarted? In that case, what will be their next move?

As she pondered, she unknowingly drifted off to sleep.

Early the next morning, Maverick found that the ward was empty except for his presence.

The atmosphere felt utterly lonely and empty.

As expected, Gwendolyn did not show up.

Maverick felt a hint of bitterness in his heart as he removed the IV drip and got out of bed. As soon as he opened the door of the ward, he saw Elven in the corner of the aisle, sneakily answering a phone call.

“What! Ms. Shalders is currently at the police station? But Mr. Newton was at the scene last night! How could he just stand by and watch as they take Ms. Shalders away… All right, I understand. I won’t tell Mr. Wright about this for now.”

Before Elven had a chance to hang up the call, the phone was suddenly snatched away from him.