"The person he angered is a powerful figure. He’ll make sure you’re protected."

Hearing that, the officers finally relaxed. They’d been worried this might get complicated, but now it seemed they were overthinking it. There really wasn’t much to worry about after all. And with someone influential backing them, they didn’t have to tiptoe around anything.

With that in mind, the officers walked straight over to Julian with a pair of handcuffs.

“Sir, please cooperate with our investigation.”

Julian’s eyes widened in disbelief. He hadn’t expected them to actually go through with it.

“Do you even know who I am?” He stared at them in shock, unable to believe they were really doing this.

Even Tessa was a little caught off guard. Lucas hadn’t even arrived yet–how could they be so bold? Was it because of that doctor? Did Jason really have that much authority? Tessa pressed her lips together, a flicker of uncertainty surfacing in her heart.

But no matter what Julian said, the officers remained firm.

“Sir, regardless of who you are, we’ve already confirmed with witnesses that the compound was brought in by you. It’s directly tied to you. So according to protocol, you’ll need to come with us and assist in the investigation.”

Seeing that none of the officers could be swayed, Julian started to panic.

“Tessa! You heartless woman–are you really going to abandon me like this?” He shouted in her direction, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll expose everything between us?”

Tessa flinched under his fierce glare, her heart skipping a beat. He wasn’t wrong–he did know a lot about her. If she really got thrown under the bus like this, it would definitely cost her. No matter how things played out, it wouldn’t end well for her.

Tessa forced a stiff smile and stepped forward, speaking to the officers. “Officers, is there some kind of misunderstanding here? We only just arrived not long ago. How could we possibly be involved in something like this?” Her smile was awkward, and even her expression looked strained.

But no matter what she said, the officers remained unmoved.

One of them replied in a professional tone, “The hospital already confirmed it—both witness and physical evidence are in place. And this is just for investigation purposes. Since you’re saying that, why don’t you come with us as well? Let’s clear things up together.”

Tessa pointed at herself, looking completely stunned. “Me?”

“Yes, you.” The officers were clearly running low on patience. Why were these people so difficult to deal with? “Are we being unclear? Do we really have to repeat ourselves over and over?”

As soon as those words left his mouth, one of the officers took advantage of Julian’s distraction and swiftly snapped the cuffs onto his wrists. Julian froze on the spot, not sure whether he should resist or not.

Meanwhile, the female officer turned to Tessa with a polite smile. “Ma’am, we’d prefer not to use force. Please cooperate.” Though her smile was pleasant, her tone was firm, leaving no room for refusal.

Seeing that, Tessa could only nod reluctantly and agree to go.