"You mean the girl you wanted me to deal with showed up at school today?" Reynard Sandoval felt his heart skip a beat.

He added, "Hang on, let me make a call."

Natalie hung up and wiped the corners of her eyes.

Reynard was a leader in the underworld in Aloville. Dealing with Josie should’ve been a walk in the park.

She refused to believe Josie could keep getting away again and again.

She just thought Josie had gotten lucky and dodged a bullet last time.

However, she was completely clueless that Josie had only come back to school after barely escaping with her life.

At the police station, Josie walked into the interrogation room.

A female police officer, Hayden Webb, looked at Josie and asked, "What time did you leave the hospital yesterday evening?"

Josie recalled what happened yesterday.

She said, "Around six. Since we had a competition today, my professor told me to head back to school.

"The doctors left at 5:30, but there were still some patients, so I was delayed for a bit. By the time I left, it was already past six."

"Have you walked down that alley before?" Hayden asked, jotting down notes.

Josie nodded. "A few times, but always with my friends. The streetlights were working then.

"Yesterday, I didn’t realize they were broken until I was already in the alley.

"I was really scared, so I decided to take a different route. But as soon as I turned around, I bumped into someone.

"Before I could say anything, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my neck. When I woke up, I was tied to a bed…"

She recounted every detail of what happened at the old warehouse, leaving nothing out.

When she finished, Hayden handed her the statement for her to review and sign.

As she signed, Josie couldn’t help but ask the question that had been weighing on her mind.

She asked, "How did you find me? If you hadn’t gotten there in time, I’m afraid…"

She couldn’t even bring herself to think about the consequences. Her hand trembled slightly as she held the pen.

She said, "Thank you for letting my professor and teammates know. I really appreciate it."

"It’s our job, so you don’t need to thank us," Hayden said, "Honestly, we were able to find you so quickly, all thanks to Sean.

"He noticed you hadn’t come back to the dorm and couldn’t reach you on the phone, so he called the police right away.

"Then he and his friends searched along your usual route to figure out where you might have gone.

"By the time we got your emergency call, our patrol car was already on the way, which saved us a lot of time getting to the scene.

"If you really want to thank someone, you should thank Sean."

Josie had thought it was her cleverness that helped her escape. Now, she realized that no matter how smart she was, when faced with real danger, she was powerless.

The only reason she was unharmed and untouched by those bastards was all thanks to Sean.

He was the one who saved her.

That familiar numbness crept back into Josie’s heart, as if someone was gently cradling it in their warm palm.

She felt a rush of warmth. It was comforting, yet a little suffocating at the same time.

In just a little over a month, her team had done so much for her. She felt like she’d never be able to pay them back.

Josie stood up. "Officer Webb, what kind of sentence will the people who kidnapped me get?"

Hayden replied, "That depends on the results of our investigation.

"The court will decide based on the evidence we gather. But no matter what, they won’t be able to escape a kidnapping charge."

Hayden patted her on the shoulder, reassuring her not to worry, and told her she was strong, brave, and clever.

Josie pressed her lips together. "What if they were acting on someone else’s orders? Will the person behind it get punished too?"

"If what you’re saying is true, the mastermind behind it will get an even heavier sentence than they do," Hayden said, walking her to the door.

She added, "Go home and don’t dwell on it too much. Once the investigation is finished, I’ll let you know what we find."

Josie nodded. Just as she was about to turn and look for Sean, she saw an officer rush over. "Hayden, the suspect’s phone keeps ringing. Should we pick it up?"