Chapter 4

Silverwater Bay was an exclusive riverfront villa community where every square foot cost a fortune.

Logan and I were both frugal by nature, and we had always lived in the small apartment my dad had been assigned through the department's housing program.

Staring at the lavish, sprawling penthouse with its own private elevator, I couldn't help finding it ironic.

Logan studied my expression and explained quietly, "Alison's depression is severe. Her doctor said an open river view would help lift her mood, so I..."

"You don't need to explain."

I cut him off bluntly, my gaze perfectly still. "It's your money. What you buy with it, who you spend it on, none of it matters to me anymore."

The wind was strong on the rooftop, and a dense ring of curious residents had gathered to watch.

The moment I showed up, Alison started wailing toward the crowd, "Captain Tisdale, I know you have power and influence, but Logan and I truly love each other. Please give him back to me!

"I'm begging you, have mercy. Don't drive me and my baby to our deaths!"

People all around pointed and whispered, their faces full of contempt.

Someone hurled a rotten egg that hit me square in the forehead. The slimy mess ran down my cheek, leaving me utterly humiliated.

Logan instinctively moved to shield me, but then he turned and gripped my shoulder, warning me under his breath.

"All you have to do is swallow your pride, and you'll save two lives. Forget what anyone else thinks."

He said it with such righteousness that he left me no room to refuse.

I pushed him away and wiped the filth off my forehead. Step by step, I walked to the front of the crowd and spoke woodenly, "I'm sorry. I have no shame. I won't cling to Logan anymore, and I'll never show my face in front of you two again."

Hearing me admit it with my own mouth, Alison was finally satisfied and started to climb down from the ledge.

But her foot slipped, and she toppled straight backward!

Faced with life and death, instinct overrode everything else. I lunged forward. With half my body hanging over the edge of the roof, I grabbed her and held on for dear life, heedless of the wound in my right hand.

"Help! Logan, save me! My stomach hurts so much!"

Alison thrashed wildly. In the struggle, the wound in my hand tore open, and blood dripped steadily from my fingertips.

"Alison!"

Logan rushed over and, to get leverage, stepped right on my wound without a second thought.

My belly slammed hard against the ground, and a dull pain spread through every limb.

Logan hauled Alison up with all his strength. "You're safe now. It's okay, it's okay... You scraped your hand. I'll take you to the hospital."

Afraid someone might die, the property management office had called an ambulance early, and it was already waiting downstairs.

Logan frantically carried Alison into it.

My vision blurred as I watched his back.

Every time he had to choose between us, he walked toward Alison.

Someone pointed at me and cried out, "Blood! She's bleeding so much!"

Only then did I notice warm blood slowly trickling down my pants.

Desperately clutching my belly, I lost consciousness.

When I came to, the doctor was standing at the foot of my bed, shaking their head with a look of pity.

I closed my eyes and didn't shed another tear. My tears had run dry long ago.

My phone vibrated again and again. Logan had called me more than thirty times.

Without hesitation, I blocked his number and boarded the helicopter the task force had sent to pick me up.

Meanwhile, Logan pushed open the door to the hospital room, only to find it empty.

He frowned and was about to stop someone to ask when he heard two nurses sighing quietly outside the door. "That Captain Tisdale from search and rescue, the poor thing. When they brought her in, the whole lower half of her body was covered in blood.

"The D&C took two whole hours. She'll probably have a hard time ever having kids now."

The thermos in Logan's hand crashed to the floor, and soup splashed everywhere.

His face went white. He rushed out like a madman and grabbed one of the nurses hard by the shoulders. "Which Captain Tisdale were you just talking about?"