Chapter 3

The memories continued to play. By this time, I had become Lucas' trusted confidante.

In the current scene, I was directing several coerced children to different drop-off points. I grabbed the smallest girl and shoved a crumpled map into her sweaty palm.

My voice was low and urgent as I said, "Remember, take this route. Only this one. Or else, your mother dies."

She nodded frantically, biting her lip to keep silent.

…

The square burst into an uproar.

"That monster! She used children!"

"Is she even human? She's absolutely insane!"

Someone threw a water bottle at the screen, the smack echoing across the square.

The next scene showed the events that happened hours after I had sent the children off.

Lucas' roar came through the phone. "Winnie! How the hell did you handle things?"

That girl had walked straight into a police ambush and was caught red-handed with the evidence.

Someone in the crowd voiced out their doubts after watching this. "There were so many routes. How did she end up on the one with cops?"

However, louder voices drowned them out.

"She's just stupid and messed up! Don't try to defend her!"

The next scene played. Lucas grew suspicious of me after the girl was caught, so he produced a syringe filled with a new type of drug and said, "Want to prove your loyalty? Inject it."

My body trembled uncontrollably as I stared at the syringe. The memory of me in my police uniform, swearing my oath under the flag, overlapped with the drug in front of me.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

In the end, with a pale face, I picked up the syringe and pushed it into my arm without hesitation.

…

Sylvia trembled, saying, "It's terrible! How could Winnie sink so low?"

Tyler pulled her close. His gaze was as cold as ice as he looked at me on the screen. "She chose to do it."

The scene shifted again, and Sylvia appeared in my memories.

In an abandoned warehouse, I handed her a thick envelope and said, "This is the money I've saved. Donate it anonymously to anti-drug funds, especially to the children harmed by drugs."

The crowd in the square buzzed with confusion. This didn't match the greedy image they had of me.

Tyler frowned at Sylvia beside him. "She gave you money? You never mentioned this."

Sylvia froze for a moment. Her eyes darted around.

After a moment of hesitation, she stammered, "O-Oh, right. There was also a bag of white powder inside. She was trying to drag me down with her. I was scared, so I threw the money away."

Tyler stayed silent, but a strange glint flashed in his eyes.

The crowd immediately jumped to Sylvia's defense. "How evil! She tried to frame her own sister!"

"Ms. Sylvia did the right thing! Money tainted by drugs should be thrown away!"

"Look at how scared she is. She can barely speak. She must have been terrified by her drug dealer sister!"

Sylvia took the opportunity to bury herself in Tyler's arms.

Tyler looked down at the woman in his embrace. His gaze lingered on the top of her head for a moment.

Ultimately, his arm tightened around Sylvia, but he said nothing more.

I pulled another item from my pocket—a USB drive—and pressed it into Sylvia's hands.

"This contains Lucas' recent operations. You have to get this to Tyler yourself, no matter what!"

My voice echoed through the warehouse, urgent and clear. "Sylvia, please. You have to give it to him!"

In the footage, my eyes were bloodshot, and I held Sylvia's wrists tightly.

…

Tyler turned his suspicious gaze back to Sylvia.

Sylvia's face went white, and she instinctively stepped back half a step.