Chapter 6

After the signing of the lease, Clara had gotten to know Colin better over the past few days and decided he wasn't so bad after all. She even thought about asking him to help sell her old apartment.

"The price should be two hundred thousand dollars below market, and my only condition is that it has to sell fast," Clara said seriously.

Colin's eyes immediately lit up. "Ms. Summers, you do realize your building is a hot property, right? Typically, buyers rush to purchase properties like yours as soon as they hit the market. And if you're pricing it this low..."

He rubbed his hands together, eyes glinting with excitement. "Hold on, I'll run this by our boss."

While Colin made his call, Clara hurried downstairs. Shadow was still in the car, and it had been a couple of hours. She wondered how he was doing.

To her shock, she saw a crowd gathered around the car as she reached the bottom of the building, snapping photos through the windows.

Her heart leapt, and she sprinted over.

Among the crowd was a young man, holding his phone up and live-streaming Shadow. He kept tapping on the car window, trying to get the dog's attention.

From Clara's view, she could see Shadow baring his teeth at the window, muscles coiled tight. He was furious, but restraining himself.

Clara's blood boiled instantly.

"What are you doing?"

She rushed forward and snatched the phone from his hands.

The young man, Trevor Fraser, froze. His eyebrows shot up. "Do you even know that's an illegal breed? What's the matter, scared? Don't want it filmed?"

He snatched the phone back and started shouting, drawing the attention of the crowd. He kept insisting that Shadow was a prohibited breed, threatening to call the police and have someone come seize the dog.

Several onlookers had gathered, peering through Clara's car window. Inside, Shadow was standing on the back seat, taking up nearly the entire rear compartment.

"That dog is huge! How can anyone keep a dog like that in the city? What if it bites someone?"

Trevor smiled, his tone dripping with arrogance and provocation.

"My dog is none of your business! And doing a live stream to get attention? Twisting the truth?"

When Clara stepped forward to reason with him, he actually reached out to shove her!

Luckily, Clara's reflexes, which were honed in her previous life kicked in, and she was quick enough to dodge. Still, his hand brushed against the collar of her shirt, and she felt a surge of anger.

Initially, she hadn't planned on causing a scene since Shadow was in the car. Who would have guessed this guy would push things so far!

Clara glared at him, ready to argue further, when she heard a sharp "clack."

Her car had an automatic unlock system. With her keys about three feet away, the locks disengaged. Clara was still processing what was happening when a black blur leapt from the back seat.

Shadow had sprung into action, knocking the young man to the ground.

Trevor screamed, but it was useless. Shadow pounced and began moving side to side on top of him, making sure he couldn't get up.

For a moment, the onlookers were stunned and they instinctively stepped back.

Clara straightened up and stared at Shadow as he snarled and shifted over the man. A strange, fierce pride welled in her chest.

Was he protecting her?

"What's going on here? Why all this commotion?"

Suddenly, a commanding voice rang out from the back of the crowd, and a young officer in uniform stepped forward.

Trevor was lying on the ground, pale and trembling. A dark stain had formed beneath him, and a strong, unpleasant smell hung in the air.

He had peed himself out of sheer terror!

"Officer! Officer, please help me! This dog's going to eat me! This person is keeping an illegal breed. Save me!"

Clara hadn't expected Shadow to act like this, and she certainly hadn't anticipated that he could open the car door. She felt a little embarrassed.

She stepped forward and gently tugged on his leash. "Shadow, come here."

Shadow obeyed immediately, moving to sit close to Clara. His massive eyes were still fixed on Trevor, and he bared his sharp teeth in a clear warning.

"This is a retired military dog, right?" the officer, Jacob Hartley, asked.

Clara nodded without hesitation and pulled out the relevant documents from the car. She knew that bringing Shadow out in public attracted attention, so she always carried his proof of service.

"I could tell when it knocked the man down and moved side to side. This is a standard military technique for handling criminals. By moving like this, the criminal can't get up. It keeps them subdued until soldiers or police arrive," Jacob said with a smile as he took the papers from Clara.

"We have a police dog in our unit too. Very smart."

After checking Shadow's credentials, he returned the documents to Clara. Then, he narrowed his eyes at Trevor. "So, what exactly did you do to make a military dog react like that?"

Suddenly, the onlookers who had been watching in silence began to speak up for Clara. They pointed out that Trevor had accused her dog of being illegal without reason and had even pushed her.

Shadow had reacted to protect Clara when he saw she had been shoved.

Trevor hadn't expected this outcome, but he was still irritated. He insisted that even if it was a retired military dog, one this big had no business being in a busy city.

"A lot of these military dogs have stress-related behavioral issues. If it bites someone, you just shrug it off because it's a retired military dog? I'm doing you a favor by teaching you a lesson!"

Trevor stubbornly stuck to his point, and Jacob's brow furrowed tighter with each word.

Shadow stayed locked on the man, muscles tensed, ready to leap at the first sign from Clara.

Then, a timid voice piped up from the crowd. "Is this military dog... called Shadow?"

Clara looked over and saw a girl of about twenty. She nodded and asked, "You know Shadow?"

The girl's eyes lit up instantly. She stepped out of the crowd and slowly approached Shadow.

Shadow seemed to sense her goodwill. He stayed still, quietly observing her.

The girl reached toward his head. Shadow didn't seem entirely pleased, but he didn't pull away. She petted him once, and then he stepped back to hide behind Clara, like a shy child reluctant to interact.

Even a single touch made the girl beam. Then, she straightened up and addressed the crowd.

"I can't believe I actually got to pet a decorated dog! Shadow's the hero who took down criminals in Sableton City and saved a whole team! Didn't you guys see that on the news?"

At that moment, Jacob finally connected the dots. "That's why the name Shadow sounded familiar. It's the dog from the news! I can't believe it's retired."