Chapter 67

Gordon approached, also startled by the blood-covered Derek.

Upon closer inspection, they found that only Derek's hand was bleeding, and everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He was the only son of the Brown Family. If Derek had injured an important part of his body, they definitely wouldn't let Zoey go.

"Dad, it hurts."

"Mom, it hurts."

"Grandma, it hurts so much, I'm going to die from the pain."

Derek cried like a baby, and the three people surrounded him, saying every comforting word they knew in their lifetime.

Zoey looked at the harmonious family of four and had a thought.

Since they all hated her so much, why did they let her be born?

If they didn't like her, they could have strangled her. Was it just because of the death penalty for murder?

At the very least, they could have abandoned her, and let wild beasts eat her, and it would have been better than now.

Even though she was in pain all over, seeing Derek's miserable state, a smile appeared on her lips.

When they hit her, all four of them were happy.

When Derek got hurt, all four of them were upset.

She just wanted to make them upset.

If they weren't busy taking care of Derek, they would probably hit her again if they saw her smile, right?

Everyone felt that the obedient and quiet Zoey had changed, she became a completely different person.

They were in such a hurry to check on Derek that they didn't have time to pay attention to her.

The subtle change started from that moment.

Transferring Zoey from the Riverside Police Department to the City Police Department wasn't something Robert could decide alone; it required a lot of procedures. So during this time, Zoey was still working at the Riverside Police Department.

Her daily routine consisted of trivial matters.

Aside from these trivial matters, her days were relatively peaceful.

Time passed peacefully, and Zoey thought her days at the Riverside Police Department would continue to be this peaceful. But one late night, she received a phone call.

Seeing the unfamiliar number, Zoey initially thought it was a scam call.

When she answered, a weak, trembling voice slowly spoke. "Officer Brown, are you available now?"

Zoey was the top graduate of the police academy and could determine what was happening on the other end just by someone's voice.

She guessed they might have been fighting and asked, "Lucille, what's wrong? Did you get beaten again?"

After asking this, there was a long silence on the other end, lasting about tens of seconds, before a very faint voice answered, "Yes, I, I hit him too."

Zoey said, "Are you seriously injured? If it's serious, listen to me. Take photos of your injuries with your phone, and I'll call an ambulance for you. You need to get a medical examination immediately."

Lucille responded, "Okay."

"Where's your husband, Paul?"

"He's not here."

Zoey replied, "Bring all your documents. We'll meet at the hospital. Do you understand?"

"Okay, I'm going right away." Lucille choked up, and they ended the call.

Zoey hung up and told John about it. John was busy with Emma at the time and didn't say much, just reminded her to be safe and avoid physical confrontation with Paul. He was worried she might get hurt.

Zoey agreed and headed to Haven Healthcare Hospital.

After all, it was the city center, and even at night, there were still many people. Family members of patients were accompanying them for walks.

Some were paying bills for patients, and others were bringing food to patients, where everyone seemed busy.

With her keen eyes, Zoey scanned the crowd and began looking for Lucille.

Soon, she saw Lucille in the waiting area on the second floor. From the side, she looked particularly distracted, nervously clutching her backpack, which was large and bulging with unknown contents.

Beside her was a medium-sized suitcase, wrapped in a layer of cloth.

"Are they planning to separate for good?"Zoey asked. Otherwise, there was no need for Lucille to bring all these things.

When Lucille saw Zoey, her vacant eyes seemed to light up, but her eyes were black and blue from being hit, showing how hard Paul had punched her.

Her mouth was also injured, and she had applied a layer of lipstick over the wound, which showed a hint of a weary beauty.

"Officer Brown, you got here so quickly. I haven't even gotten in line yet." Lucille said.

Zoey responded, glancing at her. "Did you bring everything?"

"I brought everything you told me to."

"Good." Zoey's gaze fell on the cloth-covered suitcase, and after some hesitation, she asked, "What's in the suitcase?"

"It's filled with the most important things." Lucille smiled slightly, without answering directly.

She gave Zoey a look, signaling her to check for herself.

Zoey lifted the cloth, opened the suitcase, and bent down to see a pair of sapphire blue eyes staring back at her.

Zoey stood up speechlessly. "Why did you bring a cat?"

"It's my baby, of course, I have to bring it."

"What about the documents?"

"I brought everything you told me to!" Lucille said as she reached into the cat carrier to pet the fluffy, cute cat.

Lucille wanted to say more, but the nurse called her number. She responded and handed all her belongings to Zoey.

"Thank you, Officer Brown. I'll be out soon." Lucille greeted her and followed the nurse inside.

Zoey looked at the crowded waiting area and sat in Lucille's previous seat.

Feeling bored, she took out her phone to pass the time.

The suitcase was left open to let the cat breathe fresh air.

The little cat seemed as bored as she was, scratching inside the carrier.

The sharp sound made Zoey very uncomfortable.

She put down her phone and lifted the white cloth covering the carrier. "Little one, are you as bored as I am?"

The cat lazily looked at her. "Meow."

"What's your name?"

"Meow."

The person next to her seemed to dislike cats; they glanced at Zoey with an annoyed look.

Zoey covered the carrier again, not wanting to disturb others.

But the cat seemed to dislike being alone or was scared of the crowd, meowing continuously.