"Tonight, he just came out of nowhere and said he wanted to be my sugar daddy. When I refused, he attacked me. Officer, that's self-defense, right?"The officer glanced up at her. "We're just taking your statement. We can'tdetermine anything until we've investigated the facts of the case."Ondine bit her lip, her eyes filled with anxiety. A few moments later, another officernoveldramacame in and whispered something in his ear. The first officer looked at Ondine again, this time with an expression that seemed almost like pity."You can wait outside," one of them told her."Okay." A sense of unease crept over Ondine. There was something strange about the way that officer had looked at her.She had only been sitting on the bench outside for a few minutes when two officers came out and informed her that she was being detained for intentional assault.Ondine's eyes widened in disbelief. "What? But he was trying to assault me! I was defending myself!""Do you have any proof that he was trying to assault you?" one of them asked coldly."I..." Ondine's mind raced. "The diner has security cameras. You can check the footage."As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw Sampson, standing down the hall, give her a sinister smile. A cold dread washed over her. He couldn't have done something to the cameras, could he?Her fear was confirmed a second later. “We've already checked the security footage," the officer said. "The camera was broken. There's no evidence to support your claim.""You can be released on bail."Ondine's voice was barely a whisper. "How much is the bail?"The officer named a figure.Ondine's mind went blank. She just stood there, stunned. Where was she supposed to get that kind of money?Then, she thought of someone.Ellis.His friends had said he was from the Sheppard family. They were rich. Maybe he could help.She found his number and called. He was probably asleep. The phone rang and rang, but no one answered. She tried again. Same result. He must have his phone on silent.Out of options, Ondine swallowed her pride and dialed another number.Seth was jolted awake by his phone. He was so busy that he never silenced it not even when he sleptz At first, his mind was foggy, but as he frstened to the voice on the other end, he became instantly, chilingly awake. He hung up and glanced at the clock.Five in the morning.Without a second's hesitation, he threw on some clothes and rushed to the police station. When he arrived, Ondine was sitting in corner, her face pale, her hairamess. Read complete version only at A sharp pang went through Seth's chest. He composed himself and walked overto her. "Are you alright?" he asked, his voice as cool as ever."Seth..." Ondine looked up, her face devoid of color. Her voice trembled. "He... he started it. He tried toel.rassault me, so I hit him with abottle: Thelice saythey're goingto detain me..." "Calm down," Seth said, his expression grim. "Let me find out what's going on."He went to speak with the officers.Ondine watched for a moment before lowering her gaze to her feet. She had only called him because she had absolutely no one else to turn to.