Chapter 599: Caught
The debt collector's face was a bloody mess, and he was out cold.
Seeing that, Aurelie knew things were spiraling out of control. She rushed forward and grabbed Nathaniel from behind, "Nathaniel, that's enough, stop it."
Aurelie was shaking like a leaf, clinging to Nathaniel. The scene took her back to the night eleven years ago.
She remembered that night like it was yesterday. It was pitch black, and she got whacked with a stick and dragged into an alley. She thought her life was over. But then, through her dazed cries for help, she saw someone saving her. He was taking those guys down one by one. Later, she heard someone call him Nathaniel.
When she woke up in the hospital, she found out one of those thugs had died, and her savior had been arrested by the cops who showed up later.
It was too dark to see his face.
All she knew was his name—Nathaniel.
She dug around and finally saw on the news that Nathaniel got ten years for excessive self-defense and manslaughter.
It was Nathaniel!
Aurelie felt like her world had collapsed.
Because he saved her, Nathaniel got ten years.
How many ten years could a person have?
His life was wrecked because he saved her. Otherwise, Nathaniel's life would've been golden.
Whenever Aurelie saw him fighting, she thought of that night. She was terrified he'd screw up again because of her. He'd already done ten years for her; he couldn't afford another mistake.
"Nathaniel, that's enough! Stop, I'm scared." Aurelie, trembling all over, pressed tightly against Nathaniel's back. The tears she held back earlier now came pouring out.
Nathaniel's tall frame shook. Feeling Aurelie's constant trembling against his back, the rage in his eyes slowly faded.
He couldn't see her face, but her shaking told him she was scared out of her mind.
Nathaniel turned around and looked down at Aurelie. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.
Nathaniel felt a stab of pain in his chest.
"Stop, please. I'm scared that what happened eleven years ago will happen again. You already went to prison once for saving me. I can't bear it a second time." Aurelie lowered her head, lost in painful memories. She kept repeating herself, like she wanted to go back and hold onto the boy from eleven years ago.
If life had a reset button, on the night Aurelie was dragged into that alley, she would've never called for help.
That way, he wouldn't have found her and ruined his life saving her.
Nathaniel, his life should've been full of ambition and brilliance.
How could he ruin his life because of her?
Nathaniel's hand paused as he wiped her tears. His fingertips felt the hot, wet drops.
"I'm scared that what happened eleven years ago will happen again. You already went to prison once for saving me. I can't bear it a second time." Hearing this, Nathaniel's bloodshot eyes turned bleak.
How could he tell her he never saved her?
He didn't dare to.
She had told him she didn't love him, that she was only with him out of gratitude.
If even that gratitude vanished, Nathaniel had no clue how he'd keep her around.
They were together because of her misunderstanding. He had taken the place of the guy who should've been with Aurelie.
But now, he didn't want to let her go.
"It won't happen, don't be scared, nothing's gonna happen." Nathaniel's blood-stained hand brushed against Aurelie's face, leaving a streak of red. He tried to wipe it clean, but his hands were covered in blood, and the more he wiped, the worse it got.
Soon, the cops showed up. Seeing the room full of people lying around, the officers were stunned, thinking they had walked into a massacre.
Barbara was on the ground, holding John, whose head had a nasty gash, and wailing, "Help, they killed my son, these two maniacs are gonna kill us all. If you don't come, we're all gonna die."
The police quickly called for an ambulance, asking for several more vehicles.
Soon, the seriously injured were taken away by ambulance, and the others were taken away by the police.
Aurelie and Nathaniel got into the police car together. A young officer glanced at Nathaniel, seeing him covered in blood, and asked, "Do you need to go to the hospital first? You look as banged up as they are."
Nathaniel looked at Aurelie. He wasn't comfortable with her going to the station alone, so he declined the officer's offer.
"Go to the hospital first. I can go alone," Aurelie said to Nathaniel.
"No need." Nathaniel held Aurelie's hand tightly. His hand was sticky and wet with blood, but Aurelie didn't mind at all.
The older officer driving the car looked at them and got it, "You two are a couple, right?"
"Do cops have to be so nosy?" Aurelie tiredly pulled at her lips.
The young officer in the passenger seat turned around and said, "Of course, we gotta know the whole story. But, did you take down all those people by yourself?"
Nathaniel pressed his lips together.
"You're pretty badass! One guy taking down so many people." The young officer was quite chatty.
The middle-aged officer driving the car handed a roll of bandages to Aurelie, "Do you know how to bandage? Wrap your boyfriend's head first."
Aurelie nodded, took the bandages, and started wrapping Nathaniel's head. Some of the blood on his face had already dried, while some was still fresh, smearing all over his face. Aurelie's fingers trembled, and tears flowed like a river.
She didn't want to cry, but the tears wouldn't stop.
Soon, the car was filled with Aurelie's muffled sobs.
Nathaniel pulled at his lips, "Don't cry, it doesn't hurt."
How could it not hurt?
Aurelie wasn't stupid.
At the police station, Barbara, who was less injured, was also brought in, along with a locksmith who had been hiding at the door.
The locksmith had opened the door and called the cops, then he stayed outside to watch what was happening inside.
He had opened the lock, and if something had happened to the people inside, he would be responsible. He didn't dare to leave.
As soon as Barbara got out of the car and saw Aurelie, she went nuts and kept charging at her, "Aurelie, you killed your father, and now you wanna kill our whole family. You made me lose all my money. I wanna kill you, you bitch."
The young cop who came with Aurelie glanced at Barbara and then back at Aurelie, like a light bulb went off in his head, "It's you guys."
The older cop looked at the young one. "You know them?"
"Remember the guy who jumped off the building a few days ago, Joshua? They're his family. You even called his daughter, urging her to come over." The older cop nodded, and the young one looked at Aurelie, "Do you remember me? I was the one who took you to the rooftop that day."
Aurelie looked carefully at the young cop and nodded, "I remember you. You helped me that day. Thanks."
"You're welcome. Let's go inside and make a statement."
They were all taken into the police station.
Aurelie, uninjured and a key witness, was the first to be taken into the interrogation room. The young cop poured her a cup of warm water and placed it in front of her, "Have some water to calm down."
"Thank you." Aurelie reached out but noticed her hands were covered in blood. The young cop handed her a couple of tissues.
Aurelie took them and thanked him again.
"Alright, let's talk about what happened today. And about last time, although we repeatedly reviewed the video and confirmed that your father fell by accident, if you had tried to talk him down, maybe the tragedy wouldn't have happened."
Aurelie took a sip of water and shook her head bitterly, "No, if I had talked him down, it would mean I agreed to his demands. Then the one jumping off the building would have been me."
The young cop exchanged a glance with the female officer taking notes and continued to ask, "What demands should you have agreed to?"
"To help him pay off his debts. My father gambled abroad and lost two hundred million dollars, demanding that I repay it. The people who came today were debt collectors. If I had agreed to my father that day, the two hundred million dollar debt would have fallen entirely on me. I've been paying off his debts since I started working at twenty-one, and now I'm twenty-nine. In eight years, I've been paying off his debts, but this debt, I couldn't repay it. I would be the one dead. So I couldn't agree to him." Aurelie's voice was filled with endless sorrow.
The officers were stunned.
Two hundred million dollars, such a huge amount, the gamble ruined lives.
Aurelie continued, "Today's incident is actually very simple. My father died, so they could only come to the four of us for the debt. Barbara and her two kids wanted to dump the debt entirely on me. They brought the debt collectors to my home. I was alone and didn't dare to open the door. They found a locksmith to break into my house. After entering, they demanded money and tried to assault me. My friend Nathaniel arrived to protect me. That's what happened. Is this considered trespassing? They attacked first, and we fought back in self-defense. Would that be considered justifiable self-defense?"
Aurelie looked at the officers nervously.
She was most worried about this because Nathaniel had injured them.
She was afraid he would be sentenced.
The officer thought for a moment and said, "If what you said is true, no matter the reason, breaking into someone's home without permission counts as a crime. If our investigation confirms that they started the fight, then you were acting in self-defense."
"I have evidence," Aurelie quickly said. "My phone has a recording. It's still at my house, behind the ornament next to the TV cabinet."
Fearing something would happen, Aurelie had started recording on her phone and hidden it after calling the police.
With the recording, whatever happened would have evidence.
"Alright, we'll send someone to get it right away," the young officer said.
At that moment, the door to the interrogation room opened, and another officer came in, calling the young officer outside to say something.
As they opened and closed the door, Aurelie heard Barbara still cursing her outside, "Aurelie, if anything happens to Nicole and John, I won't let you off. You deserve to die. You caused all this, it's all your fault." Barbara had been blaming Aurelie from the beginning, but it was Joshua who gambled, and she didn't stop him but supported him.
When Joshua won money, their family of four was happy. When Joshua lost money, they shamelessly clung to her to help repay the debt.
If she didn't repay, she was an ingrate, a heartless one, and a bitch.
Aurelie closed her eyes, unwilling to listen to the voices outside.
Soon, Aurelie's phone was retrieved, and it contained a complete recording of the entire incident. It clearly showed the group breaking into Aurelie's home, Barbara and others repeatedly trying to hit Aurelie. A single woman facing such a group, it was understandable that she would pick up a kitchen knife to protect herself.
Later, the debt collector tried to assault Aurelie, and she fought back. Barbara and others also picked up various objects to hit Aurelie. If Nathaniel hadn't arrived to save her, Aurelie would have been in terrible shape.
The locksmith also stated that he sensed the group wasn't good people but was threatened and forced to open the door.
The young officer re-entered the interrogation room.
Aurelie nervously clenched her hands, "Did you get the recording?"
"We got it," he answered.
"Will we be sentenced for fighting?" Aurelie's breathing was shallow. She was afraid Nathaniel would be sentenced again for fighting because of her.
If that happened, Aurelie would never forgive herself.
The young officer responded, "Don't worry, you won't be. They broke into your home and started the fight. You were acting in self-defense."
Aurelie finally breathed a sigh of relief at the officer's words, "So we won't be in trouble, right?"
"Right." The officer nodded.
After understanding the situation, the police confirmed that Aurelie was the victim and quickly took her out of the interrogation room. Barbara, sitting outside, became agitated upon seeing Aurelie.
Nicole and John had been hospitalized after being beaten, and their money had been taken by the debt collectors because of Aurelie's words.
Barbara now wanted to kill Aurelie, "Aurelie, you ruined our family. I won't let you off."
"Behave yourself." The officer next to Barbara pressed her down. "You broke into her home and started the fight. She hasn't even held you accountable yet."
Barbara was furious. They were beaten and still had to be held accountable?
She shouted, "Are you kidding me? My son and daughter are in the hospital. Look what she did to me! And you're trying to blame us?"
"You started the fight. Should she just stand there and let you hit her?" The officer said.
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