The Sway and Slide of Love

But in the end, Hendrix still managed to finish his sentence.

Even Jerry couldn't help but be moved by the sight of him. He quickly nodded and said, "Don't worry. I'll definitely help you. I mean, this is our duty, after all. So, you can rest assured!"

As he spoke, he signaled to his colleague to print out the photo of Noelle from Hendrix's phone.noveldrama

When Jerry saw the photo again, he furrowed his brows slightly. He couldn't help but feel like he had seen the woman in the photo somewhere before. But he couldn't remember where.

"Captain Ortiz?" someone beside him called out cautiously.

Only then did Jerry snap out of it and realize Hendrix was still in the office.

"Oh, right. This way, please, Mr. Freeman. I'll take you to the hotel now."

"Thank you." Hendrix nodded at him.

Jerry smiled and opened the office door for him.

Meanwhile, the man who had just been brought in was still arguing. "It's not like that. We're really getting married out of our own free will. We're from the same village! I even ate at her house when I was a kid!

"Both of our families agreed to this marriage! Just yesterday, I delivered the wedding gift to her house. It was 8,800 dollars! Nelly, tell them. Isn't that right?"

The woman sitting next to the man nodded obediently, as if following a command.

"Sir, please calm down first. The issue is that Nelly's identity doesn't match her. Look at her ID—the birth year shows she should be around 40 years old. Does she look 40 years old to you?" the officer across from them explained.

The man kept arguing, but Hendrix wasn't listening anymore. He just kept his head down and walked forward. Just as he was about to leave the lobby, his phone rang. It was Dan calling.

Given the situation at the time, there

was no way he could have

overpowered those men. If the

police hadn't arrived in time, his only

option would have been to fight them to the death once they

shattered his car window

And in that moment, Hendrix had already lost the will to live. His resistance had been purely instinctual, driven by the rage and grief buried deep inside him.

He had specifically instructed Dan to only call the police if he hadn't sent any updates for several hours after arriving at his destination. But Dan hadn't followed his orders, and that was why the police had arrived so quickly.

When the group of men realized the situation was turning against them, they tried to flee. But Hendrix didn't give them the chance. Ignoring the police's orders to stop, he drove straight into the men.

Now, they were all lying in the hospital. But even so, Hendrix wasn't worried. After all, he had only been defending himself.

Clearly, Dan was calling him now to check on the situation. Hendrix picked up his phone, about to answer, when he heard a voice behind him.

"Nelly, you and your mom planned this, didn't you? Are you lying to me? How old are you really?"

"I-I don't know," the woman stammered fearfully.

Hendrix, who had been walking forward, suddenly froze in place. Even his hand, poised to answer the call, stopped in midair.

For a moment, it felt like the blood in his veins had turned to ice-then came rushing backward in a dizzying surge.

He whipped his head around.