"Ryan, seriously, do you even know what you''re doing? Do you have any clue?!" Ryan''s eyes welled up instantly, and he was about to bolt when suddenly, the room was swarming with cops. They shed their badges and cuffed everyone there, including ra, just because she was present.


    Even in the police car, ra couldn''t take her eyes off Ryan. He sat across from her, staring at his feet, too scared to meet her gaze. ra kept her cool, but her silence only made Ryan more anxious. His hands were mmy, and he was at a loss for words until the car pulled into the station and the officers ushered them out.


    Everyone got checked out. ra was clean and got released, but Ryan wasn''t so lucky. Looking around at the crowd of young faces, ra suddenly grabbed a broom and struck Ryan hard. The broom snapped in two, and the others shrank back, terrified. Ryan didn''t dare fight back, just curled up on the floor.


    "ra, please, stop! I''m begging you." Watching her brother like this didn''t bring her any relief; it just broke her heart even more. She couldn''t figure out how things had spiraled so quickly in just a month. Tears streamed down her face as she kept hitting him with the broken stick. Ryan shielded his head, saying nothing, bruises forming everywhere.


    The police rushed in and pulled her away. "Ms. ra, please, calm down. These kids just turned eighteen. Luckily, they''re not involved in anything heavy like trafficking. We think they''ve been misled. Let us handle it; don''t hit anyone."


    ra''s anger cooled just a bit. Of course, Ryan might be a reckless kid, but he wouldn''t get into this unless someone led him astray. She took a deep breath and nudged him with her foot. "Speak up. Have you met anyone new, eaten anything weird? This isn''t from just once or twice unless someone''s been feeding it to you regrly. That person''s trying to mess you up. Now that the cops are here, you better spill."


    Ryan stayed curled up, refusing to talk. ra was so furious her whole body tingled. She crouched down and grabbed his hair, "Ryan, talk to me!" But when she forced his head up, his face was soaked with tears, hisshes wet, looking pitiful. ra wasn''t about to pity him. She pped him again, his cheeks swelling.


    "You''re crying? Do you even know how much trouble you''ve caused me?" Ryan pressed his lips together, his face so swollen his eyes were just slits. ra''s heart ached, but she had to draw the line somewhere.


    "Was it Greysen? Or someone else?" Greysen had been too quiettely; maybe he was up to something. But Ryan stayed silent, just crying softly. ra raised her hand again, ready to p him, when a cop said, "He''s passed out."


    ra hadn''t held back at all that night. She couldn''t let Ryan go down this path.