?Chapter 162:


    The officer sighed. “Alright, detain her for now.”


    He snapped his notebook shut and motioned for her to be taken away. The iron door groaned, and she was shoved into a cell.


    Three or four other women were already there, their skimpy outfits shing with the heavy makeup they wore. Their line of work was no mystery.


    Hadley pressed her lips together and settled into a corner.


    The women threw a few nces her way but made no effort to engage her.


    “When are they letting us out?” one of them grumbled with a yawn.


    “This is ridiculous. How are we supposed to make a buck like this?”


    “You’re still worried about cash? We should count ourselves lucky they’re not shipping us off to one of those reform programs. Those things drag on for months!”


    “Free food from the government isn’t too shabby though!”


    Hadley listened, a gnawing dread settling in her stomach.


    Was she headed toward the same fate? She had heard of those reform programs. Not quite prison, but still a cage. She couldn’t afford to get entangled in that.


    She hadn’t seen this messing.


    If only she hadn’t let that man slip away.


    After some time, an officer swung by, unlocked the door, and hauled two women out.


    “You two, let’s go.”


    “These two headed for White Lake?” the officer asked his colleague.


    “Yeah.”


    Hadley caught their hushed exchange and tightened her arms around herself. White Lake was where Srixby Prison stood.


    What was she supposed to do? Just sit here and wait for the walls to close in?


    Eric’s arrogant face shed through her mind… She shut her eyes for a second.


    Then, she stood up and moved to the iron door. “Officer! I need to call my family!”


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    They allowed her one call, and Hadley dialed Eric’s number.


    But it was Phillips who answered. “I will pass it along to Mr. Flynn.”


    “Alright, thank you.” She hung up and waited.


    No one came.


    Her phone had been confiscated when she was brought in, so she had lost all sense of time. Each second crawled by like an eternity. Would he truly note? It wouldn’t surprise her. Men like him didn’t take kindly to being defied.


    Just as she was about to resign herself to her fate, the iron door creaked open again.


    “Hadley Pearson?”


    Her head snapped up.


    “Your family is here. Come out.”


    Hadley jumped to her feet, her fists clenching unconsciously. For a split second, she felt an overwhelming urge to cry.


    Eric was waiting, sprawled in a chair as if the entire station belonged to him. As she walked toward him, a smirk yed at his lips.


    “You must have a real fondness for police stations. You haven’t been back long, and this is already your second visit.”


    Hadley ignored his jibe, stopping in front of him with her head slightly bowed.


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