Her father looked at her with his gloomy eyes. The saggy bags under his eyes marked his old age, possibly exacerbated by stress and frequent crying due to loneliness. His deep manly voice had faded but was still as sweet as Mandy could remember.
"My little girl, why are you crying? I'm fine. Don't be sad," Stanley said, calmly. "Please don't cry." In an effort to convince her, he projected his genuine smile, which emphasized his wrinkles.
"Dad, this is all my fault. You suffered a lot because of me. What happened to your face?" Mandy asked with so much worry. Her conscience was firing her with guilt at the thought that her father was spending the night in the police office at an old age. She felt very uncomfortable at the sight of her father's appalling situation.
"No, don't say that. My child is great. She is a good doctor and would do her part to save more people in the future. Don't worry about my face. I accidentally fell in the bathroom last night, so I got some bruises. It doesn't hurt, though," Stanley said without losing his smile. He did not show any sign of exhaustion or negative emotion that would make his daughter feel bad.
Mandy's parents had wanted her to be a pianist. With an innate talent, she had learned fast and was more advanced than others. She was a natural. However, Mandy had wanted a different path, so she did not follow her parents. Now, she felt a little regret for her disobedience.
"No, Dad. It's my fault. I won't let you suffer anymore." Tears streamed down her face again. She could only wish to replace her father in the police station.
Stanley was about to say something when the sound suddenly stopped. Time was up for the phone call. Not long after, the officers arrived and took him away.
The awful scene made Mandy lose her senses. Her palms and face were on the glass wall with her tears smudging it as she cried hysterically, calling her father.
In the monitoring room, Nathan had been silently watching the scene on the big screen. It was frozen at that moment. Beside him was the big fat chief of the police station. Nathan's presence made the chief more nervous than the prisoners.
'Mandy Zhou, it's painful, right? But this is just the beginning!' Nathan thought to himself. He thought as highly of himself as a king and expected to be treated as such. Being entitled, he was known to be arrogant and frightening. With such a reputation, no one dared to talk or even get close to him.
"What's the man accused of?" Nathan asked with deep curiosity. He wasn't sure how to feel about what he saw, but he intended to know the details of the case.
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