She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 879

During the ride, Giselle called her lawyer, ensuring he would meet her there.

By the time she walked into the precinct, Hank was already in an interrogation room. The officer at the front desk held up a hand. "Ma'am, you can't go back there."

"I'm the victim of the incident," Giselle stated, her voice raspy but firm. "The man who was beaten—he tried to sexually assault me. My... my friend only stepped in to protect me."

"Ma'am," the officer interrupted, his tone strictly bureaucratic. "We've been briefed on the situation. The injured party has been rushed to the ER. Once the medical report is filed, we will investigate the assault allegations. However, your friend nearly beating a man to death is an entirely separate legal matter. The law doesn't just cancel one out because of the other."

Giselle took a deep breath. She knew Hank had crossed a line, and she knew that if she sat back and did nothing, his people would make a phone call to someone high up in the department.

Alfie would be silenced. The police reports would vanish into thin air. Hank would stroll out the back door without so much as a smudge on his permanent record.

But she refused to let him manipulate her world again. She didn't want him playing savior so he could use it as leverage to force his way back into her life.

At least, she foolishly believed handling it herself would keep him at bay.

"I have an attorney," she said steadily. "He's on his way. I want to see my friend before he gets here."

The officer eyed her, trying to gauge her status. "Your lawyer can come back, but you can't see the suspect until counsel arrives. Standard procedure."

Giselle bit the inside of her cheek and sat down to wait.

Her lawyer arrived faster than expected. Mr. Ford was in his early thirties, dressed in a sharp suit and carrying a leather briefcase. They had met during one of her travels. He primarily handled civil cases, but he was incredibly thorough.

"Giselle," Mr. Ford said, taking a seat beside her and glancing toward the interrogation wing. "I reviewed the preliminary details on the way over. Your friend inflicted severe injuries. Based on local penal codes, that easily constitutes aggravated assault. If we can prove it was self-defense, we have an angle."

Giselle nodded quickly. "He only did it to stop Alfie from assaulting me."

"Is there surveillance footage inside the apartment?"

"No, but my daughter—"

She looked toward the front doors; Gigi was still asleep in the car outside.

Mr. Ford was quiet for a moment.

"If a judge allows the child's testimony, we might be able to argue excessive force in defense of another," he said, closing his notebook. "Let me go speak with the arresting officers."

Twenty minutes later, he returned, his expression grim.

"They're saying that for a self-defense or defense-of-others claim to hold water, the threat has to be active. By the time your friend kicked the door in, the immediate physical assault had allegedly ceased. Legally speaking, continuing to beat the man after the fact isn't defense—it's retaliation."

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