Chapter 1139

Hazel reacted in a flash. With a graceful pivot, she narrowly avoided the incoming projectile—a small stone—that whistled past her ear and smashed into the stone pillar behind her with a sharp crack. She straightened slowly, her expression unreadable. But her eyes—dark, fathomless, and glinting with frost—settled on the man who had just arrived with a contingent of subordinates. A faint, scornful smile tugged at her lips. "Well, if it isn’t Dennis himself," she said coolly, her voice laced with mocking amusement. "I must be quite the prized suspect to summon the clan leader’s shadow so personally." She took a step forward, her chin held high. "But tell me, Dennis—was it the phone call that ruffled your feathers? I was only doing you a favor. If someone truly stole from you, surely the police are the appropriate authority. Why all the hostility? Unless, of course… you’ve got something to hide?" As she spoke, the emergency call connected. Hazel didn’t falter. "Hello, officer. I’m at the