chapter249

"Chief Byrne..."

Corbyn barely managed to get the words out before Officer Byrne's voice rang out, sharp and commanding. Cuff him. And I want every single officer here detained for questioning."

Corbyn's mind spun. He didn't even have time to react before the reality of those words hit him. Panic set in fast. "Chief Byrne, wait, what's going on? Why are you detaining our entire team?"

Officer Byrne fixed him with a steely glare. You really have the nerve to act clueless now? Corbyn, are you still pretending you don't know what this is about?"

Corbyn felt wronged, his voice rising. "Chief Byrne, I swear, I haven't done anything. I was just interrogating a suspect when you barged in and surrounded us. Why? What's happening?"

Officer Byrne clenched his jaw, clearly holding back his temper. He glanced at Lydia, who stood there completely unfazed, then faced Corbyn again. "You brought her in here against her will. Was that just so you could coerce a confession out of her?" He stepped forward, grabbing the confession form off the table. "Corbyn, what is this supposed to be? Do I have to spell it out for you? Stop standing there. Cuff him. If anyone resists, the charges will be worse."

He looked ready to explode. Corbyn was a disgrace to the badge.

Get that uniform off him. He doesn't deserve to wear it." Byrne's voice was ice cold. He still couldn't believe someone like Corbyn could exist in their department, dragging down the reputation of every officer who actually served the people.

Corbyn started shouting, desperate. "Chief Byrne, you've got it all wrong. I was just following orders. This was a task assigned to me from above. I didn't have a choice."

Officer Byrne forced himself to stay calm. He pulled out his phone and hit play on a video. On the screen, Corbyn's own face glared back at him, caught in the act of threatening Lydia.

"Take a good look. The whole thing's right here. Actually, the entire police network in the Capital has seen you threaten and intimidate her. This is how you act when you think ho one's watching.

Corbyn felt his legs go weak. This couldn't be happening.

"You... Who are you? How did you do this?" He grabbed the edge of the table,

staring at Lydia like he was seeing a ghost.

Officer Byrne let out a short, cold laugh. "Do you remember what was broadcast on

every big screen outside the malls three years ago?"

Corbyn's eyes went wide, the memory flooding back.

At

Three years ago, every public screen in the city had played horrifying footage from inside the world's biggest fraud and trafficking ring. first, people thought it was just another anti-scam PSA. Then they saw men with guns execute someone on camera, right there for everyone to see. People were locked in cages, tortured in ways no one wanted to believe were real. The footage ran for nearly three hours, from sunrise to sunset. It shook the whole city, caught the attention of every top official, and made everyone realize just how much danger was lurking around them.

After that, the government launched a secret operation. Three months later, they took down the entire syndicate thousands of victims, from all over the world, were rescued.

The person who made all that public, the one who exposed everything, was the legendary hacker known as L.

Every agency in the country tried to recruit L. Not a single one succeeded.

Corbyn stared at Lydia, completely in shock.

"She... she's L? The legendary hacker?"