Inside the abandoned warehouse, Collin stood frozen in the middle of the dim hall, his mind racing as the police warnings echoed outside.
"Collin Ford! Step out with your hands raised!"
Officer Clent’s voice bood through the loudspeaker once again.
Collin slowly exhaled.
Surrender?
The very thought made a bitter smile tug at the corner of his lips.
"Not today," he muttered quietly.
His sharp eyes swept across the warehouse once more. The place looked like a trap now, but Collin had survived far worse situations than this.
And he had no intention of letting his story end inside a rusted building surrounded by police.
His gaze suddenly stopped on a stack of wooden crates near the back door.
An idea ford instantly.
Collin moved quickly but silently. He grabbed one of the loose tal rods lying on the ground and struck it against the crates with full force.
CRASH.
The loud noise echoed violently across the warehouse.
At the sa ti, he kicked a barrel toward the opposite corner.
BANG.
The chaos of sounds ricocheted through the empty space.
Outside, officers imdiately reacted.
"Movent inside!" one of them shouted.
"Back entrance! Move!"
As the footsteps rushed toward the rear of the building, Collin slipped toward the side exit he had deliberately left unnoticed.
He pushed the door open just enough to slide through.
Cold night air hit his face.
For a second, the outside looked clear.
Then—
"THERE!"
A flashlight beam snapped toward him.
"Suspect spotted!"
Collin cursed under his breath and bolted.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Officer Clent’s voice roared.
But Collin was already running.
His boots pounded against the rough ground as he sprinted past the warehouse and toward the dense forest behind it.
"After him!"
Flashlights sliced through the darkness as several officers began chasing him.
Collin didn’t look back.
Branches whipped against his face as he pushed through the trees, his lungs burning with every breath.
He had studied this area carefully when he first chose the hideout.
There was a narrow path through the forest.
If he could reach it, the police vehicles wouldn’t be able to follow.
"Spread out!" Clent ordered behind him. "Don’t let him disappear into the trees!"
The sound of boots crashing through the forest grew closer.
Collin’s heartbeat thundered in his ears.
He was fast.
But the police were everywhere.
Suddenly—
BANG.
A gunshot tore through the air.
Pain exploded in Collin’s leg.
"AAH!"
His body lurched forward as he crashed onto the ground, clutching his thigh.
Blood imdiately began soaking through his pants.
"Suspect hit!" an officer shouted.
Collin gritted his teeth, his entire body trembling from the shock of the bullet.
"Damn it..." he hissed.
Another voice echoed through the forest.
"Collin! Stay where you are!"
Officer Clent stepped forward slowly, his gun still raised.
"We don’t want to kill you," Clent called out firmly. "The shot was ant to stop you. You’re injured. Don’t make this worse."
Collin’s chest rose and fell rapidly as he pressed his hand against the wound.
The pain was blinding.
But sothing else burned stronger inside him.
Defiance.
He slowly pushed himself up despite the blood running down his leg.
Clent frowned.
"Don’t be stupid," he warned. "You can’t run with that injury."
For a brief mont, it looked like Collin might collapse.
Then suddenly—
He ran again.
"Damn it!" Clent shouted. "Move!"
The officers rushed after him once more.
Collin stumbled several tis as he forced his injured leg to move, each step sending sharp pain tearing through his body.
But he kept going.
The forest thinned ahead.
Then the trees suddenly opened.
Collin stopped.
In front of him stood a steep cliff.
Far below, dark water crashed violently against the rocks.
A dead end.
Behind him, the police finally caught up.
Flashlights illuminated the scene.
Officer Clent slowly approached, breathing heavily.
"It’s over, Collin," he said firmly. "There’s nowhere left to go."
The officers surrounded him cautiously.
Collin stood at the very edge of the cliff, blood dripping from his leg onto the rocky ground.
For a mont, no one spoke.
Clent lowered his gun slightly.
"Listen to ," he said. "You’re injured. Jumping from there will kill you."
Collin looked down at the raging water below.
Then he looked back at the officers.
To Clent’s surprise...
He started laughing.
Not a nervous laugh.
Not the laugh of a desperate man.
It was wild.
Almost fearless.
The officers exchanged uneasy glances.
Clent frowned.
"What’s so funny?"
Collin wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.
"You think this is over?" he said hoarsely.
Clent’s grip tightened on his weapon.
"You’re cornered."
Collin’s smile widened.
"No," he replied quietly.
"You are."
Before anyone could react—
Collin suddenly turned and threw himself off the cliff.
"COLLIN!" Clent shouted.
The officers rushed forward in shock.
For a split second, they saw his body disappear into the darkness below.
Then—
SPLASH.
The sound of water crashing echoed through the night.
The officers stared down at the raging river far beneath them.
Clent’s face hardened.
"Damn it..."
One of the younger officers spoke nervously.
"S-Sir... no one survives that fall."
Clent didn’t answer imdiately.
His eyes remained fixed on the violent waters below.
After a long silence, he finally spoke.
"Search teams at first light," he ordered coldly.
But deep down, even he knew.
Collin Ford had just made the kind of move that only the most desperate and dangerous n dared to make.
And whether he survived that fall or not...
This ga was far from over.
While Collin was being hunted down by the police, panic was slowly spreading inside the Bennett mansion.
Roseline paced restlessly across the room, her hands trembling as Norma’s words echoed again and again in her mind.
"I will withdraw the case," Norma had said calmly, her eyes cold and unwavering, "but only if you help bring Collin down."
Roseline clenched her fists, her breathing growing uneven.
She could still hear Norma’s voice as clearly as if the woman were standing right in front of her.
"Otherwise, be ready to face the world, Roseline," Norma had continued without a trace of hesitation. "Because even if you are willing to play dirty, I will not hesitate to strip every one of your sches from the past and expose them for everyone to see."
Roseline stopped walking.
A chill ran down her spine.
Norma was not bluffing.
She had seen the determination in her eyes.
And that was exactly what terrified Roseline the most.
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