Desperate Measures
“Are you sure?” asked Toby.
Sonia locked eyes with him before nodding. “Yes, it’s definitely her.”
“Who?” he questioned again.
Her hands were tightly clenched into fists. “It’s Anya Steinfield.”
“Her?” He was confounded as he had not expected her to suspect that woman.
It wasn’t that Toby didn’t believe in Sonia, but it was because he previously had done a background
check on Anya, who was just an ordinary orphan.
Was Anya fearless enough to commit a crime? Didn’t she know what kind of repercussions awaited her
once he got to the bottom of it?
“It must be her!” Ire filled Sonia’s eyes. “Actually, Anya and I were in the store. She liked my dress and
wanted it. She even asked me to let her have it, but I didn’t. She must be holding a grudge about it and
then ordered someone to snatch it, so I can’t have it either. Above all, she mentioned something about
me dreaming of getting the dress that she couldn’t have. So, she did something but failed in the end.
That’s why it’s possible that she planned everything that happened after I left the shop.”
“What?” Toby’s face tensed up immediately as he grabbed Sonia’s shoulders to gaze at her from head
to toe. “She picked on you in the store? Why didn’t you tell me?”
When she was still in the store, he gave her a call and even texted her! Yet, she had not texted a word
about her being bullied. He was greatly upset about this.
After looking at his displeased visage, she had a pretty good sense of what was going on in his mind
and let out a gentle smile while assuring him, “Didn’t I tell you that she’s just a small fry to me? I can
deal with her with ease. She said she wouldn’t let me off, but she failed. Instead, I made fun of her. I
didn’t inform you of anything because I’m completely fine. It’ll make me seem useless if I have to let
you know about such a trivial matter. Besides, you’re busy. I will never want to bother you with such
trivial matters. Do you understand?”
Toby lowered his gaze to the ground without uttering a word. He got it, but he couldn’t help feeling
upset.
Sonia sighed before holding his hand and placing it on her cheek to nuzzle it against his palm.
Only then did he smile and clear his throat. “I got it.”
So, he needs some comfort at times like this. What a ‘cold’ guy. Sonia shook her head helplessly.
Meanwhile, the officer behind them had witnessed the entirety of their affections and rolled his eyes.
Excuse me, but it’s a serious matter we’re talking about here. Behave, please.
However, he dared not blurt it out or bother the couple. Knowing that it was crunch time, they did not
cross the line either. So, they got serious again after the short affectionate moment.
Sonia put the man’s hand down and said, “Back at the store, she didn’t manage to harm me, but I
humiliated her instead. She must be resenting me for that, so it’s her for sure. Besides, the culprit used
the dress to get back at me. She’s the only person related to the dress.”
“So, do you know what you should do right now?” Toby looked at the officer with shrewd eyes.
The officer nodded. “Miss Reed has given us a lead. We’ll dispatch someone to call on Miss Steinfeld.
The both of you can stay here.”
“No need for that. Please take us to the robber,” urged Toby.
Sonia agreed as well, “Yeah, I wanna see him. I wanna make sure if the culprit is really her.”
The officer nodded as he looked at the resolute couple. “Alright. But he’s tight-lipped. You may come
out with nothing.”
Just as she wanted to say something, Toby suddenly took a step forward, standing right before her.
“That will be our business.”
In the end, the officer didn’t say much and took them to the interrogation room.
The officer gave them ten minutes. Since he was just adhering to the rules, Sonia had no opinion
against it, and she even thanked him with a smile.
After the officer had taken his leave, she turned toward Toby. “Why did you interrupt me?”
He reciprocated with a smile. “Because he said you may be unable to get the answers to your doubts. I
have an idea, which I can’t tell yet, though. That’s why I interrupted you so that he can bring us here
sooner.”
“You got an idea?” Sonia’s eyes lit up in anticipation. “What is it?”
However, he kept her in suspense. “You’ll know soon. Let’s head in first.”
After he said that, he opened the door and she didn’t insist further. Since he already mentioned that
she would know soon, asking further wouldn’t do anything. After she gave him a short hum in
response, she followed him into the room.
In the interrogation room, the lights were brightly lit in the criminal’s direction. But, even so, Sonia felt it
was glaring.
As her eyes squinted in discomfort, she barely saw the person sitting on the torture chair, putting up
with the blinding illumination.
It was the man who snatched the clothes while passing by her. The mere sight of him made her
hackles rise in an instant. “It’s him.” Toby narrowed his eyes at the guy.
Due to the lights, the guy was pressured into malaise, and his face was pale. Tottering on the seat, he
looked like he had lost his soul, moaning and whimpering soft and painful cries.
This was due to the light exposure.
This kind of light would only cause one to squint their eyes at the beginning. However, as time passed,
one would feel the rising emotional tension and his mentality gradually tensing up, resulting in a mental
breakdown in the end.
That was when the criminal would answer the questions truthfully. Hence, light exposure was
indispensable to the civil force whenever during interrogations.
At that moment, the robber was reaching his limits. Sonia noticed that and seized her chance to ask his
name and the culprit’s identity.
Still, as the officer had stated earlier, the robber was one tenacious man. His lips were tightly sealed
despite the excruciating discomfort.
His reaction made her irritable. In fact, his perseverance was indeed impressive. Yet, it was more
vexing because that meant he wouldn’t let the cat out of the bag regardless of the interrogation.
Toby saw Sonia’s infuriated face, turned his cold gaze at the criminal, and patted her shoulder. “Don’t
worry. Leave it to me. I got it.”
As she recalled his words before they entered the room, she nodded. “Okay. I’m counting on you.”
He gave her a smile and approached the robber. Then, he reached out his hand toward the robber’s
neck.
What happened at the very next second surprised Sonia. The robber’s body vibrated tremendously as
though electrical waves were passing through his body. The spasm of pain contorted his face as he
started yelping non-stop, “Stop! It hurts! Stop it!”
“W-What’s happening?” Sonia pointed at the guy who was in excruciating pain as she looked at Toby in
surprise. “What did you do? Why is he hurting like this?”
Toby smiled at her. “I learned it from one of my bodyguards. As you know, the Fuller Group is one huge
company. There are openings for spies and unforeseen imponderables. I have to interrogate them
whenever we catch them. Quite a number of them are tight-lipped. Dealing with this kind of person calls
for desperate measures, and pain is the best incentive for people like him.”
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