Chapter 16: The Price of Betrayal

Irene returned to the police station with the files and photos found in the orphanage secret room, full of hope. She firmly believed that these evidences were enough to bring the truth to light. The first thing she thought of was to give these evidences to her adoptive father, Carl, hoping that he could use his power to carry out an in - depth investigation of the case.

When she entered Carl's office, she found it in a mess. Files were scattered all over the floor, and Carl was nowhere to be found. A sense of foreboding welled up in her heart, and she began to look for Carl's whereabouts everywhere.

Just then, she received a call. The voice of Maria came from the other end of the phone. Maria's voice was trembling, full of guilt and fear. "Irene, I... I betrayed you. I told Hawk about your investigation results."

Irene was struck like a thunderbolt when she heard this. The files in her hand almost dropped. She couldn't believe her ears. Maria, who had always been regarded as her ally, had actually betrayed her. "Why? Maria, why did you do this?" Irene asked angrily.

Maria cried and said, "I... I had no choice. They threatened me. If I didn't do this, they would hurt my family." Irene felt extremely disappointed and angry. She never expected that her trust would be repaid with such betrayal.

But she didn't have time to immerse herself in such emotions. She knew that she had to find Carl and Hawk as soon as possible and stop their next actions. She quickly adjusted her state and began to re - organize the clues of the case.

She realized that Maria's betrayal might put the entire investigation in an even more dangerous situation. Hawk knew the progress of her investigation and was likely to destroy the evidence and even take action against her and other relevant people. She had to act quickly and find the key evidence before Hawk to bring him to justice.

At the same time, she also began to suspect whether there were other moles within the police station. Carl's disappearance and Maria's betrayal made her suspicious of everything around her. She decided to act alone from now on and not trust anyone easily.