Chapter 254: THERE’S NO VERSION WHERE SHEN ZIHAO CAN ESCAPE

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Liuxian closed his office door and pulled out his phone, scrolling until he found the contact he needed.

Jae picked up on the second ring. "Broski. Didn’t expect to hear from you this early."

"I need a favor." Liuxian kept his tone level, businesslike. "The Shen family. I need their backing stripped before we move on Shen Zihao, and I need your men ready for an arrest once we have everything in order."

"Finally." Jae’s easy tone sharpened immediately, all business now. "I’ll mobilize my men, have them stationed and ready the moment you give the signal. Do you need me there in person?"

"No." Liuxian glanced toward the window, watching the skyline stretch out below him. "I’ll be coordinating directly with the station head. Keep yourself out of the physical arrest itself. I just need your men ready to move the second I call."

"Understood. Ring me whenever you’re set, and we’ll be ready within the hour." A brief pause. "This the same family that’s been giving your spouse trouble?"

"The same." Liuxian’s voice hardened further. "And it ends soon."

"Then I’ll make sure my end doesn’t slow you down." Jae’s tone softened slightly, genuine concern slipping through the usual banter. "Take care of yourself too, alright? This kind of thing takes more out of a person than people realize."

"I will." Liuxian ended the call, already scrolling to his next contact before the conversation had fully settled.

The judge answered on the fourth ring, his voice carrying the particular weariness of someone constantly buried under case files.

"Liuxian. This better be important."

"It is." Liuxian didn’t waste time on pleasantries. "Shen Zihao’s case is coming together faster than expected. I need to know the Supreme People’s Court will handle this properly when it lands there, no delays, no quiet favors pulled by his family to slow things down."

"You know I can’t promise outcomes." The judge’s tone remained careful. "But I can promise it won’t be buried. If the evidence is as strong as you’re suggesting, it’ll move through the system the way it’s supposed to."

"That’s all I’m asking." Liuxian’s grip on the phone tightened slightly. "There is no version of this where Shen Zihao walks away untouched. I need the system to reflect that."

"Then bring me the evidence when it’s ready, and I’ll do my part." A pause. "This is personal for you, isn’t it?"

"It’s personal for someone I love." Liuxian’s voice dropped, quieter now. "That makes it personal for me too."

The judge said nothing further on that, simply promising to expect his call, and the line went quiet.

Liuxian set the phone down for a moment, considering Bai Feng next, though he stopped himself before dialing. Guiying knew him better, trusted him more directly through ORF. Better to let that call come from him instead, one less thing pulled through Liuxian’s own hands when it would land more naturally through Guiying’s.

He checked the time instead, calculating how much daylight remained before dinner, then pressed the intercom on his desk.

"Zhang Wei. My office, now."

Zhang Wei appeared within minutes, a tablet already tucked under his arm, closing the door behind him before crossing toward the desk.

"Status update." Liuxian gestured toward the chair across from him. "Thanks to Kong Siying, we have significantly more evidence than we did yesterday. I want everything organized and ready the moment Bai Feng agrees to take the case."

"Already compiling it." Zhang Wei set the tablet down, pulling up the file for him to see. "Give me another hour and it’ll be ready to hand off completely."

"Good." Liuxian scanned the screen briefly. "How are the Shens moving these days? Any unusual activity since Kong Siying’s escape?"

"Quiet, actually. Too quiet." Zhang Wei’s brow furrowed. "Our people haven’t picked up much movement from the parents, though that could mean they’re being careful rather than uninvolved."

"And Shen Zihao’s location? Still confirmed?"

"Still confirmed, as of this morning." Zhang Wei crossed his arms. "Our men have eyes on the property. Nothing’s changed since yesterday."

Liuxian exhaled slowly, some tension easing at that confirmation, though it didn’t fully settle the knot sitting in his chest.

"We need to move on Ren Hao before anything else." His voice hardened, urgency bleeding through the careful control he’d maintained through the last two calls. "Before Guiying gets any chance to see him in whatever state Shen Zihao’s left him in. I don’t think he’d be able to handle that, not after everything else piling up around him lately."

"I’ll push the timeline forward." Zhang Wei straightened, already reaching for his tablet again. "I’ll coordinate with the team monitoring the property, see how quickly we can move without compromising the arrest itself."

"Do it carefully." Liuxian rubbed at his temple, exhaustion catching up to him despite the adrenaline still running through his veins. "I’d rather move a day later and do this right than rush it and lose the evidence, or lose Ren Hao in the process."

"Understood, sir." Zhang Wei’s expression softened slightly. "We’ll get him out safely."

"Thank you." Liuxian nodded once, watching him head for the door, though he called after him before it closed fully.

"One more thing." Liuxian’s voice pulled him back. "Make sure whoever handles Ren Hao brings a doctor along, someone discreet. Whatever condition he’s in, I don’t want him waiting even an extra hour for care once we have him out."

"Already arranged." Zhang Wei paused at the threshold. "Doctor Gu volunteered the moment I mentioned it. Said he’d rather be on standby than find out later he could have helped and didn’t."

"Oh. That’s new for him." Liuxian’s mouth tightened into something that wasn’t quite a smile. "Tell him I owe him for this."

"He’ll probably come for that eventually." Zhang Wei allowed himself a small, tired smile of his own before finally stepping out, the door clicking shut behind him.

Once alone again, he turned back toward the window, staring out at the skyline stretching endlessly below.

Every call he’d made in the last hour had moved a single piece further into place, Jae’s men on standby, the judge ready to receive the case, Zhang Wei pushing the timeline forward on Ren Hao’s rescue. Nothing left now but the waiting, and the waiting had never once made him feel calm.

Liuxian’s jaw tightened, his reflection staring back at him in the glass, cold and certain.

Shen Zihao. You can’t escape me this time.