Chapter 486: The Engagement Party That Cannot Go On

Chapter 486: Chapter 486: The Engagement Party That Cannot Go On

Before the Dawsons could figure out what to do, Zoe Sawyer and Heath Hale approached them with their team.

"Zoe Dawson? We have a case that requires your cooperation. Please come with us," Heath Hale said, flashing his badge at the pale-faced young woman.

Mrs. Dawson forced a smile. "Officer, can we please talk about this later? This is a special day for our daughter. We can’t possibly disrupt it."

The groom’s parents came over as well, their faces tinged with concern. "Excuse me, has something happened?"

As they spoke, however, their gaze toward Zoe Dawson held a hidden layer of criticism and scrutiny.

Feeling their suspicious gaze, Zoe Dawson secretly gritted her teeth so hard they could have shattered.

She had finally, after so much effort, gotten the man beside her to agree to register their marriage. As soon as the engagement party was over, they were supposed to get their marriage license this week.

But of all the damn times for them to show up, the police had to come now!

Watching her carefully laid plans fall apart, Zoe Dawson fought to calm herself. ’The most important thing right now is to smooth this over.’ "Officer, just as my mother said, can we please talk about this later?

"Both our families spent a lot of money on this engagement party. We can’t just abandon it."

But she had barely finished speaking when, before Heath Hale could even respond, the groom’s mother chimed in. "It’s no problem at all. Cooperating with a police investigation is our civic duty. The party can wait; we can always reschedule it."

’I never liked this girl from the moment I met her,’ she thought, ’but there was no stopping my son once he’d made up his mind.’

’And just as I expected, during the engagement party negotiations, the Dawsons acted all friendly and easygoing on the surface, but in reality, they nitpicked every single detail. This wasn’t good enough, that wasn’t right...’

’I was already worried that a bad relationship between us would cause major problems, so I figured once the two of them were married, my husband and I would just move back into our old house to keep the peace.’

’But now, the police have shown up, and this Zoe Dawson is apparently a suspect in some kind of case.’

’This is fantastic news!’

’The longer we can drag this engagement out, the better. Maybe my son will finally come to his senses and break things off with her for good!’

Hearing her future mother-in-law’s words, Zoe Dawson clenched her fists in fury. ’I knew that old hag was up to no good! She’s just trying to get out of holding the engagement party so she’ll have an excuse to keep stalling!’

’No, I can’t let that old hag get what she wants!’

Heath Hale had no patience for their squabbling. He waved a hand, signaling the officers behind him to move forward and restrain Zoe Dawson. "We’re not negotiating with you. We’re informing you.

"Zoe Dawson, you will come with us to assist in the investigation concerning the human trafficking of your classmate, Mila!"

The moment he finished speaking, gasps of shock erupted from another part of the crowd.

Looking toward the sound, they saw a group of young women who looked utterly stunned by what Heath Hale had just said.

One of them even gripped her friend’s arm, her eyes fixed on Zoe Dawson in utter disbelief.

Before arriving, Zoe Sawyer and Heath Hale had reviewed Zoe Dawson’s class photo, and they quickly matched the girls’ faces to it.

Once they confirmed their identities, Evan Keller and Heath Hale turned their attention back to Zoe Dawson.

Zoe Dawson’s face was ashen. She knew it. The only thing that could bring the police to her door was what happened to Mila.

’And they’re so certain,’ she thought. ’They must have found evidence. This time... I’m really not getting away with it.’

At that thought, Zoe Dawson lost all will to resist. Her head slumped forward, and all the fight seemed to drain out of her.

The Dawsons looked frantic. They started to speak, but stopped when they saw the grim expressions on Zoe Sawyer and Heath Hale’s faces.

The words died on their lips. They could only shut their mouths, dejected, and watch their daughter being led away by the police.

As they were passing through one section of the hall, Zoe Sawyer caught sight of a man in a baseball cap out of the corner of her eye. He was hunched over his plate, eating.

He was shoveling food into his mouth, bite after bite, as if the surrounding commotion was nothing compared to the delicious meal before him.

A few other guests at nearby tables were just as focused on chowing down, so the man’s behavior didn’t seem particularly out of place.

But Zoe Sawyer’s eyes narrowed as she stared at the man’s wrist.

"What is it?" Heath Hale noticed her gaze, slowed his pace, and asked in a low voice.

"That guy in the baseball cap," Zoe Sawyer said quickly, relaying her discovery. "The scar on his wrist... it’s identical to the one on the trafficker who was working with Zoe Dawson."

Heath Hale’s gaze hardened. He shot a look at the other officers behind him, and in the next instant, four or five of them rushed toward the man in the baseball cap.

The crowd’s attention was already fixed on Zoe Sawyer’s group, and they cried out in alarm when they saw the officers suddenly move.

The man in the baseball cap, their target, had been surreptitiously watching the police. The moment he saw them charging toward him, he didn’t hesitate for a second, bolting straight for the banquet hall entrance.

The area was crowded with tables and chairs. As he ran, he knocked things over, trying to slow the pursuing officers.

Amid the chaos, the man in the baseball cap reached the entrance to the hall.

Seeing the doors just a few feet away, a triumphant smile spread across his face.

’Once I get out, I’ll be safe!’

But in the next instant, two officers appeared in the doorway, blocking his escape.

Those few seconds of delay were all it took for the pursuing officers to catch up. Together, they tackled the man and pinned him to the ground.

"Let me go! Let me go! What right do you have to arrest me?!" the man in the baseball cap struggled wildly, trying to break free from their grip.

"Why?" Heath Hale strode forward and grabbed the man by the collar. "You worked with Zoe Dawson to sell a young woman to a remote mountain village, and you have the nerve to ask why we’re arresting you?

"The victim has been rescued, so it’s time for you to be brought to justice."

The man had been clinging to a desperate hope that this was all a mistake. Hearing Heath Hale’s words, all the fight went out of him, and he went limp.

’I never should have been greedy enough to come for this free meal and the bonus Zoe Dawson promised,’ he thought miserably. ’Now look at me. The cops found me and caught me red-handed.’

With both suspects in custody, Zoe Sawyer and Heath Hale didn’t linger. They took the two of them away immediately.

After Zoe Sawyer and her team left, the buzz of conversation among the onlookers inside and outside the hall grew into a roar, all of it centered on Zoe Dawson being arrested for trafficking her own classmate.

The classmates Zoe Dawson had invited immediately pulled out their phones, frantically typing messages into their WhatsApp group chat.

The group chat, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly started buzzing nonstop with notifications. The shocking news drew even long-inactive members out of the woodwork.

The Dawsons, looking panicked, tried to follow and see what was happening, but they had barely taken a few steps before the groom’s parents blocked their path.

Zoe Dawson’s mother looked at the stone-faced woman standing before her—her daughter’s would-be mother-in-law—and struggled to force a smile.

"Perhaps we can talk about this some other time?" she said.