66: Chapter 66 Police Intervene and Liu Family is Subdued
The morning sun had just crested the ornate iron railings of the Liu family villa when three police cars pulled up to the entrance.
Qin Xue stepped out of the car, clutching her body-worn camera, followed by two colleagues; Zhang Fan, Zhou Yurou, and Gu Jingshen stood outside the police cordon, their eyes filled with anxiety.
It had been exactly eight hours since the system alerted them that Liu Ruyan had been kidnapped.
The vermilion gate of the villa creaked open, and Zhang Ma, dressed in a black maid's uniform, poked her head out. Seeing the police uniforms, she instantly panicked: "Who... who are you looking for?"
"We are officers from the University Town Police Station, here on official business."
Qin Xue displayed her badge on her chest. In the photo, her eyes were sharp, looking even more stern than in person. "We received a report that Ms. Liu Ruyan was forcibly taken away last night. It is a suspected kidnapping, and we need to inquire with the Liu family."
Zhang Ma tried to stop them, but Liu Mingxuan had already walked out from the living room. Wearing grey loungewear, he couldn't hide the panic in his eyes.
Seeing Zhang Fan and the others at the door, his face darkened instantly: "Why are you here with the police? Trying to trespass? Let me tell you, this is a private residence. Take one more step, and I will sue you for trespassing!"
Gu Jingshen was so angry he wanted to rush forward, but Qin Xue held him back with her hand: "Sir, we are performing our official duties according to the law. Please cooperate."
She stepped past Liu Mingxuan and walked straight into the living room, her gaze sweeping quickly across the room—the European-style chandelier was on, an uncleaned red wine glass sat on the coffee table, and a faint scent of perfume drifted in the air, but there was no sign of Liu Ruyan.
Liu Zhengguo and Zhao Lan walked down from the second floor. Liu Zhengguo was wearing silk pajamas, toying with walnut stress balls in his hand, his tone full of arrogance: "Officer Qin, what brings you to my Liu family home? My Liu family is, after all, a shareholder in a listed company; it's not a place where just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can come knocking."
"Mr. Liu," Qin Xue took out her notebook, the tip of her pen hovering over the paper. "We received a report that Ms. Liu Ruyan was forcibly taken away near the University Town last night. Due to the suspected kidnapping, we are here for a routine inquiry. Please cooperate now and explain the whereabouts of Liu Ruyan."
Liu Mingxuan retorted immediately: "Nonsense! Doesn't a missing person report require 24 hours to pass? You police are here to investigate my home based on someone's word? I suspect you've been bribed to come and cause trouble!"
Qin Xue looked up at him, her eyes as cold as ice: "It seems you watch a lot of movies and TV shows, but I must correct you—'you must wait 24 hours to report a missing person' is a rumor. Public security organs have never had such a regulation. For cases of suspected kidnapping or restriction of personal freedom, we will accept the case immediately. This is a duty granted to us by law, and it is also to ensure the personal safety of citizens."
She paused, her tone deepening: "Now, I will ask again: where is Liu Ruyan?"
The young officer next to her quietly tugged at Qin Xue's arm and lowered his voice: "Xiao Xue, the Liu family has some connections in Jiangcheng. If we don't have evidence, don't go head-to-head with them."
The young officer knew that Qin Xue had only recently been transferred to the Police Station and probably didn't know that although the Liu family was down on their luck now, they had extensive connections in the business world in their early years and were not an ordinary family, so he specifically reminded her.
Qin Xue nodded to the young officer, and her gaze fell back onto Zhao Lan.
Zhao Lan's fingers were tightly clutching her skirt, her eyes darting away. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but she was glared at fiercely by Liu Zhengguo and instantly lowered her head, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Officer Qin," Liu Zhengguo placed the walnut stress balls on the coffee table with a "click." "My daughter, Liu Ruyan, went out with friends last night and just hasn't returned home yet. That doesn't count as kidnapping. If you have nothing else, please leave; don't interfere with our family affairs."
"Friends?" Qin Xue raised an eyebrow. "May I ask which friend? What is their contact information? We need to verify this."
Liu Mingxuan stepped forward, blocking Liu Zhengguo: "Officer, this is our family business; there's no need to report to you one by one, right? If you don't have a search warrant, please leave, or we will sue you for illegal search!"
Watching the reactions of the three members of the Liu family, Qin Xue had already formed a judgment—Liu Ruyan must be in the villa; they were just deliberately hiding it.
But without a search warrant, she really couldn't force a search. If the Liu family bit back, she wouldn't be able to save Liu Ruyan and would get herself into trouble.
Just then, Zhou Yurou suddenly walked in from the entrance, holding her phone up with the location interface on the screen: "Officer Qin, this is Liu Ruyan's phone location. It shows she is within 50 meters of the Liu family villa!"
It turned out that both Liu Ruyan and Zhou Yurou used Dami phones. Previously, fearing that it wasn't safe for Liu Ruyan to live alone, Zhou Yurou had specifically enabled the "Family Guardian" feature for her, which allowed real-time tracking of the other person's location.
This morning, upon discovering that Liu Ruyan hadn't gone to work, Zhou Yurou opened the location tracker and saw that her position had remained at the Liu family villa without moving.
Qin Xue took the phone, and the location's red dot clearly showed it was in the second-floor area of the Liu family villa.
She looked up at Liu Mingxuan, her tone carrying an unquestionable sense of oppression: "Mr. Liu, please confirm again—is Liu Ruyan in the Liu family home or not?"
She raised her body-worn camera, pointing the lens at Liu Mingxuan's face: "I must remind you that kidnapping and illegal restriction of personal freedom are criminal cases, punishable by up to ten years or more of imprisonment. If you cooperate voluntarily now and hand over Liu Ruyan, we can consider leniency at our discretion; but if you continue to hide it, once verified, you will bear the consequences."
Liu Mingxuan's face turned pale instantly, his lips trembling, but he couldn't say a word.
Footsteps suddenly came from the stairs. Liu Mengqi, wearing a pink nightgown, looked down from the second floor while holding the railing. Seeing the police, a flash of panic crossed her eyes, but she immediately regained her composure: "Brother, Mom, Dad, what happened? Why are there police in the house?"
"Mengqi, why did you come down?" Liu Mingxuan quickly changed the subject. "It's nothing. The officers are just here to ask about the situation and will be leaving soon."
Qin Xue's gaze fell on Liu Mengqi. "Miss, did you see Ms. Liu Ruyan last night?"
Liu Mengqi's eyes flickered, and she subconsciously took a step back: "No... I haven't seen her. I went to sleep very early last night and don't know if she came back."
"Is that so?" Qin Xue took two steps forward and looked up at the second floor. "Since the Liu family says Liu Ruyan is not home, could you please cooperate and let us check the villa? After all, the location shows she is nearby. In case she is accidentally trapped somewhere, we can rescue her in time."
Liu Zhengguo's expression changed drastically, and he stood up abruptly: "No! Without a search warrant, no one can enter the second floor! This is my private domain. If you dare to force a search, I will file a complaint with your bureau chief!"
"Mr. Liu," Qin Xue took out her phone, dialed the director's number, and pressed the speaker button. "Director Li, this is Qin Xue. I am currently at the Liu family villa. The reporter has provided Liu Ruyan's phone location, which shows she is inside the villa, but the Liu family refuses to cooperate with a search. I am requesting support and applying for an emergency search warrant."
The voice of Director Li came from the other end: "Qin Xue, stabilize the situation first. I will contact the Legal Department immediately to apply for an emergency search warrant and send support. They will arrive within ten minutes!"
Upon hearing "emergency search warrant," Liu Zhengguo's face instantly collapsed—he knew that an emergency search warrant was for situations where there might be a risk to personal safety. Once approved, the police could legally search the villa, and the fact that Liu Ruyan was hidden on the second floor would no longer be hidden.
Zhao Lan suddenly burst into tears and threw herself into Liu Zhengguo's arms: "Old Liu, stop being stubborn, let Ruyan go! This is illegal; we will go to jail!"
"Shut up!" Liu Zhengguo pushed her away, his eyes full of ruthlessness. "The Liu family cannot fall! As long as we marry Ruyan off to the Lin family and get the investment, we can turn things around!"
Liu Mingxuan looked at his mother crying her heart out, then at the body-worn camera in Qin Xue's hand, and finally felt panicked.
Although he wanted the Liu family to turn things around, he didn't want to go to jail.
Just then, the siren of a police car came from outside; the supporting police had arrived.
Qin Xue stood up and said to the three members of the Liu family: "Mr. Liu, Ms. Liu, Mr. Liu, please cooperate now and do not obstruct us from performing our official duties. Otherwise, we will take mandatory measures against you according to the law for obstruction of justice."
Liu Zhengguo tried to resist, but his shoulders were pressed down by two police officers.
Qin Xue led the people up to the second floor. Just as they reached the stairs, they heard a faint tapping sound coming from a bedroom.
She kicked the door open and saw Liu Ruyan tied to a chair, with tape over her mouth and red marks on her wrists from the rope. When she saw the police, tears instantly fell from her eyes.
"Ruyan!" Zhou Yurou and Zhang Fan rushed in and untied the ropes on her.
Liu Ruyan threw herself into Zhou Yurou's arms, her voice hoarse: "Sister Zhou, I was so scared... They forced me to wear a wedding dress and said they were going to take me to meet the people from the Lin family..."
Qin Xue took out handcuffs and walked up to Liu Zhengguo: "Liu Zhengguo, Liu Mingxuan, you are suspected of kidnapping and illegal restriction of personal freedom. We are now placing you under criminal detention in accordance with the law."
The handcuffs clicked onto Liu Zhengguo's wrists, and he suddenly struggled like a madman: "I did nothing wrong! I did it for the Liu family! Liu Ruyan is my daughter; she should sacrifice herself for the Liu family!"
Zhao Lan slumped on the floor, watching her husband and son being taken away by the police, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.
Liu Mengqi stood at the door, watching all this, her eyes filled with complexity.
The Liu family had fallen; her status as a young lady was gone, and Fu Chengyu couldn't marry her. What should she do in the future?
Gu Jingshen walked up to Qin Xue and handed her a bottle of water: "Officer Qin, thank you for today. I didn't expect you to be so reliable, even though you look fierce."
Qin Xue took the water and glared at him crossly: "Stop with the glib talk! If you dare to cause a scene at a crime scene again, I'll detain you for three days first and let you study the 'People's Police Law'!"
Gu Jingshen waved his hands with a smile: "I wouldn't dare. By the way, Officer Qin, do you have a boyfriend? I think we're quite a good match..."
"Get lost!" Qin Xue turned and walked away, but her ears had quietly turned red.
Sunlight shone through the bedroom window and fell on Liu Ruyan. Zhou Yurou helped her wipe away her tears, and Zhang Fan handed her a jacket: "It's okay now. We're taking you home."
Liu Ruyan nodded. Looking at the Liu family members being taken into the police cars outside the window, she suddenly felt relieved—the "home" that had troubled her for so many years had finally completely vanished, and at Singularity Technology, she had found a sanctuary that truly belonged to her.