"Alright, let's go now."
Chloe's eyes widened, "W--What do you mean by that? You want to accompany me?"
"Obviously," Vernon replied. He released his embrace and grabbed the car key from the drawer. "I won't let you go alone. It's too dangerous."
"But your safety--"
"Yours is more important to me," Vernon said. He grabbed Chloe's wrist, pulled her to leave the penthouse, and went straight to the basement, where the car was parked.
Vernon asked Chloe the address that the 'officer' sent just now. He was relieved that it was an actual police department near Judith and Chelsea's apartment.
Vernon drove the car while Chloe sat next to him in silence. Chloe lowered her head, ashamed because she didn't expect Vernon to tag in.
She just thought that Vernon would allow her to leave alone. She'd use his car or at least grab Uber.
Vernon parked the car in front of the police department according to the officer's address, "Alright, let's go in," Vernon said decisively.
But Chloe held his wrist to stop him from getting out of the car.
"You should stay here, Vernon," Chloe said.
"Huh, why?"
"Because someone inside might recognize you. I don't want your life to be in danger because you got exposed to come with me."
"And I don't want your life to be in danger as well," Vernon clicked his tongue. "Why do you keep sacrificing yourself like this?"
"I--I'm not sacrificing myself. I just don't want all of your hard work to get wasted because of this...." Chloe tried to persuade him now. "Just stay here and let me check inside. Don't worry, it's a police station, Vincent won't be able to do anything here."
"..."
Vernon was contemplating for a while. He still wanted to tag in to protect her.
But she was right.
This was a police station full of legal officers. No matter how powerful and influential Vincent could be, he couldn't make a scene here.
"I will storm in if you don't text or call me after ten minutes, okay?" Vernon set up a rule. "Just inform me if you're alright inside, so I'll be rest assured."
Chloe nodded, "I understand. I'll text you immediately," she opened the car door and then gave Vernon a quick kiss on the cheek, "Don't worry too much about me, Vernon," she said before she closed the door and headed to the police department entrance.
Vernon paused after he got the sudden kiss on the cheek. He watched Chloe's back as she entered the building and rested his forehead on the steering wheel, "That image of you getting injured has been imprinted in my mind, Chloe. I cannot not worry about you."
**
Chloe went inside the building and checked in at the front desk, "Excuse me, I am Chloe Gray. I got a call from Officer Derek regarding my nephews."
The officer at the front desk understood instantly. She escorted Chloe to meet a middle-aged, tall, black man wearing a police uniform.
"Mrs. Gray?" Officer Derek asked.
Chloe nodded, "Where are my nephews? Are they safe? What happened?"
"Follow me," Officer Derek said.
Chloe followed the officer inside his office and pointed to a long sofa where four boys were huddled together. They were already sleeping except Aaron, still wide awake, guarding his little brothers.
"Aaron!" Chloe called his name spontaneously, relieved after knowing that Aaron and the other boys were safe.
"Aunt Chloe!"
Aaron felt that he had seen an angel who came down from heaven to save him. Truly, after a frightening night with his crazed mother, Aaron only had Aunt Chloe in mind. Because he thought at least he and his brothers wouldn't be completely abandoned as long as Aunt Chloe was here.
He wanted to get up and hug his Aunt and cry in her arms, but he was still huddled with his brothers and didn't want to wake them up.
Chloe rushed to them and hugged them all in one big embrace, "Oh god, I'm so glad that you're all alright!"
The other boys finally woke up when they felt a warm body embracing them.
"Umm..."
"Aunty?"
"It's Aunty!"
The boys hugged her and buried their faces inside Chloe's chest and arms. They were so terrified when their mother wanted to kill them. They thought their lives were doomed because they had nowhere to go after this. But their oldest bro assured them that Aunt Chloe wouldn't leave them alone.
Aunt was a good person and was always there when they needed her the most.
Thankfully, their big bro was right.
Aunt Chloe would never abandon them.
The boys, except Aaron, started hogging Aunt Chloe all for themselves. They wanted a sense of security and finally obtained it with their Aunt.
Meanwhile, Aaron only stared at Aunt Chloe. He wanted to hug her too, but he was the oldest and didn't want to cry in front of his little brothers.
Chloe noticed Aaron's reluctance and said, "Come here, my boy. You've been through a lot. You need a hug."
Aaron was hesitant at first.
But he finally opened his arm and then hugged his Aunt Chloe.
The warm and secure sensation hit him, waking him up from the nightmare of a lifetime.
Tears dripped from the corner of his eyes, and he started sobbing to release the emotion he had been holding for so long.
"I'm so scared, Aunty. I thought I would die...." Aaron murmured in between his sobs. "My Mommy... she is..." Aaron couldn't continue his word anymore. He felt too sad whenever he remembered about his mother and Gran.
Chloe's heart was aching when she heard his sobs. He was the oldest, so he must be the one who protected his little brothers. The officer hadn't told Chloe anything about what happened yet, but she could grasp it from the boy's reaction when meeting her.
Chelsea must've gone insane.
"Ssh... you're not going to die, nobody is going to die. I will protect you," Chloe assured the boys.
She tried to look dependable because the boys needed it most. But she was also unsure of how to care for these four boys without Vernon's permission.
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om