Chapter 7

"No matter what the Garcia family wants, you turn them down," Zoey said coldly. "I'm announcing my retirement."

"What? Retirement?!" Clover exclaimed. "There are some cases only you can handle."

"Others can do it too. I want to spend time with my family."

Rhea was probably the only family she had left now.

"Family? I thought you were an orphan? Is this just an excuse to leave the Iron Vanguards? Don't abandon me, Rose!"

Hearing Clover's fake crying, Zoey's lips curled up slightly.

"I'll never abandon you. The Iron Vanguards are like another family to me. I'm not leaving, just taking a break. My grandma is having surgery soon, and I need to be with her."

Clover knew Rose's personality well. "I feel like you're hiding something from me. If you really consider me family, let's face it together. The Iron Vanguards fear no one."

"I can handle it." With that, Zoey hung up the phone.

Clover didn't call back because she knew no matter how much she asked, Zoey wouldn't say anything.

No one could defeat Rose. She was always invincible.

At the medical school lecture, Zoey was inevitably the center of attention.

She pretended not to hear the whispers around her.

Dash seemed to have forgotten how he was humiliated last time, constantly trying to act like a clown in front of her, only to be ignored every time.

Before the lecture ended, Zoey left, but was followed by someone.

She stopped and turned around, annoyed.

The person caught up and introduced herself with a smile. "Ms. King, I'm Tamsin, an intern nurse."

"And?" Zoey wouldn't have responded if she hadn't sensed that there was no ill intent from this person.

"You looked so cool dissecting that body and studying the organs. I want to learn from you." Tamsin grinned.

Zoey frowned. "Where did you see that?"

"Online! Everyone calls you the Butcher!" Tamsin's eyes were full of admiration.

Zoey picked up her phone and saw several accounts had posted videos of her previous dissections at the medical school.

Ninety percent of the comments called her cruel, and some even mentioned the incident from two years ago, accusing her of being a murderer.

"These people don't know the truth. You were clearly researching the cause of the disease to treat more people."

Zoey glanced at her. "Tamsin, it's safer for you to stay away from me at the medical school."

"I'm not afraid!" Tamsin straightened her back. "My grandpa always said to stick to what's right."

Zoey was taken aback.

Tamsin's stubborn expression inexplicably reminded her of her younger self.

"Suit yourself," she said finally, but slowed her pace as she turned away.

Tamsin followed with small steps, trying to cheer Zoey up with jokes, but Zoey remained indifferent and cold.

Even so, Tamsin continued to follow her.

"Dash, someone wants to cozy up to Zoey. Is she crazy?" someone mocked from the second floor, watching the interaction below.

Dash sneered. "Find out who that woman is and warn her to stay away from Zoey, or we'll deal with her too."

He wanted Zoey to be ostracized at the medical school, to crawl out of Emerald City in tears.

"Don't worry, Dash. I'll teach her a lesson. Of all people, she had to like Zoey, the murderer?"

In the afternoon practical class, they were practicing CPR.

Zoey was scheduled to go last, practicing on a mannequin. Tamsin was scheduled to go first, acting as a body for the other interns to practice CPR on.

As soon as she lay down and closed her eyes, one of the guys groped her chest.

Tamsin screamed, covering her chest and sitting up, her face flushed and pale.

"What's the big deal? I just accidentally touched you," the guy laughed.

Tamsin was on the verge of tears, while the others watched the scene unfold. Zoey stepped forward and pulled Tamsin up, shielding her from view.

"Which hand touched her?" Zoey's cold eyes fixed on the guy.

All the laughter stopped.

Tamsin felt less upset now that Zoey was holding her hand. Why didn't these people like someone as good as Zoey?

It didn't matter. If no one else liked Zoey, she would. She just hadn't expected to become a target for these people.

"Zoey, don't fight," Tamsin urged, thinking they were trying to provoke Zoey.

The guy who groped Tamsin avoided Zoey's gaze, but stubbornly said, "It's inevitable to touch the chest during CPR. What's she so scared of? You want to hit me?"

Zoey stared at him expressionlessly. "Apologize to Tamsin."

"What's there to apologize for?" the guy laughed, unrepentant.

Zoey's eyes turned cold, and she stepped forward, dislocating his left hand.

The guy clutched his arm, screaming, "Zoey, you lunatic!"

"Didn't I just touch you a bit? Is it worth getting so worked up over?" Zoey chuckled.

Everyone looked at Zoey in fear, except for Tamsin, who clapped excitedly. "So cool!"

She knew her taste in people wasn't wrong.

No one dared to provoke Zoey anymore. Who knew when she might suddenly strike?

She was incredibly fast. The guy didn't even have time to react before his left hand was dislocated.

Dash, hiding behind others, was also scared. He remembered the fear Zoey had instilled in him.

He went to a corner to make a call.

"Mrs. Ramos, Lon's hand was broken by Zoey King. You need to come to the school right away."

Ten minutes later, Eloise Ramos stormed into the medical school, crying in the teacher's office.

"Mr. Graves, Lon never causes trouble, and now a girl broke his arm. How am I supposed to deal with this? Why does your medical school admit such violent people? If you don't punish her, I'll make sure the Nexus School of Medicine is all over the news!"

Hugo Graves tried to calm her down.

"Mrs. Ramos, please calm down. I promise I'll get to the bottom of this."

"I want answers now! Lon is in so much pain, and he can't even fix his own bone. How is that fair?"

Seeing that Eloise wouldn't listen, Hugo turned to Lon Ramos.

"Lon, everyone was in the practical class. Who did you have a conflict with?"

"It was Zoey, the murderer. She killed so many people two years ago, and now she's shamelessly staying here. Mr. Graves, you have to expel her!" Lon's face was pale.

Hugo frowned.

"Zoey is not a murderer. The police have already clarified that it was a misunderstanding two years ago. I need to know what happened here."

Regardless of Zoey's abilities, the fact that she had Alexander's favor was significant. He couldn't wrongfully accuse her.

"Mr. Graves, are you trying to cover for that murderer? If you don't expel Zoey, I'll take this to the principal and the education board!" Eloise shouted.

As she finished speaking, Zoey walked in.

Lon, looking fearful, hid behind Eloise.

"Zoey, tell us what happened with Lon's hand."

"He sexually harassed Tamsin."

Zoey's words left everyone in the office shocked.

Hugo, recovering from his surprise, asked for details.

"What do you mean by sexual harassment? I need to speak with Tamsin alone."

"No need. He was being a creep and annoyed me, so I taught him a lesson," Zoey said indifferently.

She should have dislocated both his hands earlier. She was still too gentle.