Nelson was done being nice to her. He had given her enough chances to make up her mind and come to him willingly, but the only thing that came back was her refusal.
And now, he waited for Cixi's response only to find the phone had gone dead. Cixi had disconnected the call the moment she heard him confirm he still possessed her deepfake video.
She looked at Marion, feeling dread. Her brain froze. Her thoughts were jumbled against one another like a crowd in a doorway, and none of them made it through.
Marion's mind, by contrast, raced. She had her qualms that many might have downloaded the deepfake video before Nelson's wife removed it, and among those who had, the sick horn-dog himself sat at the top of the list.
"I think we should go to the police." Marion was the first to break the ice."And file a complaint against Nelson. I am sure they will make him delete the video."
What Marion did not say out loud was the thought gnawing behind her words. Others might have the video too. Others she could not name or trace. But she swallowed that fear and kept it locked behind her teeth, because Cixi already looked ashen, and cold sweat had gathered at her temples in small beads that caught the sunlight filtering through the window.
Cixi was trying to assemble a brave face but was failing miserably. "Yes!" Her voice came out splintered. "We—we should do that."
Without wasting another second, Marion grabbed her house keys, her car keys, and her winter coat, and they both headed to the nearest police station.
*
Cixi's heart palpitated the moment they arrived. It reminded her of the days when she used to come to the police, again and again, asking if they had found the person who killed her parents. She had gone there for months to learn of any developments in the murder case. Then a year. And the answer was always the same.
'We are looking into it.'
And it was delivered to her with less conviction each time. Some officers even rolled their eyes the moment she walked through the door, as though her presence alone was an inconvenience. A few were kind to her for a different purpose altogether, and she had learned to recognise the difference between pity and hunger.
So she stopped going, giving up altogether. It seemed no one had any interest in uncovering the truth about the murder case involving two ordinary people.
Two years had passed since she last set foot inside a police station. And now here she was, at a different branch, for a different purpose.
Would they help her this time? She speculated.
Marion noticed the hints of hesitation and stiffness in Cixi's posture as she walked. She reached over and locked her hand around Cixi's arms to remind her she was there for her friend.
They entered the police station and walked straight to the receptionist, who was busy typing on her computer.
"Excuse me." Came Cixi's careful voice.
The receptionist kept typing for another second before her eyes flicked upward.
"Where can I file a complaint related to a deepfake video?" Cixi asked in a lowered tone so that the others in the station would not overhear.
With her passive expression, the receptionist simply pointed to the right. "That department handles cyber-related crime." And she returned to her screen, dismissing them.
Cixi and Marion followed the direction and found an open door on the right side of the corridor. Inside were many officers who sat behind their desks, busy attending to victims. Among them was an officer busy reading a stack of documents.
"Excuse me." Cixi walked directly toward him, and the officer's eyes flicked up to meet hers. They were red and swollen as if he had not slept for days and had stopped pretending he cared about concealing it.
"Yes, how may I help you?" came a mechanical-sounding response.
Without waiting for the officer's permission, she lowered herself into the chair across from his desk, a seat he forgot to offer, but she did not hold it against him. Her expectations of a police officer were lower anyway.
However, starting the sentence was its own battle. Her fingers fidgeted in her lap, twisting around each other. Her legs trembled beneath the desk as she tried to arrange the words in her head, tried to find a way to begin that would not make her sound small while filing a complaint about a crime committed against her.
Then Cixi looked up at Marion, and she gave her a single, intentional blink. 'I am here. Go ahead whenever you are ready.'
But the dilemma shattered before Cixi could act on it.
"Miss, I do not have the whole day." The officer looked frustrated now.
Cixi stared at him and held his gaze for a long time before she finally uttered the words to remind the officer of something important. "Do you think people who come to a police station do it for fun? That we want to spend our time here to entertain ourselves..."
"You would be surprised to know there are some freaks who do exactly that. "He countered without blinking. "Is your phone hacked? Has money gone missing from your account?" He asked the most obvious question.
Cixi shook her head. "No. Someone..." She hesitated again before talking. "Someone created a deepfake video." She couldn't elaborate further, but the officer understood. They did receive such complaints often, and the crime was multiplying faster than their department could handle. It was getting out of hand.
"Do you know who created it?" He reached for a notepad to write down the details.
"No, but I have my doubts." Cixi inhaled slowly, steadying herself. "But the reason I am here is that there is a man who has that video, and he is blackmailing me to visit him or else he will put it on the internet again."
"Again?! On the internet?!" The officer was caught off guard. Every trace of sleep vanished from his face. His posture instantly straightened. "What do you mean, again?"
Cixi explained everything to him from the beginning until the call with Nelson, and how he asked her to meet at the motel as the price for releasing her own paycheck.
"I want you to make him delete the video."
The officer's concerned gaze switched between Cixi and Marion before settling back on Cixi. "I can pay him a visit and make sure he deletes it." This time, he was careful about how he appeared. "But it is possible that he has a backup of it somewhere. And while you said the original post has been removed, you also need to understand something." He paused for a moment, deep in thought, which made Cixi feel uneasy. "If that video was out on the internet, even briefly, there is a chance that multiple people downloaded it. Even if it is not you in the recording, for them, it is... You."
Cixi's eyes widened in shock, the colour draining from her face. Marion cursed the officer silently for making her friend even more frightened.
"Look, Miss, let me make you feel a little better." He leaned back in his chair as though he were about to share friendly neighbourhood advice rather than address a victim of digital abuse. "There are many famous websites nowadays where women earn money by creating exclusive content for their fans. So, be at ease. It is nothing to worry about the way it used to be in the old days. These modern women live respectfully in society and are accepted by people. The adult videos are so common nowadays that it has even started to become common among minors. You do not have to feel any shame about it. And additionally, it's not you, if that's giving you a little peace of mind." He delivered this as though it were a compliment.
Cixi and Marion sat motionless. They were stunned... shocked, and thunderstruck by the officer's words.
The officer did not notice their reaction, or perhaps he noticed and simply did not care, because he continued without hesitation. "You should move out of your apartment, or at least not go there for a week or two. Let it sit empty. If anyone comes looking for you, they will assume it was the wrong address."
Marion placed her hand flat on his desk with a thud louder than she wanted, causing the officer's eyes to jump to her.
"Officer. We want him to never be able to blackmail her with that video, even though it is not her in it. If you would please help with this, we will be out of your way and let you work."
How complicated this had become, Marion thought. Even though it was not Cixi in the video, her face had been used, and she would be fearing every person who possessed that file...
Whoever had created it was evil. There was no softer word for it.
The officer said nothing more and registered the details on his computer. When he finished, he looked at Cixi.
"Once I deal with him, I will give you a call."
Cixi nodded, and both women rose from their chairs and turned toward the door, only to be halted by the officer's final warning.
"Be careful, Miss McLore. Single women or children with blonde hair, especially like yours, get kidnapped every day and are never found."
Marion side-glanced at him without turning her body. Her jaw locked, her fingers curling around her car keys.
A chill ran down Cixi's spine, but she said nothing. She pulled her jacket's hood over her golden hair, hiding it behind the fabric, and walked out.
"This is so messed up!" Cixi muttered under her breath. She had college to attend. But the question was: should she transfer to a different college or look for a full-time job?
While Cixi and Marion were driving to Cixi's apartment, Cassian's men were searching for her.