Sweet Subterfuge novel by Trina Duo
Chapter 460

Aster's bruises not only showed no signs of fading but had darkened even further after a full day had passed. The two police officers were taken aback when they saw the bruises, revealing a mix of surprise and sympathy in their eyes.

"You gotta take his shirt off, so that we can snap some pictures," one of the police officers said to Larissa as he pulled out his phone.

Larissa helped Aster in removing his T-shirt and made him stand upright. The police officer circled around Aster, and the sound of the camera shutter clicking away could be heard.

"Yesterday, when I entered the room, I saw Ruby really going at it. She was kicking my son with all her might, trying to do him serious harm. I rushed over and pinned her down on the bed to stop her from putting up a fight. I never laid a hand on her throughout the whole ordeal. Obviously, I don't have any proof of that, though," Larissa explained. There was a hint of regret in her voice; she wished she had recorded everything. But her focus was solely on saving Aster in that urgent moment.

"Then, the hotel security came in and subdued her. She threw some nasty words my way. I couldn't hold back and slapped the shit out of her twice. Well, I don't think I can argue against it if she insists on labeling the slaps as 'intentional harm'," Larissa confessed candidly.

Her composed demeanor contrasted starkly with Ruby's craziness during her arrest. Moreover, she spoke with logic and politeness even when angry, unlike Ruby, who screamed and cursed at anyone. The police officers' opinion subtly leaned in Larissa's favor.

"Alright, we get the picture now. We'll inform you immediately if there are any developments in the case," they assured her and left shortly after.

After that, Larissa dressed Aster and held him tightly, showering him with affectionate kisses.

"Are you still hurting?" she asked with genuine concern.

He pouted and nodded slightly. When Larissa was not paying attention, his hand, which was hanging by his side, discreetly squeezed his own thigh with force, causing tears to well up in his eyes. Her heart ached upon seeing that, and her animosity toward Ruby deepened.

"Mommy, I want pizza for dinner tonight," he sniffled. Tears came polling in his eyes as he pitifully gazed at her.

"Sure!" she said without hesitation; she would move mountains for him in such circumstances, let alone buying him a mere pizza. He finally smiled upon hearing that. He embraced her neck and planted a series of moist kisses on her cheek, leaving behind a trail of saliva.

"Mommy, you're the best!" he exclaimed joyfully.

Larissa couldn't help but smile as she witnessed the happiness on her son's face. She gladly fell into his sweet trap even if she knew he did that intentionally. As long as he was happy, she would be happy too.

After they experienced the kidnapping incident, Larissa didn't dare leave Aster alone anywhere outside, not even in the hotel. When she attended a meeting in the afternoon, she even made sure to have a bodyguard stationed outside the office, ensuring that he would be with Aster wherever he went.

Nonetheless, Aster chose not to leave the office for fear that history would repeat itself. In fact, he had refrained from drinking too much throughout the day just to avoid using the bathroom.

After Larissa left, he quietly walked to the door and locked the office. He then turned around and sent a voice message to Kevan, asking, "Uncle Kevan, are you busy right now?"

At that moment, Kevan was indeed very swamped; "Galeforce" had been forced to launch earlier than planned, and the servers were overloaded. There was also a slew of negative reviews on the Internet- most of them coming from paid posters' accounts, which left similar comments.

"What a lousy game!"

"The game's quality is so darn low! It doesn't look like something produced by Microworks Corporation!"

"Is this the result after years of preparation? This shitty level?"