Chapter 2: The Girl on the Rooftop (2)
2004 Words
Adrian lowered his eyes to the schoolyard below, where a crowd of people stood, craning their necks to look up. A sigh escaped his throat as he softly recited two lines of poetry,
“The rose was blamed for growing bright,
Not the one who tore her from the light,” sau đó anh quay đầu nhìn sang Natalie. He then turned his head toward Natalie. “The ones who hurt you are the ones at fault. Being beautiful is not a sin, Natalie.”
Adrian's voice was soothing, not too deep, yet warm and soft like the early spring breeze, carrying with it a gentleness that made people unconsciously sink into it.
Natalie choked up, tears streaming down her face along with Adrian's words.
“So what if they're guilty?” she whispered, her voice trembling. “The worst they'll face is a few years in juvenile detention. Meanwhile… my whole life has been completely destroyed by them.”
“No, you’re only fifteen. Your future is still long, how can you say it’s been destroyed?”
“My future?” Natalie’s voice broke. “What future do I have left? They don’t care whether I’m a victim or not! All they care about is how ruined I am, how easy I am, that anyone can sleep with me, that they can just go online and see my filthy, degrading images everywhere!”
Her last words dissolved into sobs. She was on the verge of losing control, her emotions spiraling beyond reason.
Out on the rooftop, everyone’s nerves were stretched taut like violin strings. Natalie’s willingness to respond to the negotiator was a good sign. But her volatile, emotional state also meant that any moment could spiral beyond control.
Adrian noticed that too, but oddly, he didn’t seem the least bit concerned. Instead, his voice remained calm as he asked softly,
“Do you want to start over?”
Natalie fell silent for a moment, turning to look at Adrian as if trying to confirm what she had just heard.
Not letting her wait long, Adrian quickly explained,
“What I mean is, do you want a completely new life? In a faraway place, with a new name, a new identity, even a new face if you want? A place where no one knows what you’ve been through, where you can go back to being the smart, beautiful girl everyone admires and loves.”
The future Adrian painted was so tempting that for a brief moment, Natalie found herself lost in the fantasy. But only a few seconds passed before she let out a bitter, mocking laugh.
“Changed the script already? You’re not going to tell me to be brave and face reality anymore?”
Adrian raised an eyebrow, an amused look appearing on his face.
“And which i***t told you that?”
Natalie turned her head toward the tall police officer standing in the middle of the rooftop. She didn’t say a word, but the look in her eyes said it all.
Immediately, everyone’s gaze shifted to Alex, following Natalie’s line of sight.
Unwittingly becoming the "i***t" in Adrian's words, Alex cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to hide his embarrassment.
Adrian, however, saw nothing wrong with what he had said. Rushing in front of a girl so broken that she'd rather die to escape reality, then telling her, “You should be strong,” “You have to bravely face life”, anyone who could actually say something like that was either waterlogged in the head or born an i***t.
Adrian still maintained a gentle attitude, patiently guiding Natalie back to the main topic.
“You can choose to be strong and overcome your harsh fate, or you can choose to let go of all the burdens and start over completely. Natalie, you have many choices. You’ve never truly been trapped the way you think you have.”
“You make it sound like starting a new life is so easy,” she scoffed, but her eyes were filled with pain and despair.
Adrian looked at her and slowly said,
“It is easy, Natalie. In this world, the problems that money can’t solve, well, they can usually be solved with a lot more money. I can show you the way. Do you want to know what it is?”
Natalie didn’t respond, but Adrian could tell she was listening carefully.
He stood up, one hand casually slipping into the pocket of his tailored trousers, then slowly began walking along the edge of the rooftop, making his way toward Natalie. His posture was relaxed, his expression calm, and every step he took carried the steady confidence and elegance of a refined gentleman, as if beneath his feet was a runway, not the open air hanging 65 feet above the ground.
Everyone held their breath, watching Adrian’s reckless behavior. Alex furrowed his brows tightly, not daring to miss a single detail on either Adrian’s or Natalie’s face.
At that moment, Adrian spoke,
“Natalie, testify against them for their crimes. Take the compensation money and move somewhere far away. You can change your name, get plastic surgery. Even if you want, I can help you find a specialist to hypnotize you and erase the memories you don’t want to carry anymore. You can still go back to school, get into a prestigious university, and live the brilliant life you deserve.”
As Adrian finished speaking, he happened to reach Natalie.
The future he painted sounded far too tempting, and Natalie was genuinely swayed. She was still young, and everything she'd endured so far had been far beyond what her fragile heart could handle. Perhaps, once she was older, she'd be strong enough to face it all. But right now, the only thing she wanted was to escape this reality, to erase the stain that had tainted her life.
Yet deep down, she still felt unwilling to accept it all.
“What about them?” she asked, her voice trembling. “They destroyed my life.”
“The law will bring you justice,” Adrian replied calmly.
Natalie scoffed, her expression dripping with disbelief.
“They’re fifteen years old. What do you think the court will really do to them?”
Just thinking about the humiliation and the physical and emotional pain they had inflicted on her made Natalie want to tear them apart, piece by piece. But those bullies were still protected under juvenile law, and worse, they all came from powerful, influential families, families that could afford the best lawyers in America to defend them.
Natalie knew that even if she took this to court, at most, those people would spend a few years in juvenile detention. Meanwhile, the victim would spend a lifetime drowning in the scars they left behind.
Adrian looked at Natalie, his eyes soft, filled with concern and quiet worry.
He leaned in, lowering his head, his voice barely above a whisper, meant for her ears only.
“Natalie, life has never been fair. If you want justice for what they did to you, the first thing you need is to be able to stand on equal ground with them.”
She looked up at him, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. She hadn’t expected him to speak such a cruel truth right to her face. Wasn’t he worried that his words might push her over the edge, that they might break her completely and drive her to jump?
But before Natalie could say anything, Adrian continued,
“You’re still young, Natalie. You’re smart, beautiful, and your future is limitless. Whatever you want to do, whether it’s leaving the past behind, facing it head-on, or getting revenge on those who hurt you, the very first thing you need is to survive.”
Natalie clenched her fists tightly. Adrian's words had ignited a burning hatred deep inside her. She had stepped onto this rooftop out of despair for the future, out of frustration with her own weakness and helplessness, because she knew, no matter how hard she fought, she could never win against those drowning in power and influence.
But Adrian had shown her a way out. He had painted her a future and given her a clear goal to strive for.
Adrian looked into her eyes, his voice gentle, almost coaxing.
“We’re not jumping anymore… okay?”
Natalie pressed her lips together, her eyes brimming with tears. A moment later, she nodded firmly.
Adrian smiled, steadying her as she climbed back onto the rooftop.
The rescue workers, seeing that the situation was finally under control, rushed forward and pulled her to safety.
Only then did Alex finally breathe a long sigh of relief.
Adrian slowly walked toward Lucy and took back the file he had handed her earlier.
“Thank you,” he said to Lucy, the corners of his lips curving into the perfect smile, not too distant, yet not overly enthusiastic. Elegant, courteous, and as warm as spring sunlight.
Instantly, Lucy's face flushed bright red.
“I-it's nothing…” she stammered.
Adrian chuckled softly, as if finding her reaction utterly adorable.
Lucy’s embarrassment only deepened. Her ears turned so red they looked like they were about to burst into flames, while inwardly, she screamed: Oh my God, how can someone be this charming and gentlemanly?
Watching his subordinate getting completely flustered, Alex couldn’t help but silently curse Adrian for being so inappropriate. He then stepped forward to rescue Lucy from the situation.
“Alex Rios, SCIU Captain. Welcome to the team,” he said, extending his hand toward Adrian.
Adrian immediately shook Alex’s hand and introduced himself,
“Adrian Monroe, criminal psychology expert. Starting today, I’ll be officially assisting the SCIU on cases involving complex psychological elements.”
To be precise, Adrian wasn’t part of the Los Angeles Police Department’s official staff. He had been invited to collaborate with the SCIU as a part-time specialist.
He held a PhD in criminal psychology from Harvard University and had previously been a research fellow at the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU).
Currently, he is the youngest professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
The SCIU was a newly established unit, founded just two years ago, operating under the Robbery-Homicide Division (RHD) of the Los Angeles Police Department. On paper, it sounded prestigious, but within the department, SCIU was better known by its unofficial nickname: The Dead-end Squad, the team assigned to hopeless cases, or cases no one else wanted to touch.
The unit currently had only five official members, all young, and each there for their own reasons, some had offended their superiors, some were too eccentric, and others simply too passionate to fit in with their former teams. In short, SCIU was essentially an exile for the department's “misfits”.
Today, only Alex and Lucy had been dispatched to the scene; the others were tied up with different assignments.
After the introductions were done, Lucy couldn’t hold back her excitement. She stepped forward, eyes shining as she praised Adrian,
“Dr. Monroe, you’re incredible. We tried everything to get Natalie to talk, but she wouldn’t say a single word. You only spoke a few sentences, and she already reacted.”
Adrian smiled, that same polite, warm demeanor as gentle as a spring breeze.
“Just call me Adrian,” he said, then patiently explained to Lucy,
“It’s all about mentioning what she cares most about. Every girl cares about her appearance, especially pretty girls like you, don’t they?”
Immediately, the color returned to Lucy’s cheeks, her face flushing bright red once again.
Alex watched the SCIU's so-called tough girl being teased into blushing like a lovestruck teenager and couldn’t stand it any longer. He had no choice but to step in between them.
“Lucy, a lot of students recorded videos of what happened. Go down there and take care of it. Make sure Natalie’s privacy is fully protected.”
- Writer
