Chapter 1

Zoey Brown, a rookie cop with a notorious temper, is exiled to grunt work after punching a suspect. But when a timid woman reports eerie stalking, Zoey’s instincts scream serial predator. Defying her skeptical team, she goes undercover—only to discover a charming neighbor harvesting victims’ hair for disguises. As bodies surface in suburban sewers, Zoey races to expose his gruesome gallery: women selected through public humiliation, then imprisoned and dismembered. But the killer’s confession reeks of lies. Is he shielding a partner? With her career on the line, Zoey must unravel a web of complicity before another woman vanishes.

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On a quiet morning bus, the sleepy crowd was jolted awake by a sudden scream.

Everyone turned to see a slightly overweight guy in his forties pinned to the ground by a young woman in her early twenties using some kind of grappling move.

Next to them was another young woman in a white blouse and pencil skirt, looking pale and clutching her bag tightly.

"Who the hell are you? Let go! Let go of me now!" The man on the ground cursed, muttering non-stop.

Zoey Brown pressed down harder on his arm, making him scream again. "Stealing and still mouthing off? Try cursing one more time, jerk!"

The man scowled. "Which eye of yours saw me stealing?"

"Both!" Zoey shot back without missing a beat, glancing at the frightened young woman beside her. "Call the cops."

The girl flinched, clutching her bag even tighter. "Forget it, I... I didn't lose anything."

She was rushing to work; thieves usually worked in groups. If she got into trouble, she wouldn't be able to handle it alone.

Seeing the hesitation in the girl's eyes, Zoey raised an eyebrow and gave her a cold, disdainful look.

Just then, the bus arrived at a stop. As the back door opened, the man took advantage of Zoey's distraction and bolted off the bus! He quickly blended into the crowd and disappeared in no time!

Zoey squinted in the direction the man had escaped.

Then she disdainfully clapped her hands and looked at the young woman, saying, "Idiot!"

The words were particularly clear and crisp on the quiet morning bus.

Seeing the passengers' eyes on her, the young woman's face turned red in an instant!

Zoey didn't look at her again and got off the bus leisurely.

Encountering an idiot first thing in the morning put Zoey in a bad mood. She grabbed a quick breakfast from a street vendor and ate it as she walked into the police station. John Williams, the officer guiding and training her during her internship, and her fellow intern, Emma Thomas, were nowhere to be seen.

Emma's bag was on the table. Zoey couldn't recall the brand name, but she knew it was designer.

Zoey glanced at it, then sat down at her desk, biting into her bread and turning on her computer.

Mark Jones hurried in with some documents; he saw Zoey sitting alone at her workstation, typing while eating bread.

Then he grabbed Joseph Miller, who was passing by. He asked, "What's going on? Did John leave Zoey alone again?"

Joseph rubbed his nose. "Not exactly. It's really Zoey's own issue."

Mark asked, "What do you mean?"

Joseph replied, "Every time Zoey and John went on a mission together, John got chewed out. He was about to get a promotion, but because of her, he got a disciplinary action, and now it's hopeless. Who could tolerate that?"

Mark had been busy with an interstate human trafficking case recently and wasn't clear on the details. He asked, "What happened? How is John's disciplinary action related to Zoey? Zoey is a top graduate from the police academy. Even if she's a bit impulsive, she wouldn't cause John to get a disciplinary action, right?"

Joseph shook his head and replied, "I don't know the specifics. I just know that John took Zoey to handle a domestic violence case. When they arrived, the man was still hitting the woman. Guess what happened?"

Mark said without hesitation, "In such cases, it's usually about mediation. John should have stepped in to stop the man, but didn't manage to?"

Joseph shook his head. "I heard Zoey went up and kicked the man flying."

Mark was silent. Zoey was a bit impulsive!

Even if the man was in the wrong, Zoey, as a police officer, couldn't just use force!

Mark asked, "Didn't John try to stop her?"

Joseph said, "With Zoey's skills, even if John wanted to stop her, he couldn't. The key issue was that the woman who called the cops was still screaming for help when she saw John and Zoey. But when she saw Zoey hit her husband, she freaked out, screaming, 'How can you hit my husband?' and tried to fight Zoey!"

Mark was speechless. The complainant was also frustrating. "And then?" He asked.

Joseph shrugged. "Then Zoey stopped hitting the man and started scolding the woman. Then the couple teamed up against Zoey. Zoey did manage to resolve the situation, and the couple reconciled. But they both filed complaints against her. As an intern, the department couldn't do much to her, so John ended up getting punished!"

This situation wasn't entirely Zoey's fault, but it did start because of her.

John having issues with her was understandable! However, it was pitiful that Zoey ended up being isolated like this.

Mark didn't want to gossip about Zoey behind her back. Seeing Zoey idle, he walked over with the documents.

Mark asked, "Zoey, do you have a moment?"

Besides her internship at the police station, Zoey also had a side gig writing novels online. But she knew how to juggle her priorities.

Zoey had just finished updating a