You are innocent."
After dozens of minutes, Meilin, who had completed the on-site investigation, sat in the lockdown room of the Central City Police Department.
He looked at Henry, who looked haggard, painful and desperate. The man looked a little older than a few years ago. He sat in a chair with no expression in his eyes, like a walking corpse who had lost his heart.
"You are innocent! Henry. I will take you out of here. You do not belong here. You are not a criminal."
Merlin stretched out his finger and held it on the handcuffs in Henry's hand. Just use a gentle force, the handcuffs will crack inch by inch.
But the next moment, his hand was held by Henry.
Henry looked at Merlin, his eyes full of prayer:
"No! Don't do this!"
"Why? Henry. My agent told me that you are unwilling to accept the 'Supernatural Affairs Contact Protection Ordinance'."
Merlin asked:
"But you know that it wasn't what you did. You still have children and you still have Barry. Don't you want to grow up with him? I can take you out of here, rest assured, it's legal. You and Barry can live in SHIELD's surveillance in another place, and I can guarantee that no one will bother you."
"But there is no evidence to prove this."
A plea appeared on Henry's painful face:
"I can't just leave like that. I know you can take me out, but Merlin, I can't just leave like that."
"Why? Henry!"
Merlin frowned even deeper, and he asked:
"Unless you can convince me, I will not let my benefactor spend the rest of my life as a prisoner! You were wronged, and your son saw it. Believe me, Barry will not misunderstand you, nor will he hate you."
"But others will!"
Henry lowered his head and said in a heart-wrenching voice:
"Others will, Merlin. They will talk about my son, they will say that my Barry is the son of the murderer, they will say that he is an ominous person, I know how heavy those rumors are for the child, and that label will be put on him, can you change all the memories of everyone? Even if you can do it, I will not let you do it."
He looked at Meilin and the haggard man whispered:
"It is because my son knows that I am innocent that I can't just leave like that."
"Nora and I have been teaching Barry to see the beautiful and just side of the world. I don't want to destroy my son's cognition with my own hands. I don't want him to see us adults who can act without rules. I don't want him to know that there are people outside of the rules in this world, and I don't want him to see with my own eyes. His father is one of them."
"That man in yellow, that man in lightning, has taken too much from our family. I cannot let him take away my son's beliefs again, and I will not let him succeed."
"If you really want to help me, Merlin."
Henry looked at the young man in front of him, as if he had seen the down-and-out Merlin back then, he said:
"Please protect Barry for me, I will stick with it until the day when the truth is revealed."
"You Henry, why are you?"
Merlin looked at the man in front of him, and he didn't know how to persuade the stubborn Henry.
"I know, it will make you passive, Merlin. I know, it's stupid to do it."
Henry sat in the chair, looking at the handcuffs on his wrist, and he whispered:
"I failed to protect my lover, my family, and I failed to do what a man must do and must do well. I couldn't get rid of my frustration. I was very painful. I was left with my barry, and I wanted to do something for him."
"I told my son that good is good, bad is bad, and Nora and I tried our best to teach him what kind of kindness is and what evil is. I hope he is a good person, a kind person, and abide by the rules. I hope he can become a person who helps others and make the world a better place, not a breaker of the rules."
"Maybe, that's the only thing I can leave to my son."
"But have you ever thought about it, Henry."
Merlin looked at his friend, and he was trying his best to convince him.
"Little Barry had no company with you since he was a child. When everyone else told him that his father was a murderer, and in that case, Barry, could he still maintain the belief you gave him?"
"Barry knew I was wronged, and Joe was a good friend, he was the sheriff here, I grew up with him, he was a trusted friend."
Henry was as if his heart was dead. He stroked the ring on his finger and said softly:
"I believe that under Joe's care, my Barry will become a kind person."
"But the child should live with his father, Henry. You have enough time to teach him that you can enjoy watching him grow up and watching him mature. That's what Little Barry deserves. It's not your sin, you don't need to pay your life for it!"
Merlin stood up and scolded:
"Tell me, is your creed important or your child important?"
"Of course it's Barry. I can give everything for my kids."
Henry looked up and said to Merlin:
"So I have to stay here until the truth is revealed."
"you!"
Merlin was a little angry. He never knew that Henry was still such a stubborn person.
"I might have to force you away."
The irritability that had been accumulating during this period was pressing on Merlin's heart. He suppressed his anger and said:
"I've been having a bad time, Henry. I've seen so much misery. I want to do something good. You either honestly leave this place that doesn't belong to you, or I will knock you out and force you away."
"The police outside can't stop me, and they don't have the right to stop me."
"You don't know how difficult it is to find out how difficult it is to find out, even sl.d. can't do it in a short time. I've visited the scene and the murderer didn't leave anything. If I didn't know your personality, I would think that you did it all, let alone these ordinary police officers."
"You may have to stay in prison for more than ten years or even, you will be really taken to court and bear the charges you shouldn't have to bear."
Merlin's voice became heavier:
"The most important thing is that Barry knows that you were wronged, but he saw with his own eyes that the law sent an innocent person to prison. What do you think he would think? Do you think he will still believe what you told him when he grows up? Your will torture will ruin Barry!"
Merlin sternly said:
"Henry, I've experienced such a life, which is a dark experience that a child can't stand. And what I give you now is the best solution."
"I believe in my kids, Merlin."
Henry was silent for several minutes, he said:
"He is a good kid, he will understand. Maybe for you, the laws and rules are just tools. But for ordinary people like Barry, that's the basis for maintaining beliefs. You think you're helping me, but it's not actually."
"I am a doctor, I have seen it with my own eyes. It is too simple to destroy a person. The most important thing is that Merlin, I have been destroyed and I can't destroy my son with my own hands."
Merlin's persuasion came to an abrupt end at this moment.
He knew that Henry spoke his true thoughts without reservation.
And Merlin also knew that it might not be the right thing to let Henry and Barry move to another place and start their life again.
S.E.L.D.'s "Supernatural Affairs Contact Protection Ordinance" is specially set up for ordinary people like Henry who are involved in supernatural affairs. In sl.d., there is a supernatural factor in a certain thing and the participants are innocent, the regulations will take effect.
S.E.L.D. will provide these people with new identities and let them start a new life in a new environment.
It sounds beautiful, but in fact, most people who have accepted this regulation have started a difficult new life, and many people who have experienced the same experience as Henry left a serious psychological shadow.
S.E.L.D. can help them cover up their past misfortunes, but they can't get through the level in their hearts.
Merlin could guess why Henry was persistent in sending himself to prison.
Henry was a doctor. Because of this, he knew how much impact his child had in his childhood would have on his life.
Henry also lost everything in this disaster. He was worried that he would be affected by his wife's death, and that his personality and life would change as a result, thus leaving a bad example for his children.
Everyone lives in their hearts. When they are hurt, people will wake up the devil. When the treasured things are taken away, their first reaction is revenge.
Henry knew this and did not want his inner pain and despair to affect his children. Even at the cost of it, he might need to stay away from him for several years, or even more than a decade.
Faced with such a stubborn, even a bit old-fashioned father, but he considers everything about his children, Merlin feels that all his persuasion is so pale and powerless.
Henry in front of him reminded him of Jack who died for his child three days ago.
They are all qualified fathers.
He and Henry sat under the dim light, and some sounds that seemed to be real echoed in his mind:
“Some people are responsible for having a good family, while others are responsible for protecting them.”
Henry looked up and looked at Merlin, who looked at him, and Merlin whispered:
"I'm sorry, Henry. I'm sorry I couldn't protect your wife, I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, Merlin."
Henry, the victim, comforted his friend at this moment, and said:
"Don't take all the responsibilities on yourself, you will be crushed. This is just fate."
"destiny?"
Merlin savored the word, shook his head and said to Henry, who had made up his mind:
"I'll help you, Henry, not only because you helped me, but because we're friends."
"I can understand that you don't want to go out. I will use my method to make you feel more comfortable in prison, but you must be mentally prepared to calm the wrongs. It was a very long process. Now, tell me what is the secret of Nora's death?"
He looked at Henry and said:
"I know it's painful, but you have to recall every detail! If you can't do it, I can help you, but you have to let go of all your defenses and open your soul to me."
"Um?"
Henry looked up and looked at Merlin, he said in confusion:
"How do you want to help me? Hypnosis?"
"No, not hypnosis."
Merlin breathed a sigh of relief, he rubbed his forehead and said to Henry:
"Relax, relax, don't resist, then, look into my eyes!"
Henry didn't think Merlin would hurt him, so he did as Merlin said. The next moment he saw Merlin take off his eyes and reveal his weird eyes that emitted dark red embers.
Merlin's eyes were radiating, like two vortexes, pulling Henry's consciousness to keep approaching, just like a fish that took the bait.
"Buzz"
In the slight vibration of the spirit, Merlin entered Henry's memory.
Without Henry's resistance, the soul-catching curse went very smoothly this time, and Merlin soon found the memory.
He looked at the memory like a third party watching the scene.
In the living room of Allen's mansion, a strange storm was beating. The light was shining too violently. Even with Merlin's perception, he could only vaguely see two figures jumping in the light.
One red and one yellow.
"Man in yellow!"
Merlin narrowed his eyes. He saw Henry being hit, and he flew into the air, then smashed into the ground in a mess. He saw Nora lying helplessly on the carpet. Following Nora and Henry's gaze, Merlin also saw a little boy walking down from the second floor.
That's Barry!
A boy with black hair, brown eyes, and blue pajamas.
He was watching all this in front of him in horror.
"Barry! Run! Bari, run!"
Merlin heard Nora's scream of despair and heard Henry's angry roar. The next moment, he saw the yellow figure suddenly stop. There was already a fruit knife in his hand. He didn't even see how the guy printed Henry's fingerprint on the knife.
But he saw it
The knife pierced Nora's chest.
"Swish"
Merlin's consciousness withdraws from Henry's mind at this moment. In front of him, Henry covered his head and let out a painful wail, as if he had returned to the moment when he lost his wife several hours ago.
Merlin patted Henry on the shoulder.
He felt the pain of despair.
"Henry, you are innocent."
Merlin stood before Henry and said to Henry:
"I will help you find out all this and I will let the murderer who killed Nora kill me. I will give him ten times and hundreds of times what he did."
"Um."
Henry's eyes were filled with despair and pain, he nodded, looked at Merlin, and said:
"Help me take care of Barry."
Chapter completed!