“What a rough day!”
An hour later, Darnell parked the car near his rental house, tidied up a bit, and closed the car door behind him.
Reflecting on the day’s events, he felt a headache coming on.
Suddenly, his phone rang. Areli’s voice came through the earpiece. “Darnell, pick me up at 5:30 AM tomorrow.”
Darnell’s mouth dropped open. “I’ll be dreaming at that time.”
“And get me two sandwiches, two apple pies, and two cups of Americano.”
Areli issued her orders coldly. “And dress nicely.”
Darnell almost stumbled, complaining inwardly. Then he tightened up inside. “Why two portions?”
He didn’t think Areli cared about him. “Miss Fanshaw, why? Aren’t you on a diet?”
Areli bluntly replied, “Mind your own business and just buy them.”
Hearing the dial tone, Darnell opened his phone and switched to the video feed from Areli’s office. He saw the coldly beautiful woman hanging up the phone with a hint of satisfaction on her face. She lifted her legs and placed them on the smooth desk, the alluring sight instantly catching Darnell’s eye.
He quickly covered his eyes with his hand, then peeked through his fingers.
“This is just tempting someone to commit a crime,” Darnell muttered to himself.
Despite the brief glimpse of beauty, Darnell still felt uneasy. Why two breakfasts? Could it be that she was planning to spend the night with someone?
He then chuckled bitterly to himself. What was wrong with him? Why did he care if Areli was seeing other men?
Darnell kept reminding himself, “I’m a free spirit, always flirting around. I can’t get trapped by any woman.”
Back at his rental house, Darnell took a shower, grabbed a carrot, and started munching on it while flipping through his tablet.
His eyes quickly landed on a news article from five days ago.
“Zane Swain was arrested this morning. The Swain empire crumbles.”
A year ago, Zane Swain from Fayhurst spent seven billion dollars on his daughter’s wedding, attracting nationwide attention. This morning, he and thirteen high-ranking officials were taken away by a special task force from the capital city, Goldkeep. Multiple assets under his name were seized by local police forces. The Swain Group, valued at sixty billion dollars, was in jeopardy overnight.
There were unofficial rumors that Zane was also involved in the Cortez shooting case.
Darnell didn’t know Zane personally but had some connections to the case due to the shootout involving the Lonsdale brothers and the shootout involving Carson.
This gave Darnell an initial impression of Zane, someone who employed ruthless outlaws.
Although Zane’s base wasn’t in Whiteville, the fallout had caused turmoil there too, indicating how formidable Zane was.
Despite recognizing Zane’s influence, Darnell didn’t dwell on him much. Even though he had some unintentional connections with the Lonsdale brothers and Carson, they wouldn’t waste their time and energy targeting someone as insignificant as him. Therefore, after reading some introductions about Zane, Darnell turned off the lights and went to sleep.
He still had to wake up early tomorrow.
At the same time, he thought about finding a time to return Eva’s crystal ball. The girl was very attached to it and needed its companionship now more than ever.
The next day, at five o’clock sharp, Darnell’s alarm went off. He opened his eyes, quickly washed up, changed into a set of clothes, grabbed his car keys, and left.
He bought breakfasts as Areli instructed, stuffed one sandwich into his mouth, and then started driving towards the Bauhinias Residences.
As he drove down the road in the morning breeze, he heard an engine roaring from his right side.
Soon after, a Maserati appeared with its sleek bodywork and intoxicating scent in the early morning air.
Before he could whistle appreciatively, the car window rolled down, revealing a stylishly dressed girl who pushed up her sunglasses to reveal an exquisite face.
She shouted excitedly, “Finally got you.”
Darnell was startled. “Have you been spying on me? Are you one of my fans, who loves me madly?”
The pretty girl spat out: “Don’t flatter yourself.”
Relieved but still annoyed that she scared him like that. “Women have flirted with me recently. I have to be careful not to be taken advantage of!”
“You scared me to death as you just appeared like that.”
The pretty girl looked at him disdainfully, “You’re such a narcissist.”
She quickly suppressed her emotions and changed the subject. “Your driving skills are impressive.”
At the red light ahead, Darnell braked while Maserati stopped beside him. She continued, “I’ve seen you race twice before.”
“Besides today, there was another time when you chased after that Mercedes-Benz. Your driving skills are top-notch.”
“You’re not from Whiteville, are you? Otherwise, there’s no way I wouldn’t have seen you before.”
“I’m Karlee Henning, president of the Sports Car Association of Whiteville. Interested in racing?”
President of the Sports Car Association of Whiteville?
Seizing the opportunity, Darnell glanced at the girl. She was around eighteen or nineteen years old, with delicate features, a tall figure, and two slender legs encased in tight jeans. The cuffs were folded up narrowly, revealing her fair and slender ankles, and on her feet were a pair of white sports shoes.
The girl exuded an aesthetic sense from head to toe, a beauty that was unadorned and youthful.
The radiance of the morning sun cast upon her, coating her in a golden glow.
For a moment, the girl was so beautiful she made one’s mouth water.
Although Darnell was impressed, he didn’t flirt with her. She was too young, her body and emotions too fragile for any turmoil, so he decided not to bother with her. He lazily took out a carrot, bit into it with a crunch, and ignored her, appearing aloof and proud.
Seeing this, Karlee pouted slightly, seemingly surprised at Darnell’s arrogance. This was the first time in her life she had been ignored. She huffed cutely, “Narcissist! How about 500, 000 for a match?”
With a carrot in his mouth, Darnell replied, “Not interested.”
Karlee’s eyebrows shot up. “How about a million? If you win, I’ll give you a million. If you lose, I won’t take your money and will still give you half a million.”
Darnell looked at her sideways. “You pay whether I win or lose?”
Karlee blinked her eyes, her face full of pride. “Of course! I never go back on my word.”
“Alright, I lose.” Darnell extended his hand before he demanded, “Give me the half a million.”
Karlee almost thumped her head against the steering wheel!