In big trouble?
Darnell and the others looked up.
Darnell, caught in a predicament, followed Lillian and rushed to the company meeting room. A crowd of curious employees had already gathered at the door, whispering among themselves.
Undoubtedly, something significant had caught their attention. Lillian wanted to shoo them away and close the door, but Roberto immediately shouted authoritatively, “Don’t close it! Keep it open so everyone can see.”
Sitting at the head of the conference table, Areli spoke coldly, “Mr. Gower, why make such a fuss over a trivial matter? It’s not worth all this commotion.”
Roberto snorted, “Is intentional harm a trivial matter? It’s a criminal offense that cannot be tolerated.”
“Miss Fanshaw, don’t try to keep the matter private. This needs to be exposed! Let everyone see how terrible he is!”
“Darnell was hired by you, and you can’t show favoritism. I won’t seek personal revenge either. Let today’s events bring clarity to everyone.”
Eliezer chimed in, “Miss Fanshaw, suppressing will only backfire. Employees will have more speculation. It’s better to let them witness it firsthand.”
Areli didn’t say anything more. Instead, he gestured for Lillian not to close the door. The employees took advantage of this opportunity to peek inside, their heads popping out curiously.
Damn!
Darnell didn’t think he hadn’t done anything wrong. Why did he become the scapegoat? Hearing Roberto’s shouts, Darnell shook his head and walked into the meeting room.
Before he could fully squeeze in, Darnell heard a few half-hearted screams.
“Ouch! It hurts! My leg hurts!”
“My hand hurts too.”
“My whole body hurts!”
Why were they screaming like pigs being slaughtered? The screams sounded so fake.
Darnell made his evaluation of the screams and then pushed through the crowd and walked into the conference room. Dozens of people had already gathered inside.
Among them were Areli and several high-level executives and core members of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, five journalists holding microphones, and a group of men and women dressed in various styles.
Three people with bandages on their faces immediately made Darnell laugh. “Nick, long time no see. You were released so quickly!”
Nick and his two sidekicks, Max and Tyler.
For some reason, Darnell didn’t hold much hatred towards Nick, at least not as intense as towards David and Steve.
He regarded Nick as a source of entertainment in life. He wanted to see how far Nick would go with his tricks.
Darnell also casually scanned the entire room and noticed Areli’s unremarkable female bodyguards. They weren’t wearing obvious black attire but instead wore Spectrum Pharmaceuticals’s work uniforms like ordinary employees. They blended into the crowd but were not far from Areli. Their sharp eyes surveyed their surroundings as if they were ready to take action at any moment.
Darnell was satisfied with their professionalism. He even detected a similar aura from these two female bodyguards as Tia.
“It’s him! He caused a car accident on purpose, beat us up, and extorted 3, 500 dollars from us.”
“It’s him! He injured people and robbed money at the auto repair shop. He even took my 5, 000 dollars.”
“It’s him! He pretended to be blind and tricked me into a corner for robbery. He even took my family heirloom, a sapphire.”
“That’s right. It’s him! Not only robbery but also attempted assault on cleaning ladies. He severely disabled my brothers. Six of us had our legs broken. The doctor said we might never walk again.”
As Darnell appeared and questioned them, it was like dropping a drop of water into a hot oil pan. Nick and his companions immediately stepped forward one by one, accusing Darnell of intermittent charges they had prepared in advance. They pointed fingers at him while revealing the six people behind them, the Apex members who participated in the fight at the repair shop.
All six of them were sitting in wheelchairs with bandages wrapped around their heads and left legs. Their heads were slightly better off than their left legs, which were swollen like buckets.
They looked spiritless and weak, with bloodstains on their bandages. They appeared as if they were on the verge of dying from severe injuries.
Behind them were more than ten tearful women who seemed to be family members.
These women seemed honest and loyal, appearing pitifully submissive. They wore plain clothes and each held a plastic board.
On these boards were proof of injuries for the six individuals, including medical expense receipts, witness testimonies, and images of injuries…
Several journalists snapped photos of Darnell with their cameras.
Just as Lillian had said, he had gotten himself into big trouble.
Seeing that the atmosphere was reaching its peak, Nick and his two companions immediately put on mournful expressions and pointed accusingly at Darnell.
“Spectrum Pharmaceuticals is a big company with a conscience and responsibility. Leaders here, please stand up for us.”
“Darnell not only seriously injured six of my brothers who stood up for justice but also bullied others with his fists every day.”
“He beats up anyone he pleases, whether it’s Mrs. Ellis who sells beef, Mrs. Catlin who sells pork, or Mrs. Barker who milks cows.”
“They were afraid of retaliation from Darnell. That’s why they didn’t come forward to accuse him.”
“Just think about it. He doesn’t spare even women in their forties or fifties. Younger girls probably suffer even more.”
Nick also grabbed the arm of a Spectrum Pharmaceuticals executive and looked towards the six groaning companions on the ground. “Darnell is simply inhuman.”
“These six friends of mine saw him harassing the receptionist at the repair shop but couldn’t help but step forward to say something. As a result, he beat them severely.”
“He even demanded 5, 000 dollars from me. Otherwise, he threatened to smash our heads with a beer bottle. My poor Uncle Callum had his head hit five times with a wrench.”
“His head swelled up like a pig’s head. He’s still lying in the hospital now.”
“We couldn’t beat him up, so we had no choice but to give him the money meant for my elderly mother’s treatment.”
“If you don’t believe me, you can ask the employees at the repair shop for confirmation.”
As Nick accused Darnell one after another, Roberto slammed his hand on the table and shouted at Darnell, “Darnell, do you have any explanation?”
Eliezer sarcastically added fuel to the fire. “Miss Fanshaw, Mr. Gower, we have witnesses and evidence. What else is there to explain? Just fire him!”
“He assaulted men and harassed women. This is no longer child’s play. It’s a crime.”
“Spectrum Pharmaceuticals is a well-known company with integrity. Having an employee like Darnell is simply disgraceful. He must be fired.”
“And he must also compensate for Spectrum Pharmaceuticals’s losses.”
After these words were spoken, many of Roberto’s cronies also shouted for Darnell to get lost. Some employees echoed their voices in unison.
Seeing Roberto and others shouting at Darnell angrily, Nick smiled triumphantly. Finally, he could get rid of Darnell.
Compared to physically beating up Darnell, Nick preferred seeing Darnell fall from grace and become an outcast. That was his realization during his time in detention.
Roberto glanced at Eliezer before turning his gaze towards Areli. “Miss Fanshaw, as the person in charge here, please give the order to fire Darnell quickly. Don’t let him tarnish our company’s reputation.”
Areli looked at Darnell calmly without revealing what he was thinking. After a long pause, she spoke coldly, “Darnell, don’t you have anything to explain?”