“I’ve broken the law?”
Upon hearing these words, James became furious, and all the onlookers were stunned. Clearly, they had never witnessed such a scene before.
James gritted his teeth and said, “Kid, do you really want to start a fight?”
Darnell shrugged. “I never intended to cause a scene. I just wanted to remind you that you shouldn’t break the law, Officer Adington. You’re not a police officer and you don’t have the authority to take me away.”
“If you insist on doing this, I will treat you as a criminal and can exercise self-defense at any time.”
Brian and the others shouted, “Officer Adington is a legitimate police officer, and we all know that. Darnell, stop stirring up trouble.”
Darnell ignored their clamor and maintained a gentle smile on his face.
“Brian, everyone from Spectrum Pharmaceuticals here also knows you. You have been working at Spectrum Pharmaceuticals for many years. Does that prove that you are still an employee of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals?”
“Can you still enter the executive office or exercise your former senior-level authority?”
“Of course not.”
Darnell smiled leisurely, “By the same token, Officer Adington’s police badge expired eighteen days ago. If it weren’t for his dedication to public service, I would accuse him of impersonating a police officer.”
“So you can go back to where you came from. As for Zoey’s matter, you can report it to the police.”
“Kid, watch your mouth!”
As Brian hesitated for a moment, James’s eyes widened in anger. As a senior police officer with connections in Whiteville, no man had ever dared to insult him like this before. He then pulled out his gun from his waist and pointed it at Darnell.
“You’re getting too arrogant!”
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense. No one expected James to be so impulsive as to draw his gun without solid evidence.
“Do you believe I’ll shoot you on the spot?”
Darnell’s gaze turned cold. James was accustomed to showing off his power and authority without any solid evidence. He probably had some backing behind him.
James was taken aback by Darnell’s icy stare. He felt an inexplicable sense of fear. After all, he had arrested many criminals himself.
But those criminals’ gazes had never made him feel even the slightest bit scared. He became angry and stepped forward, shouting at his subordinates.
“Arrest him! If he dares to resist, use necessary force.”
Brian stirred the pot. “Get him! Seek justice for Zoey.”
“Enough!”
Just as two auxiliary police officers were about to rush forward, Areli suddenly slapped the table and looked coldly at James.
“Officer Adington, nothing has been investigated yet, and no charges have been filed. Darnell is not a criminal. By pointing your gun at him like this, not only does it raise doubts about your identity as a police officer but also raises suspicions about your intentions.”
“And if you really are a police officer, I will file a complaint against the higher-ups.”
James stared at Areli with anger in his eyes and sneered, “Complaint? Who do you think you are? Do you think you can complain against me?”
He arrogantly continued, “You better shut up. Otherwise, I’ll arrest you too.”
“Arrest me? I haven’t committed any crimes. On what basis do you want to arrest me? What qualifications do you have to arrest me?”
Areli’s words were sharp. “Do you believe that if you arrest me tonight, you will be removed from your position tomorrow?”
“I know you have connections above, but don’t forget that Spectrum Pharmaceuticals is not someone you can trifle with.”
Areli took a step forward with even more coldness in her demeanor. “You accused Darnell of indecent assault and rape without any evidence and wanted to force him to go to the police station with your gun.”
“Do you know that Darnell is one of our elite members at Spectrum Pharmaceuticals and tonight’s guest of honor? Without evidence, targeting him means targeting me, Areli, and targeting Spectrum Pharmaceuticals.”
“If you want to arrest him, present your evidence. Otherwise, put away your gun along with your despicable face.”
“You can bring out your connections. I can also call President Matson.”
“I suspect that you have taken bribes and deliberately caused trouble here to make things difficult for Spectrum Pharmaceuticals.”
Areli displayed her dominance. “Of course, I may be wrong in my suspicion. But I believe Mr. Matson will never allow such a thing to happen.”
“Someone bring me a phone. I’m going to inform Mr. Matson that Officer Adington deliberately harassed Spectrum Pharmaceuticals!”
As soon as she finished speaking, a bodyguard took out his phone.
Lillian and the others shouted in agreement, “That’s right! If you want to arrest someone, provide evidence.” Lillian’s eyes had an extra touch of depth.
Roberto acted quickly and held onto the phone with a smile. “Miss Fanshaw, it’s just a small matter. There’s no need to bother the president.”
“Officer Adington is also zealous in fighting evil. Whenever he sees a crime happening, he wants to eliminate it. He definitely doesn’t intend to suppress Spectrum Pharmaceuticals.”
He signaled James with his eyes. “Officer Adington, better put away your gun. Citizens will be afraid when they see it.”
“You!”
James’s expression fluctuated for a moment before he reluctantly put down his gun. It wasn’t because of Roberto’s advice but rather due to Areli’s imposing aura that made him hesitate.
Especially when he heard that she could call Mr. Matson personally, he trembled with fear.
Clearly, he knew who President Maston was.
James was somewhat surprised because no woman had ever been able to suppress his dominance like this before. He forced an apologetic smile toward Areli.
“Miss Fanshaw, I’m sorry for my impulsive behavior just now. Please forgive my rudeness…”
Areli spoke coldly, “You should apologize not to me but to Darnell.”
Darnell burst into laughter and gave Areli a thumbs-up. He didn’t expect her to stand up for him in critical moments.
Hearing that Areli wanted him to apologize directly to Darnell made James almost lose control again. After thinking for a moment, he suppressed his frustration and gave in.
“Mr. Halford, I shouldn’t have pointed my gun at you. I’m sorry.”
But deep down inside him raged an angry roar. He would definitely blow off Darnell’s head given the chance and fire eighteen shots just to vent his anger.
Darnell shrugged nonchalantly at this moment. “James, I’m glad to see you recognize your mistakes, but I still have to scold you. In the future, when working on something like this, make sure to bring all your tools and paperwork.”
“And pay attention to your approach. Don’t be too impulsive. Otherwise, today’s incident might happen again and get yourself into trouble.”
“Alright! I hope you can learn from it and be a better policeman. Don’t do this again in the future.”
Seeing this guy pushing his luck irritated James. He almost took out his gun again.
“Zoey’s awake.”
Someone whispered into Brian’s ear with excitement. Brian rejoiced and then shouted at Darnell, “Officer Adington may not be able to arrest you because his badge expired, but that doesn’t mean you’re innocent.”
“Zoey has already woken up and is being brought over. She can testify that you assaulted her sexually. Darnell, you can’t get away with this!”
James’s eyes also lit up as he shouted at his two subordinates, “Make a call and ask them to come over and handle the case. Remember to bring anything necessary.”
He stared fiercely at Darnell, threatening, “You won’t escape tonight.”
In Areli’s focused gaze, Darnell shrugged his shoulders.
“Bring it on.”
Five minutes later, Zoey walked in, wearing a waiter’s uniform, and wrapped in a blanket.
Although her face was pale and lacked some of its former charm, she still appeared pitiful enough to make people unable to help but feel sorry for her. Eliezer immediately rushed forward and hugged Zoey.
“Zoey, I’m sorry for what happened to you. Tell everyone what happened.”
Eliezer pointed at Darnell with killing intent.
“Is it him who took advantage of you?”
He also shouted at Areli and Roberto, “Miss Fanshaw, Mr. Gower, my niece is a good girl. She never tells lies!”
James patted his chest confidently.
“Miss, just tell us the truth. We’ll stand up for you.”
Casey and the other two women looked angrily at her. They all regarded her as the villain while Darnell remained silent with a calm expression.
Zoey gently sniffled before glancing at Darnell, then shifting her gaze past the crowd towards Lillian behind them while biting her lip,
“In fact… My name isn’t Zoey Izzard. I’m Zoey Watts from a nightclub named Lavender Hill… I was hired by Mr. Izzard for a price of one million to set Mr. Halford up.”