Hearing Areli’s words and seeing the pile of evidence, James collapsed to the ground, his back instantly drenched in cold sweat.
He hadn’t expected Areli to gather so much evidence overnight and present it all to his supervisors. He was doomed now.
Even though he had connections at the police station, he would likely lose his job this time.
Darnell truly was his nemesis. James regretted going to Woodsea yesterday and rushing back from the hospital this morning.
Darnell groaned at the right moment. “Oh, officers, James hurt me and electrocuted me. You need to compensate me.”
The square-faced officer nodded repeatedly, “Don’t worry, Officer Adington will compensate you.”
He immediately pinned the blame on James.
James was so angry he couldn’t even retort. He was the real victim here, but not only did he get beaten up for nothing, he also had to pay Darnell’s medical bills.
“Alright, give me the money quickly, or I won’t even have money for medicine. I’ll come to the station in a couple of days to collect it.”
Darnell fished the wallet out of James’s pocket and pulled out over eight hundred in cash. “Consider this my compensation for emotional distress.”
James gritted his teeth in anger. Areli gave Darnell an annoyed look but didn’t stop him in her current mood.
Five minutes later, Darnell followed Areli out of the cell. As they left, he looked back at Elon.
“Mr. Billionaire, goodbye.”
Elon slowly opened his eyes. “Young man, you and I will meet again.”
His tone was firm, as if no matter where Darnell went, he would find a way to meet him again.
Darnell smiled and left.
At that moment, Ricky, squatting beside Micah, dispersed his sorrowful expression. His eyes became clearer as he glanced at Darnell and Elon thoughtfully.
“Miss Fanshaw, thank you.”
Climbing into the RV that Areli had brought, Darnell leaned against her with a grin. “I’m so touched that you came to bail me out so early.”
“I feel like offering myself to you.”
“Nothing good comes out of your mouth.”
Areli rolled her eyes at him and moved aside. “If it weren’t for your contributions to the company, I wouldn’t have bothered with you.”
“You seem in good spirits. This ordeal wasn’t too hard on you, was it? If I’d known it would be like this, I would’ve let you stay a few more days.”
She knew Darnell’s character well. He never suffered losses. Judging by the looks of the scarred man and others, they were the ones who had a hard time.
“No way! That place is unlivable. The air is bad, people are vicious, and they even resort to violence.”
Darnell looked aggrieved. “If you hadn’t shown up in time today, I might’ve been electrocuted by James.”
“Look at this wound!”
Darnell groaned again. “It’s all because of that woman named Kendra who can’t tell right from wrong. Not only did she arrest me but also threw me into the detention center where I suffered.”
Thinking of how badly the scarred man sang made him shudder. “When I see her next time, I’ll definitely make her pay!”
“Don’t do anything stupid. Kendra may be arrogant, but she isn’t an unreasonable person.”
It seemed that Areli had interacted with Kendra before. She continued calmly, “She took you away as part of her duty and put you in detention overnight to curb your unruly behavior. After she detained you, she investigated the incident overnight and wrote a report to clear your name.”
“She even handed over some evidence against James to help me take action.”
“If it weren’t for her full support, I wouldn’t have been able to rescue you today.”
“You should be grateful to her. Without her swift actions and impartiality, you’d probably be stuck there for a few more days.”
“Of course, throwing you into a communal cell wasn’t her idea. It was Keith and James’s doing. Once she found out, she informed me immediately to rescue you.”
Darnell scratched his head. “So you’re saying I should say thank you to her?”
He dismissed Kendra’s efforts to clear his name, believing she was merely trying to win favor with Areli and make amends for what Bella’s people had done to him in the interrogation room.
That woman really did things flawlessly.
At this moment, Areli snorted, “Of course.”
Darnell sighed, “Maybe I should find an opportunity to spend a night with her. I’m broke, and all I can give her now is my body.”
“Bastard!”
Areli glared at him. “Lillian has already told me about Woodsea’s situation. I’m giving you two days off to handle it properly before returning to work. One Cent Foundation speaks highly of you. Thanks to the hundred resignation letters you submitted, the sales department is temporarily enjoying a period of calm.”
“Take a good rest for a few days. After that, you have two billion in sales targets to meet. Also, your five-hundred-thousand-dollar commission will be paid next week.”
Darnell’s eyes lit up. “Five hundred thousand dollars! Great! I can date many beauties!”
Areli scolded him, “Scoundrel.”
“Oh, come on. I’ve worked hard for the company. It’s perfectly reasonable for me to splurge, right?”
Darnell spoke leisurely, “How about going on a date with me, Miss Fanshaw? It’ll save me some money.”
Areli responded coldly, “Get off at the next intersection and go back by yourself.”
She tossed a bag at Darnell. “Lillian bought something for you. Take them with you.”
Darnell held the bag with a frustrated expression. “Miss Fanshaw, I’m a hero of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals! You can’t treat me like this!”
Darnell then was thrown out of the car.
In the meantime, several senior plainclothes officers sat around a conference table in an office at the detention center.
They sipped hot tea while watching the surveillance footage from the communal cell.
Judith also sat on a chair with sharp eyes fixed on Darnell’s various tactics.
“This young man is quite talented,” said an officer with gray hair after watching the video with an approving smile.
“He single-handedly subdued dozens of people from Micah’s gang and even made Ricky suffer losses while earning Elon’s admiration enough for him to guard him all night long.”
“It’s a pity he’s not one of us. Otherwise, ‘The Purge’ action would have a greater chance of success,” another middle-aged officer chimed in.
“Indeed,” another one agreed. “Ricky spent two months without getting close to Elon but only became Micah’s top henchman. However, Darnell gained Elon’s approval in half a night. He’s truly remarkable. If only he were one of us,” sighed another officer.
“He may not be one of us, but we can use him as if he were,” Judith finally spoke up after remaining silent.
“Let’s see if Elon contacts him after being released. If so, I’ll convince Darnell to help the police,” she added.
The others looked at Judith curiously. “Do you know him well?”
Judith replied calmly, “Very well, well enough that I’d like to shoot him dead.” She instinctively clenched her legs as she spoke.