In the surveillance video, Bailee was indeed running away in a panic, holding a bag with two hundred thousand dollars.
Darnell leaned back in his office chair, pausing the video on Bailee’s face as if trying to capture something from her expression.
Shayla leaned in, a hint of anxiety on her face. “After Miss Fanshaw called you away, Bailee said she would come in to water your plants, but she hasn’t come out for a long time.”
“I was worried that something happened to her, so I knocked on the door and went in.”
Shayla tried to objectively and truthfully describe what she saw to Darnell. “I happened to see her take out a bag of money from your drawer, and she looked upset.”
“I asked her what was wrong, but she didn’t answer me. She just rushed out of the office with the bag and dropped a stack of money as she passed by me.”
Casey brought up ten thousand dollars.
Darnell looked at Shayla and Casey without even glancing at the stack of money. “You two are her close friends. Do you believe she stole the money and ran?”
Both women shook their heads. “We don’t believe it.”
Shayla further explained, “Although Bailee is not well-off, she has always had integrity and ambition. Money wouldn’t tempt her.”
“If she really needed money, back in college, she could have had several sugar daddies who would have given her more than two hundred thousand dollars in houses and cars.”
Casey nodded. “That’s right. Two hundred thousand is not a small amount, but it’s not a lot either. Bailee wouldn’t steal money. As her friend, we believe her.”
Darnell took a sip of tea. “She must be facing some unexpected situation or difficulty. Look at her face-guilt, anger, and sadness-she has all kinds of emotions except guilt for stealing.”
“Call her immediately and tell her to come back so we can discuss what’s going on.”
Casey shrugged. “Shayla and I called her more than ten times, but she didn’t answer any of them. She even turned off her phone.”
Shayla looked frustrated. “She didn’t reply to our messages either.”
Darnell furrowed his brows slightly and then dialed Bailee’s number. It wasn’t turned off anymore, but there was still no answer.
Just as Darnell was about to send a text message, a message came in first from Bailee. “Mr. Halford, I’m sorry. I took your money. Please believe me. I will definitely pay you back.”
Darnell let out a sigh. “This woman…”
He waved his hand, instructing Shayla and Casey to continue messaging Bailee. Since Bailee turned her phone on, she must want to make contact with someone. She wouldn’t turn off her phone again.
He quickly called Tia and gave her Bailee’s number for tracking.
In less than a minute, Tia sent a link. Darnell opened it and saw a red dot moving on the map, less than four blocks away from the company at an intersection.
“You two stay at the company.”
Darnell picked up his coat and headed out, saying, “I’ll go bring Bailee back.”
The two women nodded, wanting to go together but also worried about being a burden. “Mr. Halford, please be careful.”
Darnell informed Areli before leaving and then sent a text message to Cesar.
An hour and a half later, at Wanderlust Pub in Southmoor-a three-story building with perfect sunlight-several tall men stood by the entrance, smoking and excitedly conversing.
Occasionally, they would turn their heads to glance inside the bar with suggestive smiles, as if something interesting was happening inside.
At that moment, a young girl walked over and stood in front of the four men.
“I am Bailee Lennard, Pablo’s daughter. I’m here to get them back.”
The men smoking heard this and looked up at the beautiful woman. Their eyes instantly lit up. The leader didn’t respond directly but smiled, “Young lady, you want to redeem Pablo Lennard and his wife? Do you have money? They owe us three hundred thousand dollars.”
“Do you have three hundred thousand dollars?”
He examined Bailee with a smile. “If not, it doesn’t matter. You can offer yourself as collateral.”
“Cut the crap!”
Bailee’s face turned cold. “Are you taking me to see them or not? If you are, stop wasting time. If not, I’m leaving.”
So wild!
The several sleazy guys were stunned. They didn’t expect Bailee to be so domineering. For a moment, they couldn’t figure out if she had any backing or not and didn’t dare to tease her anymore.
The leader of the group twitched his lips. “Follow me. I’ll take you to see our boss.”
The second floor of Wanderlust Pub.
This place was more like a gambling den than a bar. The second floor was filled with all kinds of gambling equipment.
The owner of the bar was Jovanny Parvis-a rumored skilled gambler who had gained fame over ten years ago.
He had won prizes in the main gambling competition for seven consecutive years-three times as champion-and earned quite some reputation and wealth.
However, in a high-stakes gamble against someone else later on, he lost the most crucial round due to being tricked. Not only did he lose his savings accumulated over many years, but he also had one finger chopped off by his opponent.
No one knew how he ended up in Whiteville, or maybe people just weren’t interested in a loser.
Anyway, Jovanny settled in Whiteville. He lost one finger but didn’t quit gambling. Instead, he made connections and set up a small gambling den-cum-bar where he recruited some people and lived a carefree life.
He still had some skills. Otherwise, the Axe and the Apex would come to his place causing trouble.
At this moment, he was devouring steak with gusto-his right hand holding a bottle of red wine while several pieces of beef were placed next to him. This was his lunch.
Three pounds of meat and two bottles of wine were Jovanny’s standard meal despite his slightly overweight figure.
“Boss, Pablo’s daughter is here.”
When Jovanny finished chewing on his third piece of steak, the man brought Bailee over. The woman’s beauty and tenderness immediately caught Jovanny’s attention.
A surge of heat welled up in his lower abdomen. Women-especially young women-were irresistible to men like him.
Jovanny exhaled deeply. “You’re Pablo’s daughter?”
“My parents owe you three hundred thousand dollars.”
Bailee appeared worried as she identified Jovanny as their leader. She took out a bag and threw it over while shouting,
“There are one hundred ninety thousand dollars here. Take it first. I’ll give you the rest next week. Now release my parents quickly. Otherwise, I’ll call the police.”
“And let me warn you-not lending any more money to my parents. I won’t pay it back if there’s another time.”
The bag dropped to the ground, revealing stacks of dollar bills. However, Jovanny didn’t even look at them as he picked up his fourth piece of steak while smiling.
“Pablo has a good daughter. Taking responsibility for her parents’ three-hundred-thousand-dollar debt is truly rare these days. Children who don’t live off their parents are rare-not to mention those who support their parents.”
“I admire your actions.”
Jovanny waved his finger for someone to bring Pablo and Maci out as he said, “I’ll give you an opportunity.”
“As long as you agree to be my woman, not only will I forgive the hundred and ten thousand you owe me, but I can also help your parents overcome their gambling addiction.”
“I’m sure you know that as long as they don’t quit gambling, they’ll eventually drag you down with them. Even if I don’t lend them money, there will be others willing to do so.”
Jovanny bit into his steak, the juice running down his chin, as if he were savoring Bailee’s very essence.
“Miss Lennard, what do you say?”