“Yes, yes, we’re Mr. Parvis’s men.”
Hearing Darnell’s words, the sharp-faced man immediately nodded repeatedly, his smile as bright as possible. “Mr. Halford, we even met at Wanderlust Pub’s entrance. I was the one who foolishly challenged you, remember? What brings you here? Taking a walk in the park?”
Jovanny had already told them that when they saw Darnell, not only should they not seek revenge, but they should show utmost respect. The deterrent left by Cesar had indeed shocked the sharp-faced man and others, so at this moment, they were very friendly to Darnell.
Darnell uttered an “oh” as he remembered the sharp-faced man, and smiled, “I remember you… what was your name again?”
“Mr. Halford can just call me Bruno.”
The sharp-faced man replied, overwhelmed by the honor, and squeezed out another smile, “By the way, I’m in charge of the Lennard couple.”
“They’ve been behaving very well lately. Mr. Halford, you can visit them when you have time and have a few drinks with Mr. Parvis. He misses you terribly.”
“Good, I’ll visit him when I have time.”
Darnell nodded slightly and then looked at the four men and spoke, “I just happened to be passing by today. What’s with all the fuss here?”
He pointed at the weapon on Bruno’s waist before continuing, “Committing violence in public, aren’t you worried about bringing trouble to Jovanny?”
Although Darnell had only met the middle-aged man once, he was still willing to help him. It wasn’t so much about being a good Samaritan, but rather feeling some sympathy for the man. One slash of the knife would ruin Fingers of Trial.
“Mr. Halford, we’re acting on Mr. Parvis’s orders.”
Hearing Darnell’s words, Bruno hurriedly waved his hand and quickly explained, “I wasn’t really planning to chop off this guy’s hand. I just wanted to scare him a bit, to make him pay his debt.”
“He owes us fifty thousand dollars, and he’s already ten days overdue. If everyone refused to pay like him, we can’t make a living.”
Several companions also chimed in, nodding, “Yes, we have many brothers to feed.”
These days, even the underworld had it tough, dealing with deadbeats was a headache.
The bruised and swollen middle-aged man said nervously, “Please give me five more days. In five days, I’ll definitely pay off the debt.”
He even used his sleeve to wipe Bruno’s shoes, trying to curry favor.
His smile was humble, and his movements respectful, making one can’t help but sigh.
Bruno snorted heavily at his words. “Five days? I give you five days, who gives me five days? And after five days, it won’t be fifty thousand anymore. With compounding interest, it’ll be sixty thousand.”
Being one of Jovanny’s subordinates, Bruno was naturally clever, so he could immediately see the problem. “If you can’t come up with fifty thousand now, how can you come up with it in three days?”
“Even if you sell yourself, you can’t make fifty thousand in three days. What do you take me for, an idiot?”
The rest of the men nodded, not believing at all that he could produce fifty thousand in five days.
Darnell was also a bit confused.
Weston bit his lip. “I can’t guarantee sixty thousand, but fifty thousand is not a problem.” He revealed the source of the money to reassure everyone.
“My family heirloom-a jade-is currently for sale at an antique shop. The owner said it would sell in five days at most. That thing is worth at least fifty thousand.”
He then took off his shoe, pulled out a small plastic bag, and produced a consignment notice from the antique shop, proving he wasn’t lying.
Bruno slapped it away. “Damn! I thought you had almost gathered the money, but it’s just your family heirloom for sale.”
“Even I’m not interested in that given its low quality, why would other buyers be such fools?” Bruno had clearly seen the jade before. “You’re just bullshitting.”
“Weston, I’m telling you, there’s no five days. Today, you sell everything you own to get fifty thousand.”
He made a motion to kick him.
Weston protected his head with one hand while explaining, “No, that jade is really worth fifty thousand…”
At this moment, one of Bruno’s men pointed at the bag in Weston’s arms and shouted, “Boss, this guy keeps protecting that tattered bag. There must be something valuable.”
Bruno snorted indifferently, “What treasure could he have?”
But despite his words, he still snatched the bag without warning and tore it open. Then he froze. A thick stack of cash! Bruno became slightly excited and then shouted,
“Weston, you said you had no money. Then what’s this? This is at least ten thousand, right? Do you have more? Hand it all over to me.”
He waved his hand. “Brothers, hold him down and search him thoroughly.”
The three men instinctively moved to hold Weston down for searching, but before they could apply force, Weston struggled to his feet, his body moving left and right, instantly breaking free from the three.
His speed was extremely fast, giving no one time to react. By the time they saw he had broken free, he had already approached Bruno.
Then, he snatched the bag from Bruno’s hand, clutched the ten thousand dollars tightly, and then used his back to bear the punches and kicks from the three thugs. After enduring a round of beating, he fell to his knees with a thud, repeatedly begging,
“This money isn’t mine, it really isn’t mine.”
He pointed at Darnell, who was watching coldly from the side, and continued, “It belongs to that young man. He left it at the restaurant, and I was bringing it back to him.”
Bruno was about to beat him severely, but upon hearing that the money belonged to Darnell, he immediately stopped his actions and shouted, “At a time like this, you still dare to lie?”
Then, he smiled ingratiatingly at Darnell, “Mr. Halford, is this money yours?”
Weston hurriedly ran to Darnell’s side and handed the bag and money to him.
“Mr. Halford, this is your money. I got it back for you.”
He added, “Thank you for speaking up for me earlier.”
Darnell was slightly stunned to hear it was his money. Then he realized, it must be the unused cash from slapping Saul. He had long considered this money as compensation for the diner.
Unexpectedly, Weston brought it back to him, with an attitude of determination to return it even at the cost of his life. He had no choice but to reluctantly accept it.
“That’s right. I left it in the diner.”
He gave Weston a faint smile. “Thank you.”
Weston hurriedly waved his hand, indicating it was what he should do. Bruno and his men, seeing there was no deception, dispersed their anger.
“Alright, everyone, calm down.”
Although Darnell still didn’t know why Weston borrowed money from Jovanny, the situation today was basically clear.
“Although I just met Weston, he can be considered a man of integrity with principles, even returning the ten thousand dollars I left at the diner.”
“If he says he’ll pay in five days, he definitely will in five days.”
Weston nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes. In five days, I definitely will pay!”
Bruno heard this and looked troubled. “Mr. Halford, it’s difficult for us to report back like this. Why don’t you call Mr. Parvis yourself?”
Fifty thousand wasn’t much, but they couldn’t allow Weston to keep avoiding his debt indefinitely.
“Forget it. No need to make it so complicated.”
Darnell also understood Bruno’s predicament. These days, there were too many deadbeats. Once word got out that someone could get away with not paying off his debt, it would trigger a chain reaction, and then Jovanny might suffer a huge loss.
So Darnell dismissed the idea, asked Bruno for his bank account number, and immediately transferred fifty thousand without hesitation.
“Give me the IOUs and information. I’ll pay off Weston’s debt.”
Darnell was direct and decisive. “From now on, he has no more entanglements with you guys. I’ll collect the fifty thousand from Weston myself.”
He glanced at Weston before adding, “This is better for everyone.”
Bruno’s phone beeped, confirming that the fifty thousand had been received. He was first stunned and then became anxious.
“Mr. Halford, we can’t do this. This is Weston’s debt. We can’t let you cover it. He’s got a bunch of problems. He has a seriously ill grandmother, and the only valuable thing he has is that fifteen-square-meter small house waiting for demolition.”
Bruno, understanding the situation, felt for the first time that fifty thousand was a hot potato. “If it drags on for eight or ten years, the fifty thousand you lend to Weston will be no different from throwing your money away.”
“Mr. Parvis will be angry if he finds out. Please give me your account number, I’ll transfer the fifty thousand back to you. Mr. Halford, I beg you!”
If Weston didn’t repay, wouldn’t that harm Darnell? And if Darnell got harmed, they would be killed by Jovanny.
Weston also waved his hands repeatedly. “Young man, I can’t owe you this.”
Darnell fixed Weston with a piercing gaze. “Didn’t you just say that the jade is worth at least fifty thousand? Is that true or false?”
Weston took out a photo and handed it to Darnell with a trembling hand.
Darnell’s eyes instantly focused with intensity.