It felt as if half a century had passed. It was so quiet in the car that one could almost hear it if a needle were to drop onto the floor. Elena was dumbstruck by Michael’s apology. Her breathing labored, and she was not even sure if she was still angry. Should she let things go after that rare apology? She thought that she had been too easy on him. As long as the man sweet-talked her, she could forget what he had done to hurt her. How could she be so cheap and easy? She found herself unable to stay angry at him.
Suddenly, the car stopped. Elena looked out the window and realized that it was not a good place to stop the care; there was not even a bus station around.
“Something is wrong.” Michael turned off the car engine and wound down the window so she could get some fresh air.
“Wait here. I will be back momentarily.”
“What’s going on?” Michael’s voice sounded a little serious, and it put Elena on high alert.
“Everything’s fine. Just stay in the car. Do not come down.”
Michael handed her the car keys and got out of the car. It was then that Elena saw what was in the distance. Was that not the land that the Williams family had purchased for property development purposes?
It was a vast land, so it was discussed on the business news channels for some time. However, it was something that was under Williams Corporation’s purview. Elena had been with Michael for long enough to know that he did not handle the project. That situation did not look good. She could see many angry people gathered on that site. Was that a riot?
“It’s Eldest Young Master Williams! Eldest Young Master Williams!”
Someone had spotted Michael as he walked toward that direction. The people who had surrounded the site manager immediately shifted their attention to Michael.
“You forced us to relocate. You’ve overstepped your boundaries!”
“That’s right. We did not want to sell our ancestral homes, so you had people cut off our electricity and water supply, just to force us to leave!”
“Didn’t we agree to discuss it? Why did you cut off the water and electricity supply? You’re a cunning businessman!” Another person yelled.
More people joined the protest. When the site manager saw Eldest Young Master Williams, he was afraid for the young man’s safety, so he sent some workers to protect Michael.
“What’s going on?” Michael’s face darkened, and his voice carried a majestic aura.
The angry villagers immediately quiet down. Michael’s eyes swept across the crowd before they finally landed on the site manager.
“These people have not moved yet. Why did you cut off their water and electricity supply?”
“This…” The manager looked embarrassed. He had only carried out orders from the management.
“They don’t want to move away. We have negotiated and agreed on the price, but they suddenly regretted their decision…”
“Bullshit! It was you who reversed the agreement!” One of the angry villagers shouted.
“That’s right. Each household should have received a settlement fee, but then we were only just told that it was canceled!”
“Yes! One of the members from your Williams family told us that each household would be given a settlement fee based on a per capita basis. Each person would get at least a hundred thousand dollars.”
“We believed in your family, but you guys are liars!” Another yell from the mob.
“Was there an agreement in place?” Michael stood in the crowd.
Even though it was a noisy crowd, Michael stood out like royalty. Everyone had kept their distance from him, and no one dared to take even half a step in his direction.
“The agreement mentioned one hundred thousand dollars, but you guys verbally agreed for one hundred thousand dollars per person! You guys claimed that there was no need to amend the agreement and told us to trust the Williams family because you are a great and successful family! We had all believed it!”
“Yes, we had all believed it. One of the Young Master Williams had said that!”
“The Williams family members are liars! That Young Master Williams is a liar!” the crowd chanted.
The mob’s hostile sentiment snowballed. Everyone was agitated because they were to lose their houses for less money. The group gradually moved toward Michael and eventually had him surrounded.
“Eldest Young Master Williams, I shall deal with this matter. You should head back first.” The manager was terrified.
If something went wrong with the eldest young master, he would probably lose his job.
He addressed the crowd, “Don’t worry, aren’t we still discussing this? We will give you a satisfactory answer.”
“What discussion? You have already started the construction. Would you still discuss it with us?”
“The Williams family should pay back our money. Give us our money!”
“My mother was so angry that she was hospitalized. It was all your family’s fault! Give us our money!”
“The Williams family did not keep their word. All the young masters from the Williams family are wicked!”
“Yes! You are all evil!”
As the crowds continued to chant their disapproval, someone had picked a small stone and threw it at Michael.
“Look out!” Elena was still in the car when she saw that scene. She immediately opened the door and ran toward that direction.
“Be careful. Don’t fight!”
“What are you doing here?” Michael’s face fell. He hurriedly made his way across the crowd toward her.
However, he did not expect to knock down an older man accidentally as he made his way through the crowd. The crowd went crazy at the thought of Eldest Young Master Williams hurting someone. No one knew who it was that picked up a brick and hurled it toward Michael. Luckily, Michael managed to dodge the brick, and it fell onto the ground nearby Elena. Elena felt chills all over her body when she realized that the mob had resorted to violence!
“Eldest Young Master Williams, be careful!”
Another brick flew toward him! Elena did not even hesitate as she ran toward him.
“That’s the Eldest Young Master Williams’s woman! And that’s his car!”
“They had made so much money that they could spend it all on women and cars. Those evil profiteers!”
“Aren’t they ashamed that they are profiteering from ordinary folk’s hard-earned money!”
“Shameless!”
“Go to hell!”
Someone had targeted Elena instead when bricks flew toward her direction.
Elena was still running, so she could not have evaded those bricks even if she wanted to.
“Eldest Young Master Williams!”
She did not slow down, but she covered her head with her arms. Then she smacked right into the man’s chest. Her slender body shook, and she almost lost her balance. Strong arms encircled her and pulled her into a harsh embrace. None of the bricks hit her, so there was no pain. Elena felt relieved, and she looked up. Then she spotted something bright red!
“Eldest Young Master Williams!” Elena was immediately frightened!
Michael was injured! Did one of the bricks hit him? It had flown onto his forehead!
“Don’t cause trouble! Don’t cause trouble! You are breaking the law! Don’t cause any trouble!”
The manager brought some workers with him and quickly put a stop to the chaos. Several cars stopped abruptly nearby, and about a dozen men in black climbed out of the car and then proceeded to surround Michael and Elena in a protection circle.
“Eldest Young Master Williams, how are you? Please don’t scare me!”
Elena wanted to touch the would with her hand, but she did not dare to do that.
She exclaimed in panic, “Come quick! Eldest Young Master Williams is injured! Come and help us quickly!”
Michael still held her tightly in his arms as he used his body to wrap Elena’s body entirely. He feared that the protestors might throw more bricks at her. His tall body shook from the pain. The slab had hit him on his forehead, and it had hurt! He could not even stand steadily, but he kept his hold on her!
Elena’s heart ached. Then she saw a figure who came out of another car. She yelled in anxiousness, “Levi, Eldest Young Master Williams is injured! Take him to the hospital now!”