Chapter 177: This One Is My Person, Too
C-c-c... Cousin? What cousin? Who’s your cousin?
Beatrice Donovan happened to be working nearby and had rushed over after receiving the dispatch call. When she suddenly heard a familiar voice, she instinctively looked over. Her previously stoic expression immediately gave way to surprise and delight.
"Serena? What are you doing here?"
"I’m out shopping with my cousin. What about you, Cousin? Why are you here? Don’t tell me that last case still isn’t..."
"No, the last case is more or less handled. I was on patrol today when I got a call about a fight at this mall, so I came to check it out."
Hearing this, Arabella Donovan stuck out her tongue sheepishly. "The person fighting they mentioned on that call... that might have been me..."
"What?" Beatrice Donovan’s expression changed slightly. She quickly pulled Arabella Donovan over to look her up and down. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
As soon as she said this, the store fell deathly silent. You could have heard a pin drop.
Eugene Jennings breathed a quiet sigh of relief. ’Looks like my little cousin and her cousin are close. She really cares about her. We’re in the clear!’
Special Assistant Ford also pushed up the glasses on his nose, marveling at Arabella Donovan’s connections. At the same time, he made a mental note to tell Kieran Kerr about this when he got back.
As if sensing something, Arabella Donovan glanced at the few people not far away, who were frozen stiff with faces ashen as paper.
’Sorry, she’s on my side too. Nyah nyah nyah~~~’
Eugene Jennings: "..." ’Honestly, my little cousin can be a real handful sometimes. Though, this bratty side of her... is also pretty cute.’
Beatrice Donovan: "..." ’Looks like she’s fine.’
Beatrice Donovan had initially thought that, based on what Arabella said, her group might not have been in the right. But after hearing the full story—holy cow, her little cousin was actually the one being bullied!
As for the fighting part, it was completely an act of courage to help someone in need—self-defense. So what were they waiting for? Take them away!
Now, Zack Prescott couldn’t leave even if he wanted to. Because Catherine Chamberlain, the principal party, insisted on handling the matter by the book, he was taken away directly for questioning.
His wife tried to cause a scene, but she was also bundled up and taken away on charges of obstructing justice.
Mr. Sterling and his mistress, seeing things were going south, turned to slip away. But in their haste, the mistress’s high heel twisted. She lost her balance and pitched forward. In her panic, she grabbed the escalator handrail with one hand and reached out for Mr. Sterling with the other.
Caught off guard, Mr. Sterling was pulled off balance as well and went tumbling down the escalator.
Fortunately, there weren’t many people on the escalator at the time, so his tumble caused limited damage. Unfortunately, someone who had just reached the bottom and was about to get off became Mr. Sterling’s human cushion, rolling with him for a good few feet past the end of the escalator.
Even more unfortunately, this poor soul was at the mall for a blind date today, and he was dressed impeccably—looking sharp and handsome.
But after the tumble, he was injured, his clothes were a mess, and the impact had sent his toupee flying somewhere, revealing his shiny, bald head.
The crowd upstairs, who had leaned over to watch the commotion: "..." ’Well... that was... quite sudden!’
His blind date, who had been quite satisfied with him just moments before, turned pale at the sight. She tossed out, "I just remembered I have something urgent to take care of at home. I have to go."
The man, struggling to sit up: "..."
The onlookers: "..." ’We’ve received rigorous training. We generally don’t laugh. HAHAHAHAHA...’
Thanks to his human cushion, Mr. Sterling wasn’t badly hurt. After a moment, he got to his feet, holding his back. But when he turned his head, he saw his direct supervisor. "Mr.... Mr. Wagner..."
Mr. Wagner, a bachelor of a certain age, had just watched helplessly as his blind date walked away without a backward glance. His tender heart shattered into a million pieces. When he turned and saw the culprit, his face went black.
"You... you... you’re something else..." Mr. Wagner pointed at Mr. Sterling, sputtering "you" for a long moment. In the end, he was so furious he lost all will to retaliate and simply dragged his injured right leg away, limping.
Seeing this, Mr. Sterling hurried after him, trying to explain, but after just two steps, he tripped and fell flat on his face.
Meanwhile, the true culprit behind this chain reaction, Mr. Sterling’s mistress, could no longer be bothered with the sugar daddy she had only recently latched onto. That twist just now had not only caused her to pull Mr. Sterling down, but it had also made her slam her brand-new, six-hundred-thousand-yuan jade bracelet against the escalator handrail... cracking it!
"My brace... my bracelet, my bracelet..."
The woman’s shriek echoed through the mall. The crowd, having watched the entire farce unfold, couldn’t stop their lips from twitching as they struggled to hold back their laughter.
Arabella Donovan also stood on her tiptoes to get a look, the corners of her eyes lifting slightly.
’Did the bad luck and financial misfortune kick in this quickly? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Well, I guess the good times are over for those two.’
Eugene Jennings: ’Oho~’
Beatrice Donovan: ’...Right, I forgot about that part.’
With the eyesores finally gone, Arabella Donovan felt that the air in the store had become much fresher. Seeing that the show was over, many of the onlookers also began to disperse.
Special Assistant Ford, however, remembered the jewelry Arabella Donovan hadn’t yet paid for. "The general manager is deeply sorry for what Miss Donovan experienced in our branch today. To express his apologies, all of Miss Donovan’s purchases today will be on the house. We hope you will accept this gift as his apology."
But Arabella Donovan shook her head. "That’s not necessary. Just charge me whatever it costs. The discount from that card will be enough."
"But..."
"Just tell him what I said."
"Very well, then." Seeing Arabella Donovan’s insistence, Special Assistant Ford didn’t press the issue. He gave Catherine Chamberlain a meaningful look.
Catherine Chamberlain immediately stepped forward to ring up Arabella Donovan’s purchase. "With your discount card, it’s fifty percent off all items. The total comes to five million, one hundred thousand. The card payment is complete. Miss, here is your card back."
"Thank you." Arabella Donovan took the bank card from Catherine Chamberlain and looked at the red, five-fingered handprint still visible on her cheek, her brow furrowing slightly.
’There’s a saying: when you catch adulterers, catch them in a pair; when you catch a thief, catch them with the loot. That Mr. Sterling’s hands aren’t clean, and since this Zack Prescott is in cahoots with him, he’s probably not an honest or decent person either. Maybe the young lady should check his accounts during his tenure here. She might find a pleasant surprise. That way, when the head office settles accounts with Zack Prescott, they might be able to lock him up for even longer.’
That way, she wouldn’t have to worry about Zack Prescott getting out anytime soon and retaliating against the girl.
A glint flashed in Eugene Jennings’s eyes, and he suddenly spoke up. "Serena, you just said that Mr. Sterling was envious of you because his cousin-in-law couldn’t get him a fifty-percent-off card too. People always care most about what they don’t have. Could it be the same for that Store Manager Prescott?"
"Even though he started trouble with us because Mr. Sterling deliberately provoked him, I still feel like he only blew up when he heard about your fifty-percent-off card, Serena. Denying it, then hitting someone... it was like... like someone was trying to steal his money."
Beatrice Donovan, the only one who knew the inside story: "..." ’You don’t have to be so blunt about it.’