Chapter 143: How Could People Cause So Much Trouble?
Chapter 143: Chapter 143: How Could People Cause So Much Trouble?
Dennis Donovan was so shocked by Arabella Donovan’s fierce performance that his jaw dropped. It took him a good while to react.
But when he turned his head, he saw Justin Donovan and Caspian Rhodes standing stiffly on either side of him and his lover like a pair of bodyguards. His cheek twitched violently.
"What’s the matter with you two? Preston and I are old, we can’t help. But you two are young, able-bodied men, and you didn’t even go up to help? You let Serena hold the line by herself. Have you no shame?"
Justin Donovan shamelessly pushed up his glasses and said in a profound tone, "Granduncle, you don’t understand. Before we came, my brother repeatedly warned me to stay far away during a fight so I wouldn’t get in Serena’s way."
"Serena was apparently trained by a descendant of Terrence Rooney, and she was born with superhuman strength. She once rescued him from seven or eight brawny, two-hundred-pound bodyguards. With my meager skills, I’d not only be useless, I’d probably just drag her down."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Caspian Rhodes quickly chimed in. "I can testify to that. I was there and saw it with my own eyes. So, I’m well aware of my own limitations. It’s not that I’m deliberately hiding and not helping."
Unfortunately, this explanation did not satisfy Dennis Donovan.
He shot them a look of utter disdain, as if to say: ’You two useless pastries have the nerve to say that? What a disgrace. Ptooey~’
Justin Donovan and Caspian Rhodes: "..." ’Alright, that’s... irrefutable!’
Shawn Preston saw that so many people couldn’t even take down one young girl. He also saw that Justin Donovan and Caspian Rhodes were sticking close to the two elders, leaving him no opportunity to strike. He gnashed his teeth in frustration and decided to use the chaos as a cover to escape.
But just as he reached the main gate, he ran into another dozen or so bodyguards who had rushed to the scene.
With the help of this new group, things got a lot easier for Arabella.
A few minutes later, the sharp wail of police sirens tore through the night sky, putting a timely stop to the brawl before it could escalate further.
The villagers, who had been swept up in a rush of hot-blooded fervor, finally calmed down and looked at each other in dismay.
"The police? They really called the police? Don’t tell me what they said earlier was all true?"
Realizing this, many of those involved in the fight were terrified. They dropped their tools and fled, afraid of being caught if they delayed even for a second.
The village chief and Shawn Preston wanted to run too, but unfortunately, they were being watched closely by several of Dennis Donovan’s bodyguards and had no way to escape.
The sharp-witted villagers had just finished fleeing when the Preston Family’s small courtyard was completely surrounded.
The first person to rush in was a middle-aged man in his early forties. He wore a suit and tie and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, looking very refined and scholarly.
Perhaps because he had come in such a hurry, he was drenched in sweat and his hair was a mess, making him look rather disheveled.
"Ninth Master, are you all right? Why did you come here without telling us beforehand? If anything were to happen to you here, we’d never be able to answer for it!"
Dennis Donovan’s face darkened, and he slammed his cane on the ground with a thunderous noise.
"I wouldn’t dare trouble you, Mr. Jarvis. This old man has seen a thing or two, but I never imagined a place like this still existed! People shouting for blood and taking the law into their own hands, completely undeterred even when you say the police are coming. If you’d arrived any later, you’d be collecting the bodies of us two old folks and our young ones."
Cold sweat dripped down Mr. Jarvis’s back. He apologized profusely, "It’s my fault, my oversight. I never thought a place so lawless and without regard for justice existed under my jurisdiction. I’m so sorry that you and your family were frightened, Ninth Master. Please rest assured, we will give you and your family a satisfactory explanation for this matter."
"It’s not just about this incident. My beloved was kidnapped by them, hidden here, imprisoned, and abused. She has suffered so much. This cannot simply be let go. Every single person involved in this, down to the last one, must be arrested."
"There’s more?" Mr. Jarvis was stunned. He looked at Shawn Preston and his cronies as if to say: ’How could anyone cause this much trouble?’
"Rest assured, kidnapping, false imprisonment, abuse, torture—every single one is a serious violation of the law. Even if you hadn’t said anything, we certainly couldn’t let vermin like them remain at large. I’ll have my men investigate immediately to find out everyone involved. We will not let a single one slip through the net."
Dennis Donovan snorted coldly. "See that you do."
"Dennis..." Preston listened to their conversation, a look of surprise on her face. For a moment, she couldn’t quite figure out what her beloved’s status was now.
The moment Dennis Donovan heard Preston’s voice, he performed a live Sichuan opera face-change. A beaming smile spread across his face as he sidled up to her and asked in a voice as gentle as water, "What is it, dear?"
The onlookers: "..."
Only Arabella Donovan, hiding silently behind Justin Donovan and Caspian Rhodes, covered her mouth with a teasing look on her face, as if she were enjoying a sweet romantic scene.
’Tsk, tsk, tsk, Granduncle looks pretty handsome being all domineering and protective of his wife! Isn’t Preston just going to be charmed to death? "My beloved is a peerless hero, returning after many years to whisk me away on a multi-colored cloud." It’s like a fantasy novel plot coming to life! I’m so shipping this, so shipping this!’
Caspian Rhodes: Pfft... ’Well, that’s... pretty accurate.’
Justin Donovan: "..." ’Little sister, just how many sappy, cliché romance novels have you been reading lately? You can’t just throw your brain away like that!’
Preston’s face flushed red at the comment, and she shot Dennis Donovan an angry, embarrassed glare.
Dennis Donovan, however, felt that his family’s little lucky star had excellent judgment, able to see through her granduncle’s handsome exterior to his reliable nature with a single glance. He could barely stop his tail from wagging all the way to the sky.
It wasn’t until Preston, unable to bear it any longer, gave him a sharp pinch that he finally reined it in a little. He cleared his throat and said, "Guinevere, do you think I’m being too heartless? They are your nephews, after all."
"But look at what they did to you! They hurt you so badly and made you suffer so much. Just thinking about it fills my heart with agony. How could they do this to you? If I don’t teach them a lesson, I just can’t swallow this anger."
The crowd, who all got goosebumps from Dennis Donovan’s exaggerated tone: "..." Ewww~
Even Arabella was enjoying the drama, not minding the escalating chaos one bit.
’Oh, wow, the "green tea" act is strong with this one! Yep, no mistake. He’s a pot of "old green tea" that’s been steeping for half a century.’
Justin and Caspian: Pfft...
Dennis Donovan: "..." ’Girl, save me some face. Stop exposing your grandpa’s act. I’ll send you a big gift when we get back.’
Preston was also amused by Arabella’s accurate roast. "What kind of person do you take me for? They conspired with people close to me to steal my fortune, kicked me out of my own home, and even wanted to kill me. How could I possibly plead for them? It’s not like I have a misplaced saintly heart and want to go sit at the foot of Mount Veridia."
"I just wanted to ask you, are you really sure you can have them all put away? If you can’t, I can handle it myself."
Dennis Donovan: "..." ’Is my wife underestimating me?’
Justin Donovan: "..." ’How does my future grandaunt seem even fiercer than my granduncle?’
Arabella: Pfft...