Chapter 310 Do You Think Gabriel Is Useless?
A police department apartment in Xyleria.
Since it was New Year's Day, Danielle's kindergarten was on break. When Jessica came over for lunch with Cynthia, she brought Danielle along, mentioning she had a meeting with an advertiser that evening and would leave Danielle with Cynthia for the day.
Cynthia was usually swamped with work. She often thought about visiting Danielle but never found the time. The recent holiday had just ended, and a major case had come up at the department. After several days of early mornings and late nights, they finally cracked the case. Today, New Year's Day, Cynthia finally had a day off.
"Aunt Cynthia, what's this?" Danielle was quietly drawing with the watercolor pens Jessica had brought her in Cynthia's apartment. She wasn't causing any trouble, but after a while, she got bored and started looking through a nearby drawer.
The drawer was already open; Danielle didn't open it herself. But the things inside were unfamiliar to her, and she couldn't help but be curious.
Cynthia was baking cookies for Danielle. Hearing Danielle, she returned to the living room and saw Danielle leaning over the drawer by the coffee table.
The police department apartments were usually assigned by the leadership. While the environment was pleasant, the furnishings were outdated and prone to minor problems. For example, the drawer often wouldn't close properly, and the parts on the side frequently fell off and got stuck.
Cynthia had fixed it many times, but it still often broke.
Since the apartment was assigned from above, she couldn't just replace the furniture. No one else usually came over, so she didn't bother getting new ones.
Inside the drawer were two sets of black bulletproof vests and police protective gear, including gas masks and a gun she brought back from the M Country, all of which Danielle saw.
Cynthia walked over and picked Danielle up, moving her back to the sofa. "These are things I used when I was abroad. I brought them back when I came here. You know my job is to catch bad guys, and those are essential gear, but they're very dangerous. They're not for kids to look at or touch, okay?"
"Okay." Danielle nodded, looking up with awe. "The teacher said police officers protect kids. Does Aunt Cynthia protect kids, too?"
"Yes." Cynthia kissed Danielle on the cheek, then felt it wasn't enough and hugged her chubby little body for another kiss.
She usually had a stoic expression, cold from the inside out. The passion and impulsiveness she once had were long gone. The little bit of tenderness she had left was only for Danielle.
After coaxing Danielle to keep drawing quietly, Cynthia checked the time.
Half an hour ago, Jessica had sent her a WhatsApp message, saying if she didn't hear back within an hour or receive any other messages, Cynthia should go to the third-floor VIP room of the Radiant Pearl Hotel to find her.
Jessica couldn't avoid tonight's engagement, but because of her current manager, she suspected the drinks might be spiked. Even if they weren't, it would be hard to refuse them. If she got into trouble, she was counting on Cynthia to come to her rescue.
It had been half an hour, but Jessica hadn't sent any more messages.
Cynthia sent Jessica a WhatsApp message, but after a few minutes, there was still no reply.
The drive from here to the Radiant Pearl Hotel in Xyleria was only fifteen minutes, but Cynthia didn't plan to wait any longer. She took the freshly baked cookies out, put some in a small jar for Danielle to eat later, and left the rest. She then got Danielle's coat and prepared to take her out.
After dressing Danielle, Cynthia was about to go to the bedroom to get her coat when she heard the doorbell.
She paused and glanced towards the door.
She had only been in Xyleria for a few months. Besides work and solving cases, she didn't interact much with the other officers and didn't bother maintaining even a colleague relationship privately. Although this was a police department apartment, many officers' families lived here. There were often elderly and children around, and the security wasn't very tight, making it easy for anyone to get in.
Since Jessica hadn't replied to her WhatsApp, it couldn't be Jessica outside.
But there was no one else who would come looking for her.
Cynthia said, "Danielle, come to the bedroom."
"Okay." Danielle obediently ran over. Cynthia had her unzip her coat and sit on the bed to avoid getting too hot, then she walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind her.
As she approached the door, a cold and vigilant look flashed in her eyes. The apartment door didn't have a peephole, so she couldn't see outside. The hallway had surveillance, but it was old and often malfunctioned. She hadn't installed any camera capture software on her phone, so she couldn't see who was outside. But she instinctively sensed that the person outside was unusually calm and composed. The doorbell had only rung once, without any impatient pressing or knocking.
The moment the doorbell rang a second time, Cynthia swiftly opened the door. Before she could clearly see the tall and imposing figure of Jimmy outside, a flash of cold light and a fine blade from her sleeve was already at his neck. Meanwhile, she bent her elbow and forcefully slammed the unresisting Jimmy against the wall. The blade in her hand didn't retreat, and as she caught a glimpse of his face from the corner of her eye, the blade almost instantly cut his throat.
A thin line of blood appeared on Jimmy's Adam's apple. He didn't resist or move, even though the swift and decisive moves of Cynthia in front of him were all taught by him. He just let her pin him against the wall, his gaze calm and deep as he looked at Cynthia, who was dressed in casual home clothes.
Cynthia's expression remained cold, even after recognizing his face.
She didn't even bother to ask why he suddenly appeared in Xyleria. Instead, she pressed the blade down a bit more.
Jimmy looked down into her fierce eyes. "Go on."
Cynthia stared coldly at him, her hand unmoving.
"The moment you opened the door, you should have recognized me. You acted so swiftly and decisively; why not use that ruthlessness to cut me down? Killing me with your own hands would make you feel better." Jimmy leaned against the old wall outside the door, his usually cold face softening slightly as he looked at Cynthia, whom he hadn't seen in two years and who now greeted him with a blade.
Cynthia saw the thin line of blood on his throat. It was just a surface cut, but the blade was so sharp that a little more pressure would be enough to bleed him out.
Suddenly, Jimmy raised his hand to grip her wrist, staring down at her. "Don't you want to kill me? Then do it. I never taught you to be indecisive. Do what you want. It's your hand, your life. Go ahead."
He even applied some force, as if to push her hand holding the blade down.
Suddenly, Danielle's cautious voice came from the bedroom, "Aunt Cynthia, I'm really hot wearing this coat in the room. Can we go now?"
This wasn't for a child's eyes. Cynthia quickly withdrew the blade and was about to pull her hand back, but Jimmy's hand still held her wrist.
"Let go!" she demanded, her brows furrowing coldly.
However, Jimmy didn't move, still standing as she had pushed him against the wall; but his grip on her wrist was like an iron clamp, unyielding.
Cynthia's usually emotionless face was now filled with anger. "Jessica is waiting for me to rescue her. If something happens because of the delay, will you compensate Danielle with a mother? Let go!"
"If she gets into trouble, Gabriel won't save her. Do you think he's useless?" Jimmy's voice was devoid of warmth, but his grip suddenly tightened, causing Cynthia to stumble and almost fall forward.
There was no need to ask how he knew about Jessica and Gabriel's relationship. Jimmy was all-knowing; what could he not know?
Cynthia almost drew her blade again, her face icy as she gritted her teeth. "Let go."
---
Radiant Pearl Hotel, third-floor private room.
Jessica had been persuaded to drink several glasses of various types of alcohol. When Mackenzie was around, she would try to shield her and block the drinks as much as possible without offending anyone. But Cherry wouldn't. Cherry even found various reasons to make the perfume company executives toast with Jessica, one after another, all with polite words. Jessica knew she couldn't avoid tonight's situation, but this perfume endorsement was top-tier in the country. She couldn't let Cherry take it away easily without terminating the contract first.
She'd given Cynthia a heads-up, but hadn't heard back since replying to her WhatsApp message earlier.
Cynthia was very reliable and rarely made mistakes. Under normal circumstances, Cynthia should have arrived ten minutes ago. But now, the appointed hour had passed, and Cynthia was a no-show. There was no activity on WhatsApp either, indicating something must have happened.
Jessica didn't want to bother Gabriel because of the advertiser's persistence. Gabriel had warned her to avoid certain unspoken rules in the industry and not to force things. She wasn't trying to force things; she just wanted to wrap things up properly before terminating the contract. But it was clear Cherry saw Jessica as difficult to deal with and wanted to keep her here tonight. If something happened after drinking, it would be a handle to control Jessica.
With Cynthia not showing up and Jessica unable to drink any more, she felt she might really get drunk here tonight.
Another glass of wine was poured in front of Jessica. Feeling dizzy, she looked at the glass and discreetly reached under the table. Seeing no response from Cynthia, she quickly sent a WhatsApp message to Gabriel: [Radiant Pearl Hotel, come save me!]
Just seconds after sending the message, Jessica's phone rang. Gabriel was calling.
Jessica was about to use the excuse of answering the call to step out when Cherry suddenly snatched her phone. "Mr. Torres wants to toast with you. Why are you answering the phone? Come on, drink up!"
