Chapter 81 $120,000,000
James gave a faint smile. "I'll be waiting here."
Emily clung to Mary's arm. "Mary, Joseph wants him to pay up. You mustn't go soft and pay for him."
Mary looked disappointed. "I don't care about him anymore."
James would suffer a severe loss.
It wasn't long before two officers arrived in a patrol car. They surveyed the scene and then had the two move their vehicles to the side to avoid obstructing normal traffic.
"My time is precious, and I don't want to waste it on you." Joseph pushed his gold-framed glasses up on his nose, looking at James with a sense of superiority.
"Out of respect for Mary, you can take $15,000, and I'll handle the rest. Otherwise, it will cost you no less than $30,000 to fix it yourself," Joseph spoke lightly, highlighting the gap between himself and James in terms of both money and character.
"Joseph, I'm sorry, but this accident is entirely your fault." A tall officer said politely, "You need to compensate James for all his losses."
Joseph was stunned. He wanted to accuse James of colluding with the officers, but he knew James didn't have that capability, and it was Emily who had called the police.
"Damn it, we're fully responsible." Emily jumped up. "He hit us, and we're fully responsible? Are you out of your mind?"
"Left turn yields to straight. That's the traffic rule." The tall police maintained his politeness. "In a green light situation, you were the left-turning vehicle, and Mr. Williams was going straight. You failed to observe the situation and yield, so the accident is your fault."
He added. "If you're not satisfied, you can appeal."
Emily shouted angrily, "We were almost done turning, and he sped up and hit us. It's his fault!"
The police remained courteous. "Regardless, you were the turning vehicle, and Mr. Williams was going straight. According to the traffic rules, it's your responsibility."
Another small officer pulled out the traffic regulations to show the Garcia siblings. They were furious but ultimately helpless. In this situation, it was indeed their fault.
Mary was also slightly taken aback, not expecting this outcome.
"Playing such underhanded tricks, you really are cunning." Emily, holding back her anger, sneered at James, "No wonder Mary doesn't like you."
Mary's eyelids twitched, wanting to speak but not knowing how to start.
James showed no emotional fluctuation. "Enough talk, pay up."
"Fine, if it's what it takes to expose your true colors to Mary, I'll give you the money," Emily retorted, pulling out $1,500 in cash and tossing it at him. "Consider it your medicine money."
James smirked, "Not enough."
"That's more than enough for your beat-up motorcycle. It's worth at most $750," Emily argued.
Mary's expression hardened." Emily has given you $1,500 already. What else do you want?"
James exploited a legal loophole to make the Garcia siblings uncomfortable. While this might have seemed satisfying at first, Mary ultimately had to step in to resolve the situation and apologize.
"The motorcycle, indeed, isn't worth much, around $270." James looked coldly at Mary and the Garcia siblings, "But my ceramic artwork is valuable. I have one of the only eight famous ceramic artworks left in the world here. NexusVille auctioned it for $120,000,000."
James picked up a plastic bag and took out a broken box with many shattered ceramic pieces inside.
James said, "I was just about to take it to the auction house to sell, but you crashed into me and broke it. $120,000,000, and you give me $1,500? That's too much of a bully."
James also took out a certificate of authenticity. "If you don't believe me, you can have it appraised anytime."
$120,000,000?
The smiles on the faces of the Garcia siblings froze instantly, their faces paling with anger.
The police officers were at a loss for words, thinking that James was crossing the line, but they were unsure about how to mediate the situation.
James had a valid driver's license, his vehicle was not declared as scrapped, and he had not violated any traffic rules. Even the ceramic art pieces he possessed had proper certification. There were no loopholes that could be used against him.
"You all should try to mediate and negotiate among yourselves. If those negotiations fail, consider taking the judicial route," they advised.
After providing both parties with a statement of responsibility, the officers quickly retreated to their vehicle and drove off, leaving the scene.
"Joseph, for Mary's sake, I'll take $15,000,000 for the $120,000,000." James looked sharply at Joseph. "So, will it be by card or cash?"
Joseph and Emily's faces turned grim. They realized James had outwitted them on this occasion.
They didn't need to look or authenticate. They knew the ceramic shards were genuine, but the artwork had already been broken before the collision.
James had somehow collected these shards and used the crash to scam them out of money.
They were furious and aggrieved but knew they had been successfully framed.
"James, don't go too far," Mary couldn't help but speak up. "It's wrong to scam people like this. For my sake, let's drop this matter."
"No." James interrupted Mary brusquely. "When Joseph demands compensation from me, it's considered perfectly reasonable. But when I ask Joseph for money, suddenly, it's seen as causing trouble. You were quick to suggest Joseph involve the police just a moment ago. Now, you want me to let this slide for your sake. When Joseph faced injustice, you were there to defend him. But when I was the one being mistreated by him, where were you? When he destroyed my clinic, had me thrown in jail, when he was relentlessly tormenting me, did you ever think about the consequences for me?"
James calmly stepped forward, his presence bearing down on Mary." Or is it that in your heart, I've never been able to compare to Joseph?"
Mary's face changed. "James, what are you talking about?"
"What am I talking about? It would help if you asked him." James pointed at Joseph. "You had people shut down my clinic, and he took the opportunity to have Kyle Smith cruelly bully me. If it weren't for some powerful people helping me, I would have been rotting in jail."
Mary screamed, "That's impossible!"
Joseph's face also turned cold. "James, don't slander me."
Emily was shocked. Seeing James so lively, she thought Kyle Smith hadn't touched him. She didn't expect they had already acted. They had caused trouble for James, and James was fine, which meant Kyle and his people were in trouble.
"Joseph, you know whether it's slander or not," James stepped forward and stared at Joseph. "Fifteen million dollars will be in my account by noon tomorrow."
Mary spoke up, "James, things aren't clear yet. You can't do this."
"Thirty million dollars," James said coldly, "For pleading once, I add fifteen million dollars."
Mary shouted angrily, "James!"
James's tone was icy. "Forty-five million dollars!"
Mary could only stay silent.
"Remember, forty-five million dollars in my account by tomorrow," James said to Joseph, "Otherwise, I'll hand the debt over to SH Corporation. But then it won't be forty-five million dollars; it will be the full one hundred and twenty million dollars."
Samuel had already secretly recorded the entire process. Whether it was a debt collection or a lawsuit, James could make Joseph bleed.
"James!" Mary couldn't control herself and slapped him.
But the slap didn't land. James caught her hand and threw it aside.
"You can do whatever you want, testify for Joseph, divorce me, or anything else. I'll cooperate fully." Mary was struck as if by lightning, shaking her head in despair. "I didn't mean to do that."
The once gentle James had turned into a pirate, shocking and angering Mary. She lost control and acted impulsively.
"I never thought it would come to this either," James said with a bitter smile. "For a few clients, you would protect Joseph like this and even slap me for him. It seems that I'm less than trash in your eyes!"'
The emotionless words made Mary panic like never before. "You're being unreasonable. You know I lose control when I'm anxious."
"Of course, I know," James said indifferently, "But while I understand you, you don't know what I'm trying to do. You only think I'm incompetent, jealous, and impulsive."
Mary shook her head desperately, instinctively grabbing James's wrist. Holding tightly, she felt a sense of unfamiliarity. She had always thought James was compliant and gentle, only occasionally losing his temper in extreme situations. Now she realized he had a temper, too.
Joseph looked at Mary's hand with a contorted face.
"James, I'm sorry. I never meant to harm you with the clinic." Mary lost control and hugged James, tears streaming down. "I was just worried you'd cause an accident."
James wiped her tears away. "You're not wrong. It's my fault. I now realize that trust without feelings is truly useless."
Letting go of Mary, James turned and walked away.
"Where are you going?" Mary took a step forward and shouted, "Where are you going?"
"Back to my own home." James left without looking back.
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