Chapter 600 Stay Here
"Po...Police? Are those people coming after me again?"
Randy thought back to those days he spent in the detention center. He never wanted to go back to that awful place. "Dad! Calvin! You've got to help me stop them!"
Elbert's face darkened as he paced back and forth anxiously.
"Randy, don't panic."
Calvin walked over and patted his violently trembling shoulder. "I've got people keeping close tabs on those two girls. They haven't contacted the police yet, which means they have no intention of testifying. As long as they don't come forward, we can make this whole thing blow over."
"Yesterday Jennifer's livestream got so much attention that the police have to come question you just for show. Otherwise, wouldn't they look completely useless? Let's go see what this is about first."
The four men of the Alexander family came downstairs. When they saw who had come, their expressions grew heavy!
There stood Peter in the center of the living room with two other officers. Peter's eyes were sharp and spirited, his tall frame lean and strong, like an unsheathed sword standing before them, radiating an intimidating coldness and natural authority.
Elbert's face looked particularly unpleasant, and he even felt a twinge of bitter jealousy.
Charlie's children were all exceptionally good-looking and more capable than his own kids. Even Peter, just a detective, had such an outstanding presence!
They say parents view their children through rose-colored glasses, but thinking of the shameful things Helen and Randy had done, he felt more and more frustrated. In front of Peter, he really couldn't save face.
In comparison, only his youngest son Gilbert had any talent now - his looks, temperament, and abilities were all outstanding, completely able to compete with those Taylor kids.
But the most ironic part was something Elbert had completely forgotten.
Gilbert was once the child he despised most, the one he looked down on the most.
He had even said harsh words in front of the entire Alexander family the year he sent them to Aurora Isle: "Consider them dead!"
Later, only because young Gilbert had knelt and begged him desperately did he reluctantly agree to transfer money to Gilbert's account each year for their living expenses. Beyond that, the family fund, power, shares... everything belonging to the Alexander family had nothing to do with them anymore.
And the cause of all this was because his wife had betrayed Elbert, gotten involved with a lowly bodyguard, and Elbert had caught them in bed together!
That bodyguard had been severely punished back then and exiled to a remote overseas location. But Mrs. Alexander, who had no way to defend herself, suffered treatment worse than death. Her condition gradually worsened, and she and her son were both rejected and driven out of the Alexander family.
Even now, Elbert never imagined
that his wife, who truly loved him but whom he had hated for years, and the so-called affair, was entirely a show staged by his eldest son Calvin!
He never imagined that Gilbert, whom he had gradually begun to value and trust, had remained silent for years, biding his time before returning - not to rekindle some cheap father-son relationship.
But to take revenge on him and Calvin for their blood debt.
To take from them what they cared about most - the Alexander family - and make it his own!
Gilbert stood behind them, his dark gaze coldly fixed on Peter, the corners of his lips curling up eerily.
Although he felt an indiscriminate disgust for everyone in the Taylor family except Evelyn, he had to admit he couldn't wait to see what kind of "surprise" Peter would bring Randy.
"Mr. Peter Taylor, Randy's case has already been closed. What do you mean by coming to our house again tonight? Is the coffee at the police station not as good as what we have at the Alexander family?" Calvin squinted his eyes, sneering mockingly.
Mr. Peter Taylor?
The two officers looked at Peter's upright figure in shock!
Which Taylor?
It couldn't be Charlie's Taylor, could it?
"The coffee at the station may taste bad, but at least it won't hurt you. I wouldn't dare touch anything from the Alexander family - who knows if it might be poisoned." Peter smiled coldly, taking Calvin's mockery in stride.
"Mr. Peter Taylor! My son's case is already closed - you people released him yourselves! What are you trying to do by coming here and harassing us now?"
Elbert had no patience for verbal sparring. With reddened eyes, he said furiously, "You have no evidence and can't just take Randy away! I absolutely won't let you succeed!"
"The Alexander family isn't some family for you Taylors to bully! I'm giving you some face out of respect for our families' years of friendship and because you're Charlie's son - don't push it too far!"
Charlie's son?
Their captain was the son of Hameen's richest man? Evelyn's brother?
This sudden revelation made both officers' jaws nearly drop!
Peter had been a police officer for years, keeping a low profile, always just doing his job down-to-earth, never mentioning a word about his private life or family background.
Earlier, when Peter had just become detective captain, there was constant criticism in the department because he was so young for such an important position. Many said he got in through connections and had powerful backing. But these rumors died down within just three years as Peter solved case after case and earned merit after merit.
They had guessed that Peter must have some background.
But they never expected it to be this impressive!
Peter knew that Elbert was bringing up Charlie in front of his colleagues to pressure him, but he felt nothing inside, and even wanted to laugh a little.
"The law won't wrongly convict an innocent person, but likewise, it won't let any criminal go free."
"Peter! You... you... who are you calling a criminal?" Randy pointed at his strikingly handsome face and shouted angrily, though his voice was trembling.
"Mr. Randy Alexander, we currently suspect you're involved in an attempted rape case. Please come with us to assist with the investigation." Peter stopped wasting words, his eyes cold as ice blades, piercing straight at Randy's bloodless face.
"Dad! Calvin!" Randy panicked, his features contorting, his desperate will to survive written all over his face.
"Take him away."
Peter's eyes darkened, and the two officers immediately strode toward Randy.
Before they even got close, Randy pathetically buckled at the knees and stumbled down onto the floor!
Gilbert pressed his lips tight to suppress his amusement. Watching this comedy - he loved it.
Elbert felt utterly humiliated, wishing he could dig a hole and bury Randy in it. "Quick... someone help Randy up!"
"Peter! Do you think we don't know the law? If you want to arrest Randy, you need to show us an arrest warrant! Otherwise, you're abusing your authority, and I can file a complaint against you!" Fortunately, Calvin wasn't intimidated by this display and said angrily.
"When did I say I was arresting Randy?"
Peter smiled, raising an eyebrow. "I said, I'm asking Randy to come back with us to cooperate with our investigation and give a statement."
Calvin was grinding his teeth. "Peter! You!"
"After all, everyone saw Ms. Taylor's livestream yesterday. She personally identified Randy. Although he didn't succeed in the end because of his... condition, since there's a victim making a report, we can't just ignore it."
"I... I'm not going... not going!" Randy was so scared his whole body was stiffer than his prosthetic, shaking non-stop.
"Not even daring to cooperate with an investigation - could it be that you're afraid? That everything Ms. Taylor said is true?"
Peter's expression remained calm, but every word he spoke was cold and hard, soaked with hatred. "If you refuse to cooperate with the investigation, or flee abroad at this critical moment, that would be evidence of guilt. Then I'd have a perfectly legitimate reason to get approval from my superiors to arrest you, Randy."
"Oh right, I almost forgot. Before coming to find you, I already applied to my superiors for a travel ban. You can't go anywhere except Mugden now."
In his panic, even with people supporting him, Randy's body had turned to mush.
Calvin glared viciously at Peter, about to speak, when Gilbert, who had been silent all along, said at just the right moment: "Randy, you should go with Mr. Peter Taylor. You have a clear conscience; it's just cooperating with an investigation. Don't panic, it'll be over quickly. When the time comes, we'll all go pick you up together."
Randy stared hard at Gilbert, his eye sockets turning dark with anger!
That son of a bitch... he'd found another perfect opportunity to kick him when he's down!
Then Gilbert whispered in Elbert's ear: "Dad, Peter has a point. Right now, if Randy doesn't cooperate with the investigation, it'll look like he has a guilty conscience, and Peter will use even worse methods against him. Then it really will be hard to handle."
Elbert was persuaded and immediately changed his attitude. "Randy, you go!"
"Dad!" Randy's expression looked as desperate as a nightmare.
Elbert waved his hand forcefully, full of resentment and anger, with nothing more to say.
In the end, the Alexander father and sons could only watch helplessly as the two police officers took Randy away, powerless to stop it.
As Peter was leaving, he gave Gilbert a cold glance.
Gilbert flinched at that sharp look. The way Peter looked at him, like interrogating a criminal, directly struck his proud self-esteem and brought on intense physical discomfort.
"Peter! Stop right there!" Calvin stepped forward, his face flushed red with suppressed anger.
His mood had now shifted from trying to help Randy out of trouble to an intense competitive desire to get one up on Peter.
Peter stopped, looking at him expressionlessly.
"Hmph, just admit it - you're going out of your way to cause us trouble, and it's not out of some bullshit sense of justice! You just want personal revenge, you just want to vent for Evelyn and Jennifer!"
Peter narrowed his bright eyes, tilted his head, and his beautifully shaped mouth opened and closed.
'So?'
It was just a lip movement, but it made the Alexander father and sons so angry they wanted to rush up and beat him!
As soon as Peter left, Elbert couldn't hold up anymore. With his two sons supporting him, he sat on the sofa and only recovered a bit after drinking some water.
"Calvin! Gilbert! What do we do now?"
"Dad, don't panic."
Calvin's eyes were as sinister as a scorpion probing with its poisonous hook. "Even if Peter takes Randy away, he won't get anything out of him. The Taylor family incident was so long ago - the evidence is long gone. Without evidence, Peter will ultimately have to release him. I'll send a lawyer over right away!"
"What Calvin's saying is pointless. Attempted rape - there's no proof to begin with, so what's there to be afraid of?"
Gilbert laughed coldly, subtly provoking Calvin's competitive heart. "But those two girls Randy touched - in my view, they're the real time bombs. If either one of them explodes at this moment, Randy will never be able to walk out of there again."
"Don't worry about things that aren't your concern. Those two girls will never open their mouths!"
If even one of them did, he'd make sure they wouldn't see tomorrow's sun!
That night, Evelyn and William safely delivered Jennifer back to Oasis Villa.
The ladies and Charlie were all home - everyone knew about the livestream. Not only did no one blame her, but they all praised her as a brave girl with a kind heart and sense of justice.
Jennifer cried easily, and after returning home, she threw herself into her father's and mother's arms and cried again.
Charlie comforted her for a while, his heart full of bitterness, feeling he owed Jennifer too much. Joyce had originally wanted to scold Jennifer a bit, but when she saw her, she couldn't say a single word of reproach and just held Jennifer and cried.
Susan, seeing people cursing Jennifer, personally went into battle and argued back with those internet users.
Not only that, she contacted Cody and had brothers from his five gang halls all leave comments in the livestream. But the response was too fierce; about a hundred brothers were basically all banned from commenting.
Outside, no matter how big the storm, it seemed that once you entered Oasis Villa, everything would dissipate.
Evelyn watched her family members understanding each other in this warm and harmonious scene, her eyes moistening involuntarily, too choked up to speak.
After her mother passed away, she no longer considered this her home. No matter how hard and tiring her drifting days were, she only wanted to escape.
But now, this place was looking more and more like a home.
For her, she had only two safe havens.
One was Oasis Villa.
The other was Edward's warm chest.
After the livestream incident, Charlie and Joyce seemed to have a subtle change in their attitude toward William. That day, seeing the young couple's pitiful reluctance to part, Charlie surprisingly let William stay at the house for the first time!
Just that they had to sleep in separate rooms.
And absolutely couldn't sneak into his precious daughter's bedroom with ill intentions after everyone had gone to sleep!
For this couple who had been through so much hardship, this was undoubtedly a blessing from heaven.
Jennifer was as happy as a cheerful little bird, and William was so excited he nearly cried. He could only bow deeply to Charlie and solemnly promise that he would definitely take care of Jennifer with all his heart and give her happiness for the rest of his life.
Even William had been pardoned and accepted again by Charlie.
Standing to the side, watching the happy family scene with longing eyes, Edward still felt like an outsider.
Evelyn was caught up in the happy atmosphere of Jennifer and William and didn't notice the handsome man beside her looking gloomy and full of bitterness.
After a while, Edward's thin lips moved, pulling out a resigned and bitter smile.
Although he still couldn't help feeling down, he accepted it calmly. Even if Charlie never accepted him for the rest of his life, it didn't matter - as long as he could stay with Evelyn and watch over her all the time, he was very satisfied.
Sinners don't deserve forgiveness.
That he could stand here was already a great mercy.
"It's getting late, and Jennifer is exhausted. Everyone stop being so excited and go rest." Charlie urged with a smile.
Everyone walked toward the villa.
Only Edward still stood there in a daze. Such a tall and handsome man, yet so quiet he had no presence at all.
Charlie turned back to look at him, frowning slightly. "Mr. Wellington, it's so late - you're not planning to go back to Mugden?"
Evelyn had been thinking of sending Jennifer back to her room first before coming back to find Edward. Hearing this, she suddenly stopped in her tracks, looking at the man with worry.
Unspeakable anxiety.
"Sorry, Mr. Taylor, for disturbing your rest."
Edward's Adam's apple rolled with difficulty as he spoke hoarsely, "I'll just..."
"If you don't have anything to do tomorrow, stay here tonight."
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
