Chapter 28 The Thief
"What's going on here?" Dennis was bewildered; the rapid turn of events was too much for his brain to process.
Leonard struggled against the two burly men restraining him, shouting, "Let me go! What are you doing?"
However, his frail body was no match for their strength, and he was pinned down tightly.
The people in the private room finally snapped out of their daze.
Tony immediately rushed forward, angrily demanding, "Hey, who are you people? How dare you come here and start a fight? You must explain yourselves, or I'll call the police!"
The others also surged forward, indignant and angry. To them, this must be a misunderstanding. Leonard was the CEO of a big company, a promising young man; how could he possibly be a thief?
A relative threatened, "This is outrageous! How dare you come here and cause trouble? Release him now, or we'll call the police!"
Another relative added, "Why waste time with them? Just call the police!"
Tony's daughter spoke querulously, "I get it now. These people were definitely brought here by that useless James! Damn it, how could he pull a stunt like this? Call the police, arrest James too!"
Tony's daughter screamed, her demeanor cutting. Under her influence, other relatives began to berate James, hurling all sorts of insults at him.
James remained expressionless, coldly staring at them without retorting, knowing they would soon run out of things to say.
"Call the police?" Mr. Rogers sneered, loudly declaring, "Sure, let's call the police! Let's see who they'll arrest when they arrive! It seems you are all accomplices, allowing someone to steal a top-grade jade worth over thirty thousand from my store! This amount is enough to land you all in jail! Greg, call the police and let them handle this."
He replied, "Yes, boss."
Greg gave Leonard a cold glare, took out his phone, and prepared to call the police.
Seeing this, Leonard panicked and hastily pleaded, "Please don't call the police! It's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding!"
Without any mercy, Greg landed a kick on him still seething with anger.
He yelled angrily, "Misunderstanding? You're labeling it as a misunderstanding now? You darn scoundrel! Here I was, thinking of you as a friend, even showed you the jadeite, and yet you just backstabbed me by stealing it? Hell no! Only now are you calling it a misunderstanding? It's way too late for that!"
The Hill Family and others were dumbfounded once again. How could they have imagined that Leonard, whom they had viewed as a promising young man, would be a thief and be caught red-handed?
It was a devastating blow to them, as they reflected on James's previous statement that the top-grade jadeite originally belonged to them but was stolen by Leonard.
Their expressions changed dramatically, especially Tony and his daughter, looking as if they had lost a loved one, utterly distressed.
Marvin, tonight's man of the hour, also had a displeased look on his face, and his body trembled incessantly from the overwhelming emotions.
Leonard's actions were a direct slap to his face! Thinking of how he had praised Leonard just moments ago, he felt a surge of anger.
However, having weathered many storms, he had to maintain composure even in his fury. He walked up to Leonard, glared at him fiercely, and said to Mr. Rogers and the others, "What evidence do you have to prove that Leonard stole from you?"
Leonard also realized this point. He had discreetly stolen the top-grade jadeite that day, ensuring there were no cameras around before making his move.
Leonard spoke curtly, "What evidence do you have to accuse me of stealing from you? Clearly, this top-grade jadeite was purchased from someone else!"
Tony and the others locked eyes with Leonard, seeing his confidence, and began to speak loudly again.
One of the relatives asked, "Yeah, what evidence do you have?!"
Another accused, "If you have no evidence, you are slandering us!"
Someone demanded, "You must apologize!"
Another relative added, "Apologies are not enough; you must compensate! You've damaged our reputation; you must pay at least $500,000!"
Their clamor didn't last long as Mr. Rogers took out a tablet and played a video, revealing Leonard's act of theft!
"Slander? Are you daring to say that now? If I hand this video over to the police, how many years do you think this thief will get? That jadeite is worth over thirty thousand dollars," Mr. Rogers sneered.
Upon seeing this video, Leonard's mental fortitude collapsed instantaneously; his face turned ashen.
The earlier hecklers fell silent, their faces contorted in discomfort.
Marvin couldn't hold back, slapping Leonard hard across the face. "You scoundrel! How dare you do this? You've disgraced me!" he scolded harshly.
The slap was forceful, leaving Leonard's face swollen.
He whimpered, unable to retort, no trace of his earlier arrogance remained.
"Call the police, you said you would. Why the hesitation?" Mr. Rogers sneered.
Not a single person in the private room dared to speak up.
Mr. Rogers stated, "Since you won't call, I'll do it myself. Thief, get ready for jail."
Leonard immediately begged, "Please don't call the police! I can't go to jail! I didn't intend to steal from you; it was a moment of madness. Please give me a chance to redeem myself."
Leonard sobbed, he was the image of misery.
Dennis, witnessing this scene, felt a surge of satisfaction, while Jennifer's gaze rested on James, her emotions complex. She found herself increasingly unable to understand her useless husband.
Mr. Rogers revealed his true colors. He said, "If I don't call the police, that's also an option. My jadeite is worth a million dollars. If someone compensates me with a million, I'll consider this incident never happened."
"A million?!" Leonard exclaimed, "You might as well rob a bank; your jade is worth at most $350,000!"
Mr. Rogers was not one to let things slide. Without another word, he dialed the phone to call the police, purposely putting it on speaker so everyone could hear the police responding.
Leonard was now in a panic, pleading, "I'll pay, I'll pay!"
Mr. Rogers then hung up the phone and said, "Here's my bank card. Transfer a million to me immediately; I'm in a hurry."
Leonard hesitated, "I don't have that much money right now. Can I transfer it in a few days when my company's funds are available?"
"Damn it, are you playing games with me?" Mr. Rogers said as he erupted in anger, kicking Leonard hard. Leonard winced in pain, not daring to utter a word.
Mr. Rogers threatened, "You have ten minutes to transfer a million to me, or you'll go to jail! Don't blame me for not warning you; in your situation, you'll get at least ten years!"
Upon hearing this, Leonard's legs turned to jelly. He tearfully begged Tony and the others for a loan.
Still, no one was willing to lend him a penny, including his father-in-law Tony, who now watched from a distance, keeping his distance and disassociating himself.
Just moments ago, these relatives had praised him, but now they spoke hurtful words. At that moment, Leonard experienced what James had felt earlier.
At that moment, James's voice rang out calmly.
He said, "Mr. Rogers, please give him a break. Let's call it quits on this matter."
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