Chapter 923 Selene and Vincent
Across the entire brawl scene, apart from the men who'd tried to kill Vincent, Liam was the only one injured.
"Why are you sitting on the ground?" Ethan asked, noticing Liam's pale face but not yet realizing he was hurt.
Liam's eyes reddened with emotion as he replied pitifully, "My shoulder's injured. Do you think my arm is ruined? What am I going to do?"
Ethan frowned and quickly examined him, only then discovering that Liam's arm had been slashed, with blood dripping from his fingertips.
The bleeding was substantial, though the wound wasn't particularly deep. But to Liam, it felt life-threatening.
"Ethan, I'm dying," Liam sobbed, giving his last instructions. "If I die, please destroy my phone. Don't let anyone see what's on it... And take care of my parents for me."
Growing dizzy from blood loss, Liam added, "Ethan, I never even got married. That's hard to accept."
Ethan tore Liam's T-shirt to bandage the wound, barely concealing his exasperation.
"Don't die!" Selene began crying too. "What will I do? Who'll pay my salary?" The scene was beginning to resemble a funeral.
The police took away the attackers and briefly questioned Vincent about what happened.
Vincent frowned at Selene, her crying irritating him.
"What were you two doing with him in the middle of the night anyway?" Ethan asked incredulously.
Vincent was a dangerous person to be around—too many people wanted him dead. Being alone with him at night was playing with fire.
"He stole so many projects from the Raymond Group! I just wanted to teach him a lesson," Liam wailed. "Who would have thought I'd end up sacrificing myself to protect him? How tragic!" His face went white as he dramatically passed out.
Vincent rubbed his temples. "His brain works about as well as Tom's."
Ethan sighed. "He got hurt saving you. Take them both to the hospital—my wife's waiting for me at home."
With that, Ethan heartlessly departed.
"Hey! He's your cousin!" Vincent called angrily, holding Liam with one arm.
"Technically, he's your cousin too," Ethan replied with a smile before driving away.
Selene swallowed nervously, looking at Vincent. "We... we just wanted to rough you up a bit, not kill you. This attack had nothing to do with us. Please don't retaliate."
"How much did he pay you to set me up?" Vincent asked with a cold smile, handing Liam to his assistant who had just arrived.
Selene anxiously held up one finger.
"One million dollars?" Vincent frowned.
"One thousand dollars," Selene admitted with a deep breath. One thousand dollars just for a simple setup! It had seemed like easy money.
Vincent clenched his jaw. One thousand dollars. How lovely.
"I'll give you five thousand to beat him up instead," Vincent said, pointing at the unconscious Liam.
Selene's eyes lit up, clearly tempted, but her moral compass prevailed. "Do I look like someone who can be bought so easily? This is my boss! And he got hurt saving you—you'll need to offer more."
Vincent couldn't help but laugh at her audacity as he got into his car. "If you keep wasting time, your boss might actually die."
Selene quickly jumped in.
At the hospital emergency room, Liam was being treated while Vincent sat on a bench looking pale and forlorn.
Selene cautiously sat beside Vincent, holding soft pretzels she'd bought at the hospital entrance. "Is your reputation really that bad? How did you manage to make so many enemies? People like us with moral standards would just rough you up a bit, but some people actually want you dead!"
Vincent remained silent.
Selene offered him the pretzel. "You should eat something. You look like death."
Vincent paused, staring at the pretzel in Selene's hand.
As a child, he'd gone hungry many times. Passing street vendors, he'd promised himself that when he grew up and had money, he'd eat all the snacks he wanted. Now that he was grown and wealthy, those childish thoughts seemed distant and irrelevant.
Taking the pretzel, Vincent sniffed it curiously. It didn't smell bad.
After taking a bite, he raised an eyebrow. It was actually quite good.
"Can you cover my boss's medical expenses?" Selene asked cautiously. "I don't have any money. Once he wakes up, he'll pay you back—he won't try to get out of it."
Vincent leaned back on the bench, suddenly intrigued. "You expect me to trust the integrity of someone who tried to ambush and beat me?"
Selene looked down guiltily.
"Sign an IOU for him, and I'll have someone cover the medical expenses," Vincent instructed his assistant to prepare the document with the amount, then had Selene sign it.
Selene hoped Liam wouldn't try to weasel out of paying.
But that was exactly what happened when Liam regained consciousness.
In the hospital room, Liam stared at the ceiling with a pale face. "Is this... heaven?"
"Heaven doesn't accept fools," Vincent replied, leaning against the doorframe.
Selene rushed to the bedside. "Boss, your emergency treatment and medical bills came to three thousand dollars. This handsome Mr. Hamilton paid for everything—you need to reimburse him."
Liam glanced at the IOU. "I got injured saving him. Why should I pay? Not happening." He turned away, playing dead.
Selene was shocked at her boss's audacity.
She turned nervously to look at Vincent.
"You have to pay it back—you signed an IOU," Vincent shook his head. "Not going to pay? That's problematic."
He turned to his assistant. "Call the police. Report her for refusing to pay. Sue her."
Terrified, Selene slid to her knees and grabbed Vincent's leg. "Mr. Hamilton, please have mercy! I have an 80-year-old grandmother to support and a hungry baby to feed. You can't do this to me!"
Liam's mouth twitched. With such over-the-top acting, she had no chance of fooling Vincent.
He was deeply disappointed in Selene.
"How old are you to have a child already?" Vincent asked through gritted teeth, amazed at her shameless lying. "If you don't want me to call the police, what skills do you have that might help pay off this debt?"
Selene hesitated. "I don't think I have any special skills."
Vincent turned to his assistant. "Call the police!"
"Wait! I studied culinary arts. I can cook! I could be your chef for a month!" Selene quickly offered.
Vincent looked down at her with raised eyebrows. "Perhaps you're not completely useless after all."
"Take her home," Vincent instructed his assistant.
The assistant was confused. Take her to Vincent's house? Vincent never allowed women into his home.
From the hospital bed, Liam was stunned.
That worked?
Vincent was taking her home just like that?
Was Vincent really this gullible?
Had Liam been overestimating Vincent all along?
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