Still, Neil soon noticed that something was not right.
“Where did you get that blood?” he asked Stan—the man was perfectly fine earlier. Why would he suddenly start bleeding?!
“Still trying to set me up?! Don’t forget that there were cameras. The footage will prove that you weren’t bleeding when I ran into you!” he bellowed furiously. “Leave right now, or I’m calling the cops!”
“Call them! I just happened to want to call them too!” Stan stayed on the ground, looking miserable as ever. “You all heard him—he admitted that he ran me down, and there were cameras. I wasn’t bleeding at the time, but now I’m bleeding from the mouth and my nose… I think it’s my internal organs.”
“That’s right,” an onlooker said. “Sometimes you get internal injuries from an accident and it won’t show externally. You should get scanned at the hospital…”
“He refused to take me, and he even claimed that he did not run into me.” Stan pointed a finger at Neil accusingly. “He refused to admit it, and said that it has nothing to do with him even if I die…”
“But he admitted as much,” someone else added. “He said he ran into you—we all heard it.”
There was even someone kind enough to tell Neil, “You should take him to the hospital. He might really be hurt, and it’s bad if he keeps lying here in our apartment.”
Neil was shaking with rage, but such was the indignation one would suffer from being set up.
“You’re all blind! He’s clearly framing me, and you’d side with him?! You’re all crazy!” he bellowed, before wheeling on Stan. “Get out of here or I’ll beat you to a pulp. Believe it!”
Stan shook his head solemnly.
“I really doubt it,” he said with a gleeful smile to provoke Neil. “I don’t think you will.”
Neil’s cheek twitched as he gnashed his teeth, and lunged towards Stan at the next instant, grabbing him by the neck. “Die, bastard!”
Stan did not move, though he was thinking to himself that Neil was the bigger bastard!
Still, the crowd quickly pulled Neil away when they saw the violence. “Just take him to the hospital. He might really die!”
“Patience is a virtue.”
“Calm down. You did make a mistake, so just take him to the hospital and everything will be fine.”
“I already did!” Neil cried, almost jumping from sheer indignation. “He’s blackmailing me, can’t you see?!”
Someone was doubtful, however. “Well, why would he follow you home if you did?’
Neil growled through his teeth. “Because he’s despicable!”
Stan appeared terrified. “Everyone, please call the cops. He wants to strangle me. I’m scared.”
As Neil’s face contorted with rage, everyone in the apartment block hurried off, scared and not willing to get into trouble.
Some were kind enough to call the cops, worried that someone would die and their property would drop in value!
Neil violently dragged him by the leg out of the apartment block then. “Trying to blackmail me?! Dream on!”
The cops happened to arrive on the scene just then and they promptly cuffed Neil when they saw what happened.
It was a gruesome scene, after all—Stan was covered in blood, and those who did not know would even think that he had been maimed, not to mention being dragged across the pavement!
…
Stan was once again sent to the hospital.
As he got undressed in his ward, he was complaining, “What are you doing here?”
“What, you prefer someone else?” James asked.
“Of course. Mister—”
Stan paused halfway, not daring to say the name, and he instead asked, “Why was I assigned this crap job?”
“Because you’re such a good actor. I mean, you really looked the part!” James was grinning gleefully.
Stan was speechless.
“Fuck off. Don’t you know how badly chicken blood stinks?! I was going to be sick!”
James continued to tease Stan.
“The chicken blood was fresh and it was quite difficult to get my hands on it. Don’t you see how shocked the cops were when they saw you? They looked so sure you wouldn’t make it.”
“You’re the one who won’t make it! If I knew I’d be given this crap once I came back, I wouldn’t have bothered!” Stan snapped as he strode off toward the shower in his ward.
Thank goodness there was one in his room—he could not stand the stink latching onto his body!
James smiled and left before returning with a medical record.
Stan was done with his shower then, drying his hair and watching James. “What’s that you’re holding?”
James passed it to him. “Take a look. It’s your medical record.”
Stan shot James a look. “Why do I have a bad feeling about this?”
“Your feeling is wrong. You get to enjoy yourself fully the next few days,” James sat by his bed and rested his legs on them.
Stan nervously opened the medical record, to find the terms: rib fracture, kidney bleeding, cartilage dislocation, ankle sprain…
Frowning, he asked, “Are you people messing with me?!”
He felt repulsed just from looking!
“We can’t get him locked up if it’s not serious,” James said, walking up to Stan and clapping him on the shoulder. “Just live it for the next few days, and it’s a nice dinner for me when you’re done. You deserve it.”
While Stan was left speechless, James continued, “Oh, and don’t leave the hospital. Stay inside your ward and leave the rest to me.”
Stan nodded. “Fine.”
With that, James left the ward.
…
Over at the detention center, Neil was shouting the instant he saw Stan’s ‘case file’!
“He set me up! I never hit him that hard. It was staged!”
“This medical record is from the hospital. How did he stage that?” the officer interrogating him asked.
Neil was stumped and he soon became quiet.
Still, an idea struck him and he came to a realization.
It was payback for suing Abigail and stubbornly keeping the case!
“May I contact my family?” he asked.
“You may,” the officer said in agreement.
With that, he sent a message to his family, so that they would settle the lawsuit against Abigail out of court.
…
Abigail was shopping with both her children, Sheryl Harris, and Mrs. Watson.
They bought a lot, mostly for the children.
Abigail also bought some skin care products for Mrs. Watsons and Sheryl, since she could see how hard they worked to take care of her children.
Since she had time, she had everyone leave the house together. While the chauffeur loaded everything in the car, they went to a restaurant for lunch.
The food was good, and Abigail carried her younger son while letting Sheryl eat first.
“It’s rare that you’re so free,” Sheryl said as she put food on Tommy’s plate.
Abigail was standing and rocking her baby. “So you should cherish the time you can spend with me.”
Sheryl rolled her eyes at her. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you’re acting strange lately.”
Abigail’s heart skipped a beat. “How?”
Did she see through her?
“You used to be so busy and never talk this much even when you’re home. But now, you have so much free time and you talk too much. So, did something happen?” Sheryl asked.
Abigail was speechless—so the more she tried to hide it, the more obvious it was?
“Can’t you think better of me, Mom?” Abigail complained. “Think a little higher of me, at least?”
“Fine.” Sheryl waved her off. “Now eat. I’ll carry him.”
Abigail was not feeling an appetite, but handed her baby to Sheryl nonetheless and sat down to eat.
After lunch, they brought Tommy to the amusement park and ate dinner outside as well.
She said that Mrs. Watson should have a day off instead of cooking every day.
She had no idea if Diarmuid would make it home tonight either.
As such, she called him to tell them that everyone was outside.
Diarmuid soon answered her call, but Abigail immediately heard a loud scream!
Her heart skipping a beat, she exclaimed anxiously, “Diarmuid?!”
Over at Althoff Manor, Henry Althoff’s funeral was over, and it was now time to deal with Ian Althoff.
Once James learned that Ian was the one who sent those thugs from before, he unleashed all his fury and indignation on Ian.
Diarmuid’s phone happened to ring at the time, and as he took it out to answer it, James’s fist landed squarely on the bridge of Ian’s nose, shattering it and making him scream.
Abigail heard it even as Diarmuid started to head outside.
“Yeah?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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