Chapter 180: Are You Free? Date Tonight?
After Mia left, James turned back, picked up his phone, and returned Robert's call.
He had been about to see Mia off earlier, but Robert's call came through.
Not long ago, he had instructed Robert to handle the matter with Amelia.
"What did you say? Amelia's not in the private room?"
Robert was currently in the private room at the club. Ernest and his three companions had already been handcuffed by the police he brought, but Amelia, whom James had specifically mentioned, was missing.
"Mr. Smith, I just checked the back door surveillance. Amelia left half an hour ago..."
Half an hour.
From the club's location, half an hour wasn't enough time to reach either the airport or the train or bus stations.
This meant Amelia was still in Imperial City.
James's expression turned cold as he ordered, "Monitor all exits. Don't let her have any chance to leave Imperial City."
"Also, search everywhere. Turn the city upside down if you have to, but find Amelia for me!"
This time he absolutely wouldn't let her go, wouldn't give her another chance to hurt Mia.
As James said this, the coldness in his eyes could freeze ice.
He really hadn't expected that after last night, Amelia would still have the strength to escape.
"Yes, Mr. Smith."
James hung up and personally made several more calls.
After arranging everything and ensuring Amelia had no chance to escape Imperial City, he drove to the police station.
When he arrived, Ernest and the other three had just been brought to the station not long ago.
This wasn't Ernest's first or second time at the station.
But each time was just going through the motions.
Ernest had been doing bad things in Imperial City for more than just a day or two.
Previously, because James had given a warning, Ernest had behaved himself for a while.
Later, when things blew over, he started showing his true nature again.
After all, Ernest was from the Torres Family. When something happened, his grandfather would still quietly make calls.
At this moment, Ernest had been brought to the police station.
Sitting in the detention room, he still thought he'd just been arrested for drug use. He had just called his grandfather.
His grandfather had already said someone would come bail him out soon.
Facing the police officers, his attitude was very arrogant.
Just as he was putting on airs, the detention room door opened from outside.
When Ernest saw clearly that the person walking in was James, his arrogant attitude vanished and his legs went weak, causing him to fall directly to the ground.
He said trembling, "Mr. Smith."
The moment he saw James, Ernest's drug-addled confused brain suddenly became clear.
In that moment, he realized he'd been tricked by Amelia.
"Mr. Smith, the surveillance has been turned off."
The word had already come from above. The officer who had led James in said this respectfully, then stepped out and closed the door behind him.
That one sentence about the surveillance being off made Ernest's face turn very ugly.
The other three didn't know what was happening yet, until Ernest directly knelt down and begged for mercy, "Mr. Smith, I didn't mean to. It was Amelia who told me you were disgusted with Mia, that's why I..."
"I'll never dare again, please spare me."
James's gaze showed no emotion. He looked down at Ernest from above, just like when he left yesterday, looking at a dead man.
He unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled them up slightly.
Amid the four men's pleas for mercy, he kicked Ernest hard in the jaw.
The clear sound of bones shattering echoed in the detention room.
Half an hour later, James refastened his buttons, put on his suit jacket, pulled open the door and walked out.
The officer had been waiting outside. Seeing him come out, he immediately approached and saw him off.
After James left, following his instructions, the four men were sent to a special cell.
Ernest and the other three had their arms and legs broken, with no ability to resist. They were thrown into the cell like garbage.
As soon as the four were thrown in, Ernest, who looked the best among them, was immediately grabbed by someone and dragged inside. "Boss, there's new toys here. Have fun."
Ernest was thrown into a corner.
The other three were also divided up by others inside.
The moment Ernest's pants were ripped off, his pain-numbed consciousness belatedly realized what was about to happen to him.
He had thought being beaten by James, who deliberately avoided vital areas to torture him, was already a nightmare, but he hadn't expected that this moment was just the beginning of the nightmare.
...
After Mia left James's house, she first went to the mall to buy a new phone.
After buying the phone, she went to get a SIM card.
By the time she finished these tasks, it was already evening. She had just come out of the telecom company when her phone rang. Looking at the number, she knew it was James, so she answered.
"Mia, are you free? Want to meet up tonight?"
Hearing James's inappropriate words, Mia was speechless.
She shouldn't have answered this call.
"I'll come to your place tonight?"
"James, shut up!"
Mia couldn't help but snap at James on the other end of the phone.
James stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. After returning to the company from the police station, he had been calling her every so often all afternoon.
He just wanted to hear her voice.
From last night when he rescued her and she quietly leaned against him like before, to everything that happened this morning, it all felt like a dream, too unreal.
Now hearing Mia's lively voice, the corners of his lips slowly curved into an arc.
It wasn't a dream. That was good.
He chuckled and continued teasing her, "Not free tonight? Then tomorrow night? I'm available anytime, satisfaction guaranteed!"
"Get lost!"
Mia couldn't be bothered with him and hung up directly.
This was the who-knows-how-many-th time she felt annoyed and regretful—annoyed that her body's instincts yesterday were so weak, and regretful that when facing James this morning, she hadn't performed well, which gave James his confidence.
Really, it made her so angry!
She raised her hand to hail a taxi and took it home.
...
James hung up the phone. The whole afternoon had passed, but there was still no news of Amelia.
Thinking of Amelia, James's expression clearly became gloomy.
He walked back from the floor-to-ceiling window to his desk and continued working.
There was a knock on the office door.
Robert walked in from outside. "Mr. Smith, Mabel says she has something very important to see you about. Should I let her come up?"
Mabel?
"Alright."
James agreed.
It was because of her yesterday that he was able to rush over in time to save Mia.
Soon, Mabel was brought to the thirty-second floor and entered James's office.
Mabel timidly called out, "Mr. Smith..."
"What is it?"
James still had an intimidating aura about him, and Mabel was frightened by his gaze.
She swallowed, suppressing the fear in her heart.
This afternoon, she had heard that he dealt with Ernest and the others, and was searching the entire city for Amelia, but no one had come to trouble her.
She knew that James had truly let her go.
If one could live, no one wanted to die, and even more feared a fate worse than death.
The will to survive was human instinct.
She had been too presumptuous back then, thinking she could replace Mia and marry James, doing things that hurt her.
Having gone through all this, she had also gotten her revenge.
She no longer dared to have any inappropriate thoughts about James.
Not daring to meet his gaze directly, under the pressure of his eyes, she spoke: "Mr. Smith, I have something to tell you about Amelia."