Chapter 142

Chapter 142

After hanging up the phone, David looked at Conrad with a slight smile. "Go open the door. Your father's here."

Conrad's face lit up with excitement. He had barely turned toward the door when it was suddenly kicked wide open.

Dozens of armed police officers stormed into the room. The moment they entered, they raised their weapons, the dark muzzles trained on everyone present.

Conrad stood near the door, and when Pax appeared before him, his eyes instantly filled with tears. He choked out his accusations: "Father, you're finally here! It was this bastard right here — and this guy too — they slapped me over ten times today, and he's no better! On top of that, he claims to be from the Carr family. Father, you have to get justice for me!"

Ever since leaving the Perez family last time, Pax had made up his mind to tear David apart. He'd been so caught up in business lately that he hadn't gotten around to dealing with him — and now the fool had walked straight into his hands.

He glared at David with pure hatred and sneered. "Every family has its rules, every country has its laws. Whether you're an earl or a baron, if you break the law, you face the consequences. Isn't that right, Lucien?"

Standing beside Pax was Lucien Larson, the Deputy Mayor of Seabrook.

Lucien had been away at a conference for the past month and had only returned to Seabrook that noon. His first stop was Pax, to discuss how to get the Cole Group's land transferred to the Warren family. They hadn't gotten very far when Pax received Conrad's distress call.

After hearing Pax describe David's "crimes," Lucien flew into a rage. He immediately contacted Police Chief Cruz and ordered him to bring nearly a hundred officers to surround the Seattle Grand Bistro.

Now, in response to Pax's question, Lucien's face was full of contempt. He sneered and gave the order: "Mr. Warren is absolutely right. Get them on their knees, now!"

David slowly stood up, looked Lucien over, and asked, "You're Lucien, the Deputy Mayor of Seabrook?"

Lucien scoffed. "Since you know who I am, why aren't you on your knees?"

David laughed. "Kneel? For you? You really have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

Pax raised his hand and jabbed a finger at David's face. "David, don't push your luck. This is our Deputy Mayor of Seabrook..."

Just then, Cruz — who had been at the back, outside the door organizing his officers — suddenly heard David's voice. His whole body jolted. He rushed to the doorway, and when he confirmed he wasn't mistaken — that the man his officers had their guns pointed at was indeed David — every hair on his body stood on end.

There was no time to think. Cruz burst into the room and shouted at his officers: "Have you all lost your minds? Everyone lower your weapons, now!"

Under normal circumstances, Cruz would never have dared act like this in front of Lucien. But today, he had no choice.

Who did Lucien think he was, compared to David?

If he crossed Lucien, the worst that could happen was losing his job for a while — and he'd be reinstated within half a day, maybe even promoted. But if he crossed David, forget the Police Chief position — his life would be on the line, and his entire family might vanish from Seabrook for good.

Lucien had no idea about any of this. Seeing Cruz act so boldly right in front of him, he stormed over and unleashed on him: "Cruz, have you gone insane? Who told you to have them stand down? Everyone listen to me — keep your guns on these people. If any of them resist, shoot to kill!"

Cruz turned and stared hard at Lucien. "Mr. Larson, I am the Chief of the Seabrook Police Department, and my officers answer to me. I strongly advise you to stay out of this."

Lucien noticed the fear on Cruz's face and sensed that things might not be as straightforward as he'd assumed. But he didn't connect Cruz's fear to David. As far as he was concerned, Cruz was probably rattled because of Michael — after all, Michael was from an earl's family, so having connections in Seabrook was nothing unusual.

"Cruz, listen carefully. You are a Seabrook police officer, not from some other city. Someone is causing trouble here in Seabrook right now, and if you can't do your job properly — if you're planning to play favorites — I have the authority to strip you of your title as Police Chief on the spot!"

Beads of sweat broke out across Cruz's forehead. He turned and stole a careful glance at David. David's expression remained calm and pleasant, a faint smile on his face.

Their eyes met for a moment, and Cruz drew a sharp breath. To be safe, he leaned close to Lucien and lowered his voice to a desperate plea: "Deputy Mayor Larson, please — I'm begging you, just leave now. Pretend today never happened. Otherwise..."

Lucien took Cruz's well-meaning warning as a threat. Before Cruz could finish, he snapped: "Get out of my sight! Get out of here right now! As of this moment, you are no longer the Police Chief of Seabrook."

With that, Lucien turned to his assistant Josiah nearby and said plainly: "Josiah, effective immediately, you are the acting captain of the Seabrook Special Police Unit. Once this matter is settled, I'll go to Laurel personally and have you officially appointed as Seabrook's Police Chief."

Josiah nearly jumped for joy at the order. He was barely thirty, had spent three years as Lucien's assistant, and now, out of nowhere, he was being handed command of the Seabrook Special Police Unit.

Overwhelmed with excitement, Josiah stepped forward and dropped to his knees before Lucien. "Thank you for believing in me! I won't let you down!"

Lucien glanced at Cruz and said coldly, "Why are you still standing there? I told you to get out."

Cruz let out a weary sigh, then turned to David. "Mr. Jones, I'm truly sorry. I did everything I could."

David smiled casually. "It's fine. Go sit down and grab something to eat. Let me make a quick call."

Lucien, still not knowing any better, sneered: "Oh, calling for backup? Today, even if you're planning to call God himself, you're getting on your knees first!"