Chapter 848

Chapter 848 On Whose Orders?

The manager’s rage reached a new level as he sneered, “You thought there was an actual scandal going on? Don’t you have a brain in that head of yours? Why the hell would you make a guess about someone else’s affairs if you don’t know the truth at all?!”

The woman lowered her head and muttered shakily, “I-I really have no idea—”

“In that case, you should have shut up!” The manager pointed out harshly. “You were going on about calling the police when we blocked these hooligans earlier, so why didn’t you call the police when you saw the girl being dragged away? What, did you really think that these guys were here to catch a cheating wife red-handed just because they said so? Do you see human traffickers walking around abducting people with the words ‘human traffickers’ tattooed on their foreheads?”

She was rendered speechless as she was humiliated by the harsh scolding.

He scoffed before he gave a contemptuous wave of his hand as he seethed, “Forget it. There’s no point speaking to an idiot like you. Get the police! I’m leaving this whole mess to them and completely washing my hands off. You’re lucky that Miss Harrison was not captured by these thugs; otherwise, you’d be an accomplice!”

The color drained from the woman’s face and she practically curled into a fetal position on the ground.

She never expected to be caught in such a heavy crossfire merely because she wanted to speak up for what she had believed was a just cause.

Meanwhile, the hooligans’ legs had turned to lead and they were so scared they were on the brink of collapse.

They had initially thought that the entire matter could be concluded without any hassle, but things took an unexpected and messier turn. When they saw how the mall manager was bowing apologetically at Crystal and Joseph, they instantly knew that they had bitten off more than they could chew this time.

In particular, their panic rose to new heights when they learned that she was actually Joseph’s granddaughter.

Upon hearing that the police would be involved, the leader of the rag-tag group of thugs interjected hastily, “Sir, please, I had nothing to do with all of this. I was acting on somebody else’s orders, and we —we’re not human traffickers.”

The mall manager shot him a dark look. “Somebody else’s orders, you say? Whose and why?”

The leader shuddered in fright and stammered, “I-It was Tate who asked us to do this. He’s been holding a grudge against Miss Harrison ever since she slapped him twice the other day and he wanted to get her back for it. W-We were only acting on his orders and we really have nothing to do with this…”

When the thug trailed off, the mall manager turned to look at Crystal as he awaited her response. She gritted her teeth; her expression was stormy as she seethed, “It’s Tate again! Grandpa, no matter what it takes, I want him to pay the price for what he did this time!”

A grimace twisted Joseph’s wizened features. He liked to think of himself as a mild and pleasant man on his good days and he had plenty of friends in his lifetime to bolster that observation. He was kind to others and had never encountered anything as offensive as this. However, now that his most beloved granddaughter had almost been dragged away by unruly strangers for dubious reasons, it went without saying that he was outraged.

“Go and do whatever it takes to hunt Tate down at this instant!” he roared, which was more than enough to show how infuriated he was.

While this was happening, Helen and Chloe were at the Grand Garden. They were in the living room and engaged in their conversation when Tate suddenly opened the door and barged in with a frightened look.

A shocked Chloe frowned and glowered at him with disapproval. “What are you rushing in here for?

Can’t you see that I’m talking to Aunt Helen?”

He was trembling like mad as he walked up to Helen. Then, he knelt down before her as he begged, “Aunt Helen, please, you—you have to help me this time, no matter what!”

Helen blinked at him in astonishment and she couldn’t help but wonder what was going on.

Chloe, on the other hand, grew sullen as she urged, “D-Did you stir up trouble again?”

Tate looked down in his refusal to answer. He had been standing outside the restaurant to keep an eye on things, but he ran for his life when he saw that his plan had gone awry.

Along the way, he called up a few of his close friends and asked about Crystal’s family background.

When one of them, who happened to know Crystal well, told him about who she was, he knew that he was in big trouble.

As such, he didn’t even try to return to his own place and instead rushed over to the Grand Garden in the hopes of using Helen as a shield. He knew that the trouble he had caused this time was far more serious than the last one!