Chapter 0328
#25 BONUS
An hour later, Logan and I sat in Dylan’s office. Dylan was at his desk, scribbling notes down on a notepad. Mabel leaned against the wall near the window, rubbing at her forehead like she had a headache brewing
“So you suspect she didn’t actually commit the crime, Dylan said.
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“Steal a million dollars without my grandfather noticing right away?” Logan scoffed. “There isn’t in hell. He personally checks every decimal point in every deposit or investment. A penny doesn’t shift around in his accounts without him knowing about it.
“This is entirely a set up. Grandfather kidnapped Hazel and then I went to get her. No one stopped me. This woman even unlocked the door for me. Now Grandfather’s getting his revenge.”
“I’ll help her as best I can,” Dylan said. “But likely, she’s already seven lawyers deep. Senior doesn’t mess around. He’s going to gaslight and manipulate her. Even if I offer my services, she might not take it.”
“She helped us,” Logan said. “She shouldn’t need to suffer for it.” He shook his head. “She said. Grandfather had changed from how he once was. I think she only wanted the best for her.”
“I’ll talk to her,” Dylan said. “Or I’ll try to, I can’t make her see me if she refuses.”
“Even so,” Mabel said, stepping away from the wall. “We may be able to spin this to our advantage.”
“How?” I asked.
“We float the idea with the press that this is a false arrest,” Mabel replied. “Mr. Hatfield Senior meant this as a scare tactic, that we know. So we push that narrative forward.”
“It could drive people into hiding.” Dylan said.
“Or it could be the last straw. Senior is coming for them one way or another. Maybe they will see that it’s time to step forward and come clean.”
“It’s a gamble,” Dylan said.
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“Either they weren’t going to talk to us anyway, or they might,” Mabel countered. “We don’t really anything to lose in this game.”
Logan listened quietly to Mabel. Then he said to Dylan, “Don’t do anything you will regret. We can let this go, and I wouldn’t blame you for it.”
“No,” Dylan said. Looking down at his notes, he exhaled. “Senior keeps pushing the envelope to see how far it can go. If we let him, he’ll only go farther. We need to stop this now.”
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“I can get you a press conference tonight,” Mabel said to Dylan. “Logan. Hazel. I suggest you two home and not be involved. Dylan. You up for this?”
“Been a while since I’ve spread my mug around on camera,” he said. His disposition lightened suddenly. Even knowing him as well as I did, I couldn’t tell if he was faking the sudden brightness or if he was genuinely excited by the challenge of it all.
“I’ll make the call,” Mabel said.
Chapter 0328
+25 BONUS
Later, Logan and I watched as Dylan stepped up out of his office onto the curb, where a slew of reporters with microphones and cameras surrounded him.
He laid the charm on thick, appearing both confident and approachable. His smile was disarming.
“I have reason to suspect that Mr. Hatfield Senior’s assistant was falsely accused,” Dylan said. “We’ve seen this type of scare tactic used before, all throughout our modern history. For as long as the legal system has existed, there have been those thinking they can manipulate it to fulfill their own selfish desires.”
“Dylan!” one of the reporters shouted. “Are you accusing Mr. Hatfield Senior of attempting to –”
“I’m not directly accusing anyone, let’s be clear,” Dylan said, smoothly bypassing a question that could land him in his own hot water for liable. “What I am saying is, if this is happening to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. There’s no big bad too scary for my firm to take on. Don’t let yourself be caught up in other people’s ambitions.”