Chapter 757 The Accident
Horror dawned on Jessica, and she felt her blood grow cold. Even her calves were trembling as she thought, This man is the devil! He actually wants someone to greet me in hell! Determined not to end up in the same miserable state as Sandra had, she cried out in panic, “Mr. Fuller, I was wrong, I really was. Please, please don’t do this to me! I promise this won’t happen ever again. I swear on my life!” She began to plead for mercy relentlessly, hoping to persuade Toby to spare her.
However, Toby remained impassive, and being the heartless man that he was, he didn’t look like he was about to pardon her wrongdoings at all.
Jessica might be brash, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew what Sonia would look like the moment she found out about the truth of her own identity, and similarly, she knew there was no way Toby would spare her, even if she pleaded for mercy to her wits’ end. Then why am I still begging like this?
At the thought of this, a menacing grimace twisted her features, and she glowered at Toby mutinously, grinding out the words with force, “Listen here, Fuller, even if you don’t spare me now, I’ll only be in prison for a couple of months. When I’m released, I’ll still find Sonia and tell her every little detail about her being Titus’ biological daughter!”
“From the looks of things, Titus will only have a few months more to live. Do you think he’d be around by the time you are released from prison? The moment he dies, the feud between the Reed and the Gray families will be automatically resolved, and the truth of Sonia’s birth will not have that much of an effect on her anymore, so you were set up to fail from the very beginning,” Toby countered icily, then strode easily out of the door, leaving behind a shell-shocked Jessica.
I-Is that true? Have I really been set up to fail from the very beginning? Jessica’s lips quivered as she struggled to come to terms with this reality.
But at that moment, the memories of how she had been forced to admit defeat before Sonia for the last few times flashed in her mind; she had never once had the upper hand in any of their games. Is this it? Will I always be defeated by Sonia no matter how hard I try? No. This can’t be. I won’t stand for it. I will not go down like this!
A sense of urgency gripped her as she turned to fix her eyes on the door, then maniacally shouted in its direction, “Hey! Someone! Anyone! Bring me Sonia. I want to see Sonia!” She refused to believe that Toby truly had what it took to stop the police officers from violating her rights as a civilian to see anyone while in detention.
Alas, even as her throat became sandpapery from all her roaring in the detention room, not one officer came in to check on her, for Tom had given all the officers a heads-up prior to this.
“President Fuller,” Tom greeted respectfully when he saw Toby emerge from the doorway, stopping his conversation with the captain of the police station.
Toby hummed in acknowledgment, then strolled up to the captain with a proffered handshake. The captain, naturally, did not reject such pleasantries.
Having exchanged a perfunctory handshake, Toby withdrew his hand and said, “There’s one more thing I need you and your officers to help me out with.”
The captain eyed him evenly. “Of course, Mr. Fuller.”
“I would like Jessica to be cut off from the outside world for the next few months of her imprisonment,” Toby began, meeting the captain’s gaze steadily. “I don’t want her seeing or talking to anyone, and if there are any visitors who wish to see or speak to her, please turn them away and let me know immediately.”
The captain gave an amiable smile. “Of course. It’s no trouble at all.” It went without saying that he only agreed to such terms so readily because of Toby’s status as the president of Fuller Group, and he wouldn’t have done so for any other ordinary person. More importantly, Toby’s grandfather was a powerful politician who had contributed significantly to the country; common courtesy would have compelled the captain to allow such a favor.
“Your help is greatly appreciated,” Toby said with a nod. “When I get back, I shall have a sum of money wired to your esteemed station as labor fees.”
Upon hearing this, the captain broke into a wide grin. “We thank you in advance, President Fuller.”
With a hum, Toby turned to leave the station, with Tom in tow.
Having gotten into the car, Tom glanced into the rearview mirror at the man who was pinching his nose bridge, asking, “Will we be heading back to your place now, President Fuller, or Miss Reed’s?”
“What do you think?” Toby looked up and shot him a withering look.
Tom retracted his gaze immediately and fixed his eyes ahead. “Got it. I’ll drop you off at Miss Reed’s immediately.”
He should have known the answer beforehand. President Fuller had only just claimed Miss Reed as his own last night, so naturally, he’ll have to go back and keep her company. I mean, he’d be a jerk if he just sped off after putting on his pants and left her high and dry. No wonder he glared at me; I basically asked a stupid question. Hah! Tom gave a sheepish grin and said nothing more as he proceeded to maneuver the car down the road.
In the backseat, Toby had his phone in hand as he texted Sonia. ‘I’m on my way home now.’
Meanwhile, in Bayside Residence, Sonia was sitting on the couch watching television when she heard her phone chime with a new message. She picked it up and saw Toby’s text, then smiled as she replied, ‘Okay, I’ll be right here waiting for you. Be safe on the way back.”
A light chuckle escaped Toby, and after he replied to her text with a brief ‘okay’, he tossed his phone aside and stared out the window with his chin propped up on his palm.
It was already getting dark outside, enough for him to see his own reflection in the glass.
Just then, he thought of something and frowned, his expression growing grim as his mood obviously turned sour.
After a pause, he took his hand off the car handle and asked aloud with narrowed eyes, “When does Jessica’s trial start?”
Tom turned the steering wheel as he answered without missing a beat, “Three days later. The date comes sooner than later because it’s not a criminal case; if it were, we might have to wait for months before a date is set down for trial.”
“Hmm.” Toby nodded to show that he had heard his assistant’s answer, then ordered coldly, “When Jessica is transferred to the prison cell, have someone give her a warm welcome. I want her to wish she was dead!”
He was incensed that Jessica had threatened him and gone after Sonia. And I’ll make sure she pays the price!
Tom simply nodded solemnly. “Got it, President Fuller.”
Toby closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the seat, falling silent.
In the silence of the vehicle, Tom glanced into the rearview mirror at the man who appeared to be getting some shut-eye, and he suddenly felt a twinge of sympathy for Jessica. For heaven’s sake, she could have trifled with anyone, but she just had to go for President Fuller and the love of his life, Miss Reed. I guess she deserves what’s coming for her now!
He was just thinking of this when shock colored his face, for at that precise moment, a woman in a wheelchair rolled out from the left sidewalk up ahead.
The woman didn’t look like she had been expecting any vehicles to drive down the road, and she stiffened and stilled in surprise.
At the sight of this, Tom grimaced and cursed, “Crap, why did a pedestrian appear out of nowhere?!” It’s a red light, for goodness’ sake!
“President Fuller…” Tom was at a complete loss for what to do. There was only a short distance between the car and the woman in the wheelchair, and he didn’t have enough time to brake. Even if he did, the car would still lurch forward and run the woman down on momentum.
But if the car didn’t knock the woman down and Tom were to veer the car toward the other side of the road, then he and Toby would end up getting hurt.
Realizing the urgency of this situation, Toby had a hard look on his face as he clenched his fists and snapped, “Veer to the left and drive into the hedge!” No matter what, they could not afford to run someone down to stop the momentum of the car.
Immediately understanding what Toby asked of him, Tom had no choice but to quickly steer the car toward the left.
Thankfully, the hedge on the left did not have one of those ridiculously tall curbs, and the car merely shook violently for a while as it collided into the roadside feature. The impact smashed the headlights in, and the car alarm sounded frantically into the approaching evening.
Other than the damage to the car, there didn’t seem to be any problems.
That being said, the airbags were still deployed, and Tom’s head was left spinning from the collision. Toby wasn’t doing any better in the backseat, for he was exceedingly dizzy after hitting his head against the car window.
“President Fuller!” Tom could hardly shake himself out of his daze, but he ignored his own dizzy spell as he hurriedly unbuckled his seatbelt, thereafter turning to check on Toby.
When he saw Toby pressing a hand to his forehead and doubling over in his seat, he panicked. “President Fuller, are you alright?”
Toby did not answer, and Tom instantly knew that the man was hurt somehow and somewhere. He hurtled out from behind the wheel as he fished for his phone, and while he called for an ambulance, he hastily threw open the door to the backseat to check on Toby’s condition.
“President Fuller,” he called out anxiously, shaking the man’s shoulder. “President Fuller?”
As if responding to his name, Toby looked up and met Tom’s gaze. Abruptly, his expression shifted, and with a low grunt, he passed out.
