Chapter 317 Please Have A Seat


    James was obviously displeased. "Isn''t it enough for me to guarantee her innocence?"


    "It is," Mr. Huang''s brother replied. "But please wait a moment, Mr. Xi. I''ll discuss it with my brother


    first." Things were getting really tough here. Joslyn had clearly told him that Maria was the one who


    fired the gun just now.


    He strode towards Mr. Huang, who was still bleeding as the doctors were treating him.


    A man in the crowd couldn''t help butment, "What''s the point of women acting so strong and


    stubborn? They still have to lie underneath us men in bed."


    Upon hearing this vulgarment, Ethan raised his eyebrows and looked at him. Following the


    man''s gaze, he found that thement was about Maria.


    "Ha, maybe you''re right, but it depends on who she is lying under," he said scornfully.


    The man couldn''t help retorting, "She isn''t lying underneath you, that''s for sure. Why are you


    rushing to her defense?"


    "I''m not the one defending her. Did you see that guy over there?" Ethan asked, gesturing to another


    man with his eyes.


    The man looked over and found a crippled man with only one leg. Bewilderment appeared on his


    face.


    "Do you know what happened to his leg?" Ethan asked with a thin smile.


    "What?"


    "He said something nasty about Maria, so James crippled him. Do you know what will happen if


    James gets wind of yourment? You will face an even worse fate," Ethan said casually as he


    looked at the man''s crotch.


    The man''s face turned pale, and he immediately fled the scene.


    Watching his pathetic escape, Ethan snorted. Then, he approached Maria and nced at the


    people behind him. "How can you let thisdy stand here for so long? Don''t you have any sense?


    Bring afortable chair for her right now!"


    Maria''s lips twitched, but she didn''t say anything.


    Someone obediently brought over a chair and ced it behind her. "Ma''am, please have a seat."


    "Thank you, but there''s no need." Maria waved her hand slightly. However, it was pointless.


    She had barely finished her words when she found herself being pressed down onto the chair by


    James. "Sit!" he said sharply.


    Maria looked up at him nkly.


    She was the only one sitting now, which made her feel awkward.


    Soon, Mr. Huang''s brother returned. "I''m sorry, Mr. Xi. My brother has passed out, so I''ll make the


    call. I think it''s necessary to frisk her. If she was not guilty, then why would she refuse?"


    Maria looked straight into his eyes and sneered, "As far as I know, there are more than a dozen


    women who haven''t been frisked." Then, she turned to James coldly. When she spoke, her voice


    was low but clear. "James, it seems that he doesn''t take you seriously at all because he doesn''t


    want to do you this favor. In that case, just let him frisk me!"All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org.


    Hearing what she said, Mr. Huang''s brother broke into a cold sweat. He hastily exined, "That''s


    not what I meant, Mr. Xi."


    James'' lips curled in displeasure. He took his phone out from his pocket and dialed a number.


    "Send someone to pick me up," he ordered.


    After speaking that one sentence, he hung up.


    Just then, Lawrence walked over to them and asked, "Are you Mr. Huang''s brother?"


    The man nodded. "Yes, Mr. Lu."


    "Are you in charge of the Huang family now?"


    He shook his head. "No, my brother is still in charge."


    "Do you know the lengths that your brother went to in order to invite James here today?" Lawrence


    asked, surveying the man with disdain.


    Mr. Huang''s brother''s face changed slightly at this question. He hesitated, not knowing how to


    respond.


    "James has never liked attending such events. Now that such an unpleasant incident has urred,


    you should be apologizing to him, but instead, you have the audacity to suspect him."


    "No. She''s the one we suspect." Mr. Huang''s brother threw an usatory nce at Maria.


    Lawrence sneered, "Is there any difference between suspecting his woman and suspecting him?"


    ''What an idiot,'' he thought to himself.


    Mr. Huang''s brother wiped the cold sweat off his forehead and gulped nervously. Since his brother


    was still in charge of the Huang family''s business, he didn''t dare to act recklessly. "I''m sorry, Mr. Xi. I


    didn''t mean to offend you."


    James, who wasn''t even paying attention to him anymore, didn''t respond. He had one hand in his


    pocket and the other holding Maria''s; his whole focus was on her and how she was feeling.


    Ethan was someone who believed in treating people the way that they treated others, so he didn''t


    bother to mince his words. "If you have the time to make things difficult for an innocent woman, I''m


    sure you have the time to conduct a proper investigation. You''d better carefully search the other


    guests. In the time you wasted here, the real murderer has probably escaped. If they had jumped


    into the sea, they would have swam back to H City by now. It''s good that you are not in charge of


    the Huang family. Otherwise, the Huang family would''ve been doomed by now."


    Mr. Huang''s brother was utterly embarrassed at these words, and his face turned red.


    As soon as the cruise ship reached the shore, a woman stepped onboard with more than a dozen


    bodyguards following her closely.


    Opening the door of the cabin, Summer walked towards James with the bodyguards. "Hi, Mr. Xi,


    Maria. I''m here," she said with a reassuring smile.


    James ordered casually, "Terminate the cooperation between HL Group and the Huang family.


    Remember to make an appointment for me with Director Zhang tomorrow. I want to have a cup of


    tea with me."


    "Yes, Mr. Xi!" Summer took out her phone and began to carry out his orders.


    Mr. Huang''s brother''s face turned deathly pale. He wasn''t even that worried about losing the


    cooperation with HL Group. It was the mention of Director Zhang that really petrified him. He knew


    that the Huang family was in deep trouble this time.


    He took a look at the woman sitting on the chair again. She was pulled to her feet by James. They


    walked out of the cabin, hand in hand.


    ''Who is this woman? Not only did Mr. Nan and Mr. Lu defended her, but Mr. Xi protected her at all


    costs.


    Is it just because she''s Mr. Xi''s woman?'' he wondered to himself, narrowing his eyes.


    Of course, he had more important matters to attend to right now. If his father found out about


    today''s incident, and that he had singlehandedly ruined the Huang family''s business, he would be


    finished for good.


    As soon as they got off the cruise ship, Maria took her phone back and said goodbye to Ethan and


    the others.


    Once she was alone, she called Norman. "Mr. Huang''s younger brother is also on the cruise ship."


    Normal chuckled. "I know."


    Surprise filled Maria, but it was soon reced by resentment. "If you already knew that, why didn''t


    you tell me?" she snapped. If it weren''t for James, she might have been in big trouble today!


    "Because I knew you''d be fine." The truth was, Norman had also known that both Lawrence and


    Ethan would be onboard the ship. So even if James hadn''t been around, the two of them would


    have looked after her and made sure that no harm came to her.


    Of course, Maria didn''t see it that way. She furiously said, "Norman, I could have died today!"


    "But you didn''t, did you? You''re fine," Norman replied tly. If she was really in trouble, she wouldn''t


    be able to call him.


    Maria pursed her lips in dissatisfaction. "You knew that James would help me, didn''t you? You knew


    he would stand up for me."


    "What do you think?"


    he asked in reply.


    Maria took a deep breath and suppressed all her emotions. In a muffled voice, she asked


    tentatively, "Mr. Shen, do you really think that I have such a high ce in his heart?" "Don''t you?"


    "Of course not! I just found out that he broke off his engagement to Alina a long time ago, but he


    never told me about it. I''ve always thought that I am nothing but a mistress to him. If I was really that


    important to him, why would he treat me like this?" Maria''s grievances poured out of her before she


    even realized.


    "If you weren''t important to him, you wouldn''t even have been able to be his mistress,"


    Norman pointed out in an indifferent tone.


    She opened her mouth to retort, but in the end, she couldn''t find the words to say.


    "It doesn''t matter whether he told you that he broke off his engagement or not. What matters is why


    he did it. Maria, the answer is obvious." Maria froze. Was it really because of her?


    She felt flustered. "I might have been a small reason, but I''m sure he had other reasons for doing it."


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