Love's New Bloom by Simone Hastings

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Chapter 143 Cooperative Arrest

Erin’s accusation made Percival freeze on the spol. “What did you say?”

“I’m saying that you were the one who attacked me!”

A flicker of panic flashed across Percival’s eyes, but he quickly composed himself and said, “Erin, the

script doesn’t have the line you just said. You were supposed to use a hidden weapon to injure me and

then escape-”

Kicking him away, Erin quickly got up. She stared into his eyes and said, “Stop pretending, Percival! I’m

certain the man from that day was you! Even though I didn’t see your face clearly at that time, your

current expression and the knots on the rope have exposed you!”

A trace of malevolence appeared in his eyes as he said coldly, “Are you delusional? Stop making

things up! I agreed to help you with the scene out of kindness, and you come up with this nonsense to

slander me!”

Erin retorted loudly, “I’m going to the police! Besides, the suspect who took the blame has already

recanted! I believe the investigators will be interested in the new evidence I can provide.”

Seeing that Erin was about to leave as if she were really going to report to the police, Percival

anxiously blocked her path. “Erin, I advise you not to do something you’ll regret!”

She could feel that his mental fortress was slowly crumbling away, and one more push could make him

confess everything.

Erin scolded mercilessly. “Percival, I didn’t expect you to be this kind of person! The entertainment

industry is truly unfortunate to have scum like you! Even if all the men in the world were dead, I would

never be interested in you! Just the sight of you makes me sick! Get lost!”

This barrage of insults infuriated Percival to no end. He suddenly raised his hand and slapped Erin.

Then, he pushed her to the ground before she could react.

“Who the fuck do you think you are, Erin? Do you think you can look down on me like that? You’re

lucky that I even took an interest in you! There are plenty of women who throw themselves at me!”

Percival bellowed angrily, getting closer to her.

Erin sat on the ground, pretending to be scared. “I’m warning you. Don’t come any closer!”

The fearful expression in her eyes made Percival smirk. The more scared she was, the more excited

he became. He pulled out a peculiar glass bottle from his pocket and grinned wickedly.

“Do you know what this is, Erin? This thing is from Southeast Azores, made specifically for disobedient

women like you. Once you drink it, I guarantee you’ll behave like a little lamb!”

“You’re shameless, Percival! Admit it! You were the masked man that day, weren’t you? You’re a

cowardly scumbag who has the audacity. to commit a crime but doesn’t have the courage to admit to it!

You coward!”

Her provocation pushed Percival over the edge and he started to confess, “That’s right! I was the man

who wanted to assault you! Unfortunately, Simon ruined my plan! Erin, even if you know it was me, so

what? No one will believe you. Once you drink what’s in my hand, I’ll film you begging me like a bitch to

have my way with you-”

After saying that, his eyes turned cold as he walked over to forcefully pour the contents of his hand into

Erin’s mouth. Just as he was about to grab Erin’s chin, three men rushed into the artificial cave. They

were Roman, Matthew, and Simon.

They came prepared, all dressed in casual clothes suitable for combat. As they surrounded Percival,

he finally realized that he’d fallen into

Erin’s trap!

He glanced disdainfully at Erin and cursed agitatedly, “You bitch! How dare you set me up!”

Right then, the expression on Erin’s face was no longer weak and timid. She said coldly, “Percival, you

can’t escape the law. You won’t get

away this time!”

Percival laughed and said, “If you dare attack me, I’ll call my lawyer-”

Matthew, who had a bad temper, threw a punch at him without giving him a chance to finish his

sentence. “So what if we hit you? I’m going to beat you up! You bastard! I’ve never liked you from the

start! All you do is flirt with actresses on the set every day-

Percival had combat skills, so Matthew couldn’t gain the upper hand.

Roman glanced at Simon and asked, “If we all attack together, will it seem like we’re bullying him

because we outnumber him?”

Simon sneered, “Does a scumbag like him deserve to be given equal treatment as a fellow human

being?”

“In that case, what are we waiting for?” Roman clenched his fists and joined the fight.

Simon’s eyes flashed with a hint of ferocity, and he also joined in.

Five minutes later, with a swollen and bruised face, Percival was lying on the ground, completely

subdued. He begged for mercy.” Please… Please don’t hit me anymore! I admit deleat!”

At that moment, a group of police officers were awaiting instructions right outside the artificial cave. A

young police officer asked, ” Captain, should we go in and arrest him now?”

Aaron Wicker checked his watch and replied, “It’s about time. Mr. Frost said they would resolve their

private grievances within five minutes. They should be done.”

The young police officer added, “If we don’t go in soon, I think Percival will be beaten to death.”

How were they supposed to interrogate him if he was close to death?

As the police officers rushed in, Erin had already tied up Percival’s hands using the rope he used on

her earlier. Simon even tied a tight sailor’s knot just in case.

“Mr. Wicker, you arrived just in time. These three men assaulted me. I want to press charges against

them!” Percival, with his swollen eyelids and cheeks, still tried to play the victim.

Erin took off the tapping device from her body and handed it to Aaron, saying. “I hope you’ll release the

innocent person who took the

blame as soon as possible.”

Aaron replied, “Ms. Lane, we’ll handle these matters impartially. If the person who took the blame

indeed accepted a bribe from Percival, then he is also guilty. However, the court will take into account

the circumstances of him voluntarily confessing the truth and handle it with discretion.”

Erin nodded without saying anything else.

Percival knew there was no way he could turn the tables. Any attempts at talking his way out would be

futile now that Erin had recorded

their conversation.

After he was taken away by the police, Roman praised Erin, “Well, you played the role of Sherlock

Holmes and personally sent the criminal

to jail”

Matthew expressed some dissatisfaction. “You’re not allowed to use seduction as a trick anymore!”

Erin scoffed upon hearing that. “Seduction? That sounds so derogatory! At most, I call it luring and

capturing. If Percival exercised even a bit more self–control I wouldn’t have been able to catch him in

the act.”

Simon crossed his arms and said. “I never expected Percival to be such a dumb person. He even

altered the script privately. What made

him think he wouldn’t be exposed?”

“You know, some other actresses fell for such tricks in the past. After Erin told us about Percival, I

actually searched online and found an

anonymous post on a website,” Roman said.

“Someone said that she was deceived by a male actor. She was forced to take drugs in a hotel room

while rehearsing a scene with said.

male actor. He then took compromising photos of her as blackmail. The actress didn’t have much

influence and was afraid of retaliation.

so she didn’t dare to report it and was also afraid of her photos being exposed. After that, the actress

herself didn’t uphold her boundaries. and went on to have sexual relations with that male actor. She

even received many expensive gilts from him. So, in the end, nothing came of it,” Matthew elaborated

dismissively.

Erin shook her head and sighed. “Was that male actor Percival?”

Matthew asked in return, “What do you think? This scumbag intended to repeat his old tricks tonight!

He should be locked up in prison for life and never come out!”

“Now that he’s been captured, we should all get going.” Roman took the lead and walked ahead.

Erin walked side by side with him and took the initiative to ask, “Thank you for your help tonight. I’ll

treat you all to some skewers. Are you willing to accept the invitation?”

Matthew chuckled lightly. “I love eating anything you treat me to-”

Simon glanced at him and remarked, “Your relationship with Erin is indeed very suspicious-

“If you keep saying nonsense like that, you’re not welcome anymore!” Erin glared at him, clearly

displeased.

Simon shrugged. “I was just joking. You’ve already explained it to me, right? I know you aren’t involved

with Matthew or Roman in any way. I trust you, alright?”

Matthew clenched his fist but couldn’t bring himself to hit Simon. He fumed, “You’re really a crude

bastard!”

Roman seemed unfazed by Simon’s behavior. He turned to Erin and said, “Erin, the lamb skewers you

brought last time were delicious.

Shall we go to that place?”

“Sure! That’s exactly what I had in mind.”

Erin instantly left the two bickering men behind and went with Roman in large strides. Matthew and

Simon stopped exchanging verbal blows and followed suit.

Forty minutes later, the four of them sat in Lambusto Kebabs, enjoying some meat dishes and lamb

skewers. That night, Erin drank beer, which was out of the norm for her. She insisted on toasting the

three men who had helped her catch the criminal.

“Rom, Matthew, Simon, thank you for tonight! Let me give you a toast-”

Just as Erin was about to down her drink, Matthew stopped her and said, “Wait a minute, Erin! Why do

you have a nickname for Roman?

But you just refer to me by my first name.”

Erin snorted and asked, “Then what should I call you? Mattie?”

Matthew burst into hearty laughter. “That would be great-”

“Who do you think you are? Stop stirring up trouble for no reason! Don’t make me take back my

gratitude for you!” Erin’s tone became

somewhat impatient.

Matthew sighed at how impatient she was with him. He stood up and said, “Fine, fine! It’s my bad! I’ll

down my drink as an apology to you.”

He quickly finished a glass of beer, while Simon and Roman watched on, unamused.

Right then, Erin’s phone rang. When she saw the caller ID, she happily put down her beer and said,

“You guys go ahead and drink. I need to

take this call!”

Roman’s expression darkened. He guessed it might be Chandler calling. The fact that Chandler was

Erin’s boyfriend brought a hint of bitterness to his heart. He picked up his beer on the table and downed

it in one go.

Matthew and Simon snapped out of their thoughts as they watched Erin disappear. Their eyes met for a

moment, but they couldn’t find the right words to say. They each drank their beer to ease the awkward

atmosphere.

Once Erin left, the sense of harmony among the three men vanished instantly..

Matthew and Simon couldn’t help but ponder the identity of the person who called Erin.

Meanwhile, Erin left the private room and entered the women’s restroom. She spoke into her phone

emotionally, “You finally decided to return my call Holly!”