Chapter 300

“Juan, are you crazy?” Melody was shocked. Hester also paled, her bravado crumbling instantly. She had mustered all her courage to speak up for Juan, but his words had turned her into a laughingstock. Tears welled up in Hester’s eyes, threatening to overflow.

Melody whirled on Debra, her eyes blazing with fury. “Debra, did you put Juan under a spell? How did you make him say such things?”

“Grandma, it has nothing to do with her,” Juan said, his gaze lingering on Debra’s face. She looked away, and the police officer announced, “According to Mr. Nichols’ testimony, Debra was kidnapped by her family members, Stanley and Rosalie.”

“Go arrest them immediately.”

“Yes, sir.”

The police officers sprang into action. Juan showed no sign of defending himself. Melody gritted her teeth, her voice dropping to a low growl. “Are you disregarding our reputation for just a woman?”

“I admit to what I did,” Juan said, turning to Joe. “Take my grandma back.”

“Sir…” Joe hesitated, glancing at Debra. “Madam, Mr. Nichols has nothing to do with this. It was Rosalie who called him. He rushed over because he was worried about you. He had no intention of colluding with Rosalie to kidnap you.”

Debra frowned slightly, but Juan cut him off. “I told you to send my grandma back. Who told you to talk here?”

Melody’s anger was palpable. Her eyes darted around the room as she pointed at the people surrounding her. “You all hear that? This has nothing to do with Juan. It’s all a trap set by the Frazier family, who are unwilling to let go of our support.” She turned to Debra and sneered. “You pretended to be righteous in front of others, saying you wanted a divorce. But then you turned around and joined your family in offering yourself to Juan. I see you don’t really want a divorce. You just want to stay with our family and get benefits.”

Debra wanted to retort, but Marion grabbed her wrist and pulled her close. “Debra is my woman. Anyone who insults her insults me,” he declared.

Debra looked up at him, her eyes searching his face. He usually appeared calm and detached, but now he was deadly serious. Pedro instantly understood Marion’s meaning. He turned to the two officers beside him and ordered, “Get the troublemakers out.”

As the officers prepared to step forward, Hester anxiously spoke up. “Juan, say something. Are you just watching them take your grandma away like this? She came here for you.”

Juan’s gaze lingered on Debra and Marion for a moment longer before he stepped in front of Melody, his expression cold. “I dare you to touch my family.”

Melody insisted, “This has nothing to do with Mr. Nichols. There must be a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding? It seems there are quite a few misunderstandings between Mr. Nichols and me,” Debra said, turning to Pedro. “Mr. Hardy, since Joe says Mr. Nichols didn’t kidnap me but only wanted to rescue me, let’s consider this matter closed.”

“Closed?” Pedro was surprised. He instinctively glanced at Marion for guidance. Marion handed Debra’s phone back to her and said, “Debra’s decision is mine too.”

“Well then.” Pedro nodded, turning to the officers behind him. “Release him.”

Debra, without a backward glance, turned and walked away, dragging Marion with her. Hester watched with disdain. “She claimed she wouldn’t be threatened, but in the end, she was just afraid of her reputation being damaged.”

Juan, struggling to control his anger, snapped, “Shut up!” Hester, startled by his outburst, fell silent. Juan turned to Joe and ordered, “Find out who took those photos.”

“Will do.”

Outside the police station, Debra and Marion got into a waiting car. Inside, Marion remained silent, but Debra could sense the anger radiating from him.

“Are you upset?” she asked.

Marion asked back, “Did you deliberately let Juan go?”

If anyone else had seen those photos, they would have been too embarrassed to show them to anyone. But Debra had displayed them openly, unconcerned about the situation. If she didn’t care, she couldn’t be threatened by those photos.