Chapter 69: I Will Pay You

Jared intercepted the leader as he reached for Hilda. "I'll pay what she owes you," Jared said calmly. "Keep your hands off her."

The leader scrutinized Jared. Seeing his inexpensive clothes, he sneered. "Do you know how much she owes us?"

"One million," Jared replied.

"Hmph! More than that," the leader scoffed.

Hilda gasped. "Last week, you said it was only one million!"

The leader smirked. "That was last week. With interest, it's now one million three hundred thousand. Not a penny less."

Hilda was stunned. The increase was impossible.

"Fine," Jared said plainly. "I'll pay one million three hundred thousand."

The leader was surprised by Jared's immediate agreement, as was Hilda. She looked at him incredulously. "Jared, where will you get the money?" She knew he was recently released from prison and unemployed.

The leader glared at Jared. "Kid, are you sure you have the money? Do you know the consequences of messing with me?" He drew a dagger.

Hilda paled and clung to Jared.

Jared remained calm. "I'll keep my word. Come with me to the bank."

The leader, impressed by Jared's composure, conceded. "You've got guts, kid. I'll believe you this once." He gestured to his men, and one opened a car door. "Let's go."

Jared turned to Hilda. "Go home. Don't tell your mom or my parents. I'll be back soon."

"Jared…" Hilda worriedly clutched his arm.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," he reassured her with a faint smile before getting into the car.

Hilda watched them go, tears streaming down her face.

The car arrived at a bank. "Don't try anything funny," the leader warned.

Jared ignored him and entered the bank. It was crowded, so he joined the queue.

A bank employee approached him politely. "Sir, you can use the ATM."

Jared smiled. "I'm withdrawing a large sum, more than the ATM allows."

"How much are you withdrawing, sir?" the employee asked.

"More than a million."

The people in front of him turned around. A million was a significant amount.

(Note: The repeated promotional message "Search the FindNovel.net website on Google" has been removed as it is irrelevant to the story and disrupts the flow.)