An Arrest

As her eyelids widened, Miss Grace couldn't bear to watch the video anymore, and she dropped her phone on the table, not having an appetite to touch her food, and then said, “Elijah would never… never do something this gross! This has Jewel's handwriting all over it.”

Slapping his hand on the table, Mr. Maxwell's face went cold as he screamed, “I can't believe Jewel and her children are still doing shit like this!” 

“This old lady is mentally ill,” Mrs. Maxwell mumbled, completely in awe of what she was staring at. “My son would never do something this brutal and unkind to a woman so helpless as that.”

The dining room went quiet and then a sense of worry suddenly hit Mr. Maxwell, and he said, “Can someone check on Peach? She hasn't come down yet, and I am sure that she has seen the videos.”

Immediately, both Miss Grace and Mrs. Maxwell stood from their seats, and they smiled at each other's sudden response before leaving the dining room and heading upstairs, Miss Grace with quick, determined steps. 

As they approached the second-floor hallway, they could hear Peach's angry voice coming from inside.

“I just know that it’s Melina… Or Jewel… And I can't believe that that old witch is trying to play you at your own game. You put out the truth to the media, and then she went and made these disgusting videos and used an illegal site to post it up!” Peach lashed out, pacing back and forth with the phone in her hand.

Her breathing was becoming shallow, and Elijah started to grow worried as he mumbled, “Babe, breathe.”

“I am breathing, Elijah! I am just pissed! Her granddaughter made such a bizarre accusation against you a couple of days ago, and now, they want to make it seem like she was speaking the truth!” Peach threw her hands up in the air in exasperation.

“Babe,”

“What?!!”

Looking at the way he raised his brow in the video call, Peach hesitated, and then she frowned as he softly said, “In, and then out.”

After a second of reluctance, she sighed, drew a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled, repeating several times on his cue as he said, “Go on.”

After a moment, Elijah smiled slightly and then he asked, “Do you feel better now?”

“No!! Of course, I don’t!!” Peach cried, her hormones still running high from what she felt. “I hate those people so much for what they are doing to you!!”

Suddenly, her room door opened and her mother alongside her mother-in-law both entered, smiling at her even though she looked super pissed.

“You two watch those absurd videos, right?!... How far is Jewel willing to go... Doesn't she know when to stop?!” Peach lashed out.

Seeing his mother and mother-in-law in the video call, Elijah greeted them, and then asked, “Can you please help me calm her down? I am going to handle things on this end. But I can't focus if she keeps exploding like this.” 

“Don’t worry. We will take care of her. Go and do what needs to be done to stop that mad woman, son.” Miss Grace said as Mrs. Maxwell wrapped her hand around Peach's shoulder, making her go back to her breathing exercise.

“Thanks, guys,” Elijah uttered calmly.

Then he met his wife’s eyes, his face hardened all of a sudden as he said, “I promise you that I am going to fix this. You trust me right?”

“Yes,” Peach whispered.

“Good. Then keep trusting me, and stop stressing yourself. I got to go, but I love you.”

“Love you too.” 

After ending the call, Elijah's face went cold as he looked at his men, standing in the living room with him, and then he looked at Rookie staring hard at his computer screen and then said, “What is it?”

“It’s definitely a face swap. Whoever did this shit is intelligent in a dangerous way and amazing with tech and editing softwares because it looks so realistic that it’s in some way convincing. They even got all of our faces inside this nonsense.” Rookie said, making Ryan frown.

“Are you praising the asshole that has made all of us some brutal bastards on the internet?” Ryan mumbled in annoyance.

Lifting his head to see everyone giving that look, Rookie sighed heavily and said, “Sorry, It's just that the videos are so well done that it doesn't seem like they are just some random videos that the person used to do a face swap with... These videos are well filmed, so they can look as realistic as possible... Which means it was recently staged.”

“Meaning... They hire people to act these absurd videos out, and these people getting beaten up are innocent victims.” Elijah said in disgust.

“Okay... But if that's the case, why are there victims not debunking this shit?” Ryan said, feeling lost by this whole situation.

The sound of the doorbell echoing inside the mansion made Elijah sigh, and then a moment later, he saw the chief constable walking into the living room with James.

“Did you know that you have an angry mob outside your gate?” Mr. Bamford calmly uttered , frowning slightly as he stared at Elijah. “What is happening? There are videos of you all over the net of you commanding your men to beat up people.”

“Do I look like a madman, chief?” Elijah asked in irritation.

“Don’t get mad at me. It's people on the internet that are eating up this shit... You know who's behind it?” 

“Right now... No.” 

Looking back at his screen, Rookie frowned and said, “But our biggest guess is-“

“Jewel or Melina… Days ago, she spoke about you being an abusive man, and now, you got these videos coming out… Those Hayes are playing your game well, and they just said, ‘Checkmate,’ with this mess.” Mr. Bamford stated.

Sighing, Elijah studied the Chief Constable’s face, and then he stared down at the handcuffs and said, “You are here to arrest me, ain’t you?” 

“Well, all of you, except James, since he’s the only one in the video.” Mr. Bamford reluctantly said.

“The person that created this rubbish used an advanced face swap software, and James is not in it because he's the only one who hasn't been moving with Elijah when the paparazzi are taking videos and pictures of him...” Ryan mumbled in annoyance.

After a brief pause, Elijah met Mr. Bamford's eyes and asked, “Who asked for my arrest?” 

“A Magistrate named, ‘Eliot Trenchard.” Mr. Bamford  answered, and after a slight hesitation, he added, “He seems pretty hell-bent on getting you locked up.”

Raising his brows, Elijah was confused with one question, ‘How is this so-called Magistrate related to Jewel and her children?’

“Look, Elijah, I like you kid, and there's not a single doubt in my mind that you didn't do this. But the people are too emotional to analyze the video and see the faults in the films so this is what we are going to do. I am going to make the arrest, take you in for questioning, and then release you guys so you can continue your investigation.” Mr. Bamford calmly uttered.

Looking away from the Chief Constable, Elijah took his time to text his mother and mother-in-law the same messages, “Please take Peach out of the house, away from all devices, and keep her active outside, in nature. I am about to get arrested and the media is here, at my place, and I don't want her to see it. Tell me once you have done that.”

Then he looked back at Mr. Bamford for a while before saying, “Can we chill for a while here... I am waiting for a text.”

The chief constable took one look at the worry in Elijah's eyes and knew that whatever message he was waiting for was important, so he sighed and walked over to the couch, taking a seat.

“Since you all are not leaving just yet, I made breakfast,” James announced.

“I am so down for a few bites before I go to jail!” Ryan exclaimed enthusiastically.

When he stood to leave the room, Rookie, Jerome, Dice, Rick, Larry, Ryan, and Matt all stood and followed him out to the dining room.

“Chief?” Elijah asked, looking at Mr. Bamford. “Coming?”

“Well... Fine.” Mr. Bamford said with a smile.

The angry mob screaming outside were chanting at the top of their lungs, seeing the police standing watch outside Elijah’s mansion, “Bring him out! Bring that criminal out?!  Bring him out now! Bring him out right now!!”

“So, you do believe Elijah Maxwell is the one in these videos?” The news lady asked one of the protesters.

“Are you blind lady? The guy's face is in all of these videos… These rich folks are all filthy bastards with blood money and shady businesses. They think they are above the law… But we must get justice!!” The protester shouted.

“Why do you think that none of these victims have press charges?” 

“Would you want to go against a Maxwell?!”

“Well…”

“No, you won’t!!! That’s why the person that linked these videos used the dark web!”

Their chanting went on for a while and then one of them shouted, “Why the hell is the Chief Constable staying forever in there!”

Staring at the empty plates on the dining table, Elijah Mr. Bamford, and the others chuckle faintly at Ryan’s words when he said, “Wow, James, why did you cook these dishes so deliciously like it is our last meal of freedom?”

Suddenly, Elijah's phone buzzed and he picked it off the table, reading Miss Grace's message, “We are taking Peach to the farmer's market, and your mother has her phone. We are going to keep her distracted. Please, take care of yourself.”

Then he looked up at Mr. Bamford and said, “Let’s get this over with.” 

The mob outside the gate chanting was slowly dying down because of how long it was taking for Mr. Bamford to bring Elijah out of the house.

But a couple of minutes later, the moment the front door opened and they spotted Elijah, they started chanting again, “We want Justice!... What do we want... Justice! Justice! JUSTICE!!!”

Hearing their screams, Elijah sighed as he entered the back of the police car, handcuffed around his wrists, and then the door slammed closed behind him. 

The moment the gates opened, it got chaotic with the reporters trying to take pictures and the mobs screaming. 

When the police cars drove out, the mob didn't stop chanting and they chased after the cars for a while before stopping, panting heavily.

“A couple of minutes ago, Elijah Maxwell was arrested at his residence because of a couple of videos that surfaced on the internet early this morning. In the video, you can clearly see Mr. Maxwell and a couple of his gang members that also got arrested with him, beating up people at a warehouse that have not been identified yet.” 

A smile built on Madam Jewel's lips as she sat in her hospital bed, staring at the TV, and then she turned to look at the door to see Amelia entering the room.

“The police have kicked off the investigation concerning the videos and the victims within them... So far, the victims are yet to be found or spoken to, so we have to wait and see...” Madam Jewel heard the news reporter say before she turned off the TV.

“I have wired the money to the people I hire to be an angry mob,” Amelia whispered, walking towards her mother and sitting down beside her.

Smiling at her daughter, Madam Jewel took her head and guarded it towards her lap, and then she slowly combed her fingers through it, whispering, “You have made mother proud. Now, let's wait and watch Elijah's reputation burn. Tomorrow, you will host a press conference, and I have taken my time to write what you would say. Slowly, we will gain the public's trust and fix our reputation by ruining his.”

After an intense two hours of questioning from Mr. Bamford and another officer, Elijah and his men were released from the interrogation room because they couldn't detain them since Mr. Bamford and the others were waiting on a decision to charge from the prosecutor.

The moment Elijah stepped out of the station, into the afternoon light, news crews were already waiting outside for him, and so were his other men, who immediately shielded him from the angry mob that was booing him and chanting insults.

“Mr. Maxwell, what do you say to the accusation? That you are the one in these videos?” A Reporter shouted as Elijah walked past them, heading for his car.

Suddenly, he stopped, turned around to face her, and walked over to her mic, smirking faintly as she pointed it gently in his face.

“I am the sole heir to my father's multiple companies, each of them worth billions of dollars... I have shares in companies that bring me billions in dividends... My wives own two of the growing companies in Syldavia... Are you sure you want to be on the opposite side of me?” Elijah said, staring directly into the camera like he was talking to someone.