An Understated Dominance - Chapter 145

“Enough! Now’s not the time to blame each other. We need to support one another and get through this together, not fight among ourselves!” Old Mr. Nicholson shouted after seeing Florence’s angry outburst.

“Easy for you to say. We’re facing a ban from the Hummers! We could all go bankrupt soon and lose our homes in Swinton!” Florence shot back, her anger clear.

“That’s true! If it weren’t for Dustin causing trouble and dragging us down, the Nicholsons wouldn’t be in this mess!” James chimed in, and many in the crowd nodded in agreement.

“What’s your side of the story, Dustin? Care to explain?” Dahlia asked, giving him a chance to speak.

“Tina was being unreasonable, so I had to put her in her place,” Dustin replied without hesitation.

“See, everyone heard that! He attacked her first, which means he’s to blame for the ban on the Nicholsons!” Florence yelled, her voice rising.

“You’re a pain in our necks, Dustin! You owe us an explanation for the trouble you’ve caused!” someone shouted from the crowd.

“Maybe we should kidnap him and hand him over to the Hummers to calm them down!” another voice suggested.

This sparked chatter among the crowd, and it seemed most of them supported the idea of kidnapping him.

“You’re being reckless, Dustin! Do you even know who Ms. Hummer is? What makes you think you can stand up to her? Look at how much trouble you’ve caused!” Dahlia said, shaking her head in disbelief.

“So you’re saying I should have just stood by while you got hurt?” Dustin countered, trying to defend himself.

“Humiliated?” Dustin said with a sneer.

It didn’t matter if Florence and the others didn’t understand. If Dahlia kept blaming him, he’d feel like all his hard work was wasted.

“Don’t twist my words! I’m telling you to think about the consequences before acting! You got us into trouble and hurt your own reputation!” Dahlia shot back, her face twisted in a scowl.

“I don’t worry about the details. I just know I’ll get revenge on anyone who crosses me!” Dustin replied coldly.

“You all heard him! This kid is as stubborn as ever! We have to hand him over to the Hummers!” Florence said, pointing at two younger Nicholsons.

The two quickly understood what she meant and grabbed Dustin by the shoulders. “You better cooperate with us, or you’ll regret it!” they warned.

Dustin frowned, ready to fight back when Julle rushed into the room, panic on her face. “This is bad, Auntie! The Hummers have come with their men to kill us all!”

“What?!” Everyone gasped in shock at the news.

They thought things were already bad with the family being banned, but they never expected the Hummers to be this ruthless. They could already hear knocking at the door. Were they really trying to trap them?

“It’s over! We’re done for this time!” someone cried.

“How could this happen? Why can’t the Hummers just leave us alone?” another shouted.

Panic spread through the crowd as they jumped to their feet.

“It’s all because of that jerk! It’s his fault!” someone yelled.

“Yeah! The Hummers must be after Dustin! Let’s give him up and we’ll be safe!” another chimed in.

“All right!”

Everyone in the crowd suddenly focused on Dustin, their eyes fixed on him with intense glares. They all thought that if they could throw Dustin under the bus to save themselves, they would do it without a second thought.

As the crowd continued to stir, a group from the Hummer family boldly entered the venue. Leading the group was Tina, who was in a wheelchair. Behind her were a few Hummer family members and some bodyguards.

Tina looked weak and fragile. Her eyes were half-closed, and both her hands and feet were in casts. Her face was bruised and swollen, making it hard to recognize her. If someone didn’t know her well, they would struggle to see the girl she once was.

“M-Ms. Hummer?” gasped the crowd.

The Nicholsons were shocked to see Tina in such a state. They knew she had been hurt but hadn’t expected it to be this severe. Her face was so swollen that it almost looked like a pig’s head.

If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn’t have believed that the spoiled young lady from the Hummer family could end up like this.

Wasn’t Dustin going too far?

“D-Dustin—please tell me you didn’t hurt Ms. Hummer this badly?” one of the Nicholsons asked nervously, looking around in disbelief.

“Rhys! You better come clean about everything later and not drag us into this!” Florence yelled, breaking into a cold sweat.

The situation was worse than she had expected.

James wasted no time and got straight to the point.

James took three steps forward and suddenly fell to his knees with a loud “Thud” in front of the Hummers. As he fell, his body slid a few inches forward.

“Ms. Hummer, this isn’t our fault! It was Dustin Rhys who hurt you. If you want revenge, please focus on him and leave us alone!” James pleaded desperately.

Seeing this, the other Nicholsons felt a wave of approval for James. They admired his humility and sense of responsibility, thinking he was one of the good ones in the family. They believed he would rush forward to protect them in dangerous situations, and they were confident that with someone like him, the Nicholson family would continue to thrive.

“Huh?” A gasp spread among the Hummers. They were shocked to see James kneeling. Some exchanged confused glances, wondering why the situation had turned upside down. Shouldn’t they be the ones apologizing instead?

“Uh, I think you might be mistaken, kid,” the butler of the Hummer family said, looking bewildered. Despite imagining many bad outcomes, he never expected this.

“Oh, and before I forget,” the butler started to say, but James quickly jumped in, sensing that the butler wasn’t going to let them off the hook.

He turned around and waved his arms in the air. “Someone, anyone! Bring Dustin to me! I’ll make him bow to the Hummers and beg for their forgiveness!”

“Heh, I’ll do it myself,” Dustin said, shaking off the two men and moving forward.

“Everyone! That’s him! He’s the one who beat her up!” James shouted, pointing at Dustin.

When the Hummers saw what had happened, their faces changed completely. One by one, they dropped to their knees with a loud ‘thud.’