Lillian?

Lillian from Rearpond Village?

Without a second thought, Dirk Carter shouted, "Quick, take her to the hospital."

Kenton County Hospital.

The door to the ward opened, and Arlo Yarbrough came out.

Dirk Carter immediately went up and asked, "How is she?"

"No issues with the bones, no issues with the internal organs. The preliminary check indicates that the coma is likely due to exhaustion."

"Exhaustion?"

Dirk Carter asked in surprise.

Arlo Yarbrough nodded and said, "It's not a big problem. A little nutritional infusion and she'll wake up soon."

Upon hearing this, Dirk Carter finally felt relieved.

He just sat down heavily.

Arlo Yarbrough leaned in close.

Startling Dirk Carter.

"What are you doing?"

Arlo Yarbrough chuckled slyly and asked, "That Miss Elaine Nolan, what's she been up to lately?"

"How would I know?"

"Aren't you two friends?"

"Even friends don't have to report what they're doing every day. Besides, she's the secretary to the County Committee Secretary, she's definitely busy."

After saying this.

Dirk Carter asked, "What? Changed targets?"

Arlo Yarbrough earnestly replied, "What do you mean change targets? I've always been single."

"What about Nurse Beibei?"

"Dirk Carter, what are you saying? Nurse Beibei is married. How could I go after a married woman? That would be breaking up a family. Such things, I, Arlo Yarbrough, disdain."

If Dirk Carter hadn't caught him peeping personally, given his confident manner, one might have believed him.

Just as he was about to mock him a bit.

Yves Quill came out of the ward and said, "Boss, Lillian's awake."

Without a second word, Dirk Carter stood up, just about to enter the ward, when Arlo Yarbrough grabbed his arm and said, "There's something I haven't mentioned, that... Ms. Pan..."

"Her last name is Jin!"

"Oh, Ms. Jin has injuries on her body. It seems she was beaten."

"Beaten?"

Dirk Carter asked, stunned.

Arlo Yarbrough nodded to confirm.

Walking into the ward, Lillian was indeed awake. As soon as she saw Dirk Carter, tears fell, looking very aggrieved.

She tried to get up from the bed.

Dirk Carter quickly pressed her down and said, "It's alright, you just lie down."

"Deputy Magistrate Carter... please... please help Dale Wright."

Lillian pleaded mournfully.

"Dale Wright? What's wrong with him?"

Dirk Carter asked.

Lillian's tears flowed again, and after sobbing for a while, she recounted the entire incident in detail.

Of course, the whole incident stemmed from the post-disaster reconstruction work.

According to the city and county's plans, for the Rearpond Village reconstruction, each resident was to receive a cash subsidy of 100,000 yuan, which every village resident registered in Rearpond Village could claim.

This alone amounted to over one billion yuan.

And the distribution of this special fund was the responsibility of the Bloomdale Town Hall.

There was no problem with the policy initially, and the villagers of Rearpond Village could accept it.

But unexpectedly, there were issues in the distribution process.

When the villagers went to the Bloomdale Town Reconstruction Taskforce to claim their subsidies, the taskforce informed them that the money would not be released temporarily. The reason given was that it was meant for reconstruction work, to help villagers build new homes, and to prevent the money from being misappropriated, the taskforce had already arranged for a construction company, and the money would be paid directly to the construction company's account.

In other words.

Originally, villagers could take the money to either continue building homes in the village or buy houses in the city.

Most villagers planned to take the money and leave the village, either moving to towns or the county seat.

But now, the funds were forcibly withheld.

The villagers' only choice was to continue building homes in Rearpond Village.

That wasn't the worst part.

The worst part was that the construction company demanded an additional 500 yuan per square meter from the villagers. This amount had to be paid upfront before construction work could begin, otherwise, they would be left hanging.

The reconstruction work had been ongoing for over a month now.

The villagers who had paid had already begun the construction of their homes.

Those who hadn't paid, or couldn't afford it, had nothing done beyond laying a foundation.

For over a month now.

These villagers either stayed at relatives' places or lived in temporary structures, stuck in a predicament.

Dale Wright couldn't take it anymore.

He led a group of villagers to the town government, demanding answers.

The construction company, behaving like thugs, detained Dale Wright and the others.

Yesterday afternoon.

After being detained for 24 hours, Lillian went to the town government to ask for their release.

She not only failed to get them released but was also beaten by the construction workers.

She had no choice but to drag her sick body down the mountain on foot to seek help from Dirk Carter, leading to the car crash.

Lillian said that she was already exhausted and lost control when she saw Dirk Carter's car approaching and crashed into it.

Upon hearing the entire incident.

Dirk Carter felt a growing sense of anger within him.

He couldn't have imagined that the life-saving subsidies would be manipulated like this. The boldness of these people was truly astonishing.

After a pause, he asked, "What's the name of this construction company?"

Lillian thought for a moment and said, "I think it's called Wyatt Construction."

Dirk Carter nodded and said, "Comrade Lillian, rest well here. Don't worry, I'll handle this matter. I will give you and all the villagers of Rearpond Village an explanation."

Upon hearing this.

Lillian's eyes filled with tears again.

She nodded heavily and said, "Deputy Magistrate Carter, I trust you."

He stood up.

Walked out of the ward.

Dirk Carter said to Yves Quill, "Go and check the detailed information on this Wyatt Construction now."

"Yes."

Yves Quill agreed and quickly went to the side to make some calls.

About ten minutes later, Yves Quill returned.

He told Dirk Carter that the owner of Wyatt Construction was Asa Linden, a local from Kenton County. He also had another identity: he was the real nephew of Bloomdale Town Party Secretary Beauregard Shepherd.

This result didn't surprise Dirk Carter much.

In the face of major disasters, some are willing to risk their lives, while others think only of lining their pockets. Such scenarios are all too common.

Especially this Beauregard Shepherd, his audacity was extreme.

Before the landslide, Old Severe had approached him several times, only to be ignored. Later, the issue was pushed onto the county government, asking Old Severe to seek out Bjorn Dixon for a solution.

Now, in the aftermath of the disaster, instead of resolving issues for the villagers, he was thinking about how to profit from it, courting disaster itself.

Dirk Carter pondered for a moment.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go to Bloomdale Town."

As dusk fell.

In a private room of a large countryside B&B in Bloomdale Town.

Four men and two women were toasting each other, the atmosphere lively and cheerful.

At the main table sat the protagonist of the night, the 46-year-old Bloomdale Town Party Secretary, Beauregard Shepherd.

With a woman on each side of Beauregard Shepherd.

On his left was a woman in her thirties, full-figured, the Deputy Mayor of Bloomdale Town, Flora Yule.

On the right, a woman in her twenties, also attractive, was the Director of the Women's Federation, Eve Levin.

The other three men were Bloomdale Town's publicity officer, Carina Walsh, Deputy Mayor, and Police Station Chief, Christian Wadsworth, and lastly, the owner of Wyatt Construction, Asa Linden.

At this moment, Flora Yule raised a glass of wine and brought it to Beauregard Shepherd's face, coquettishly saying, "Leader, let's have a drink."

Publicity Officer Carina Walsh teased, "Comrade Flora, just drinking like this? What's the fun in that?"

Beauregard Shepherd's face broke into a smile upon hearing this. He raised his glass and agreed, "Just drinking is so dull. Let's keep it simple; rock-paper-scissors. If I lose, I'll drink three glasses as a penalty. But if I win, then what?"

"Yes, what if the leader wins?"

Christian Wadsworth asked wickedly.

Flora Yule blushed and said shyly, "If the leader wins, then I'll... drink the leader's saliva wine..."

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