The continuous ringing of an alarm echoed in the room and a very tired Rita kept snoozing the alarm clock and covering herself with the duvet to sleep a bit more.
After the fifth ring, she jolted out of bed as if she had been electrocuted. Taking her phone from the bedside table, she slumped her shoulders when she didn’t find a text from Eric.
Trying to be positive, she texted him instead. Communication was a two way thing anyway, if he doesn’t text, she can text him.
She quickly rushed into the bathroom and had a warm shower. It was past 6 and she was supposed to be at the office by 7:30, as a boss, she needed to lead by example.
Dressing up in a black business suit and combing her chestnut auburn hair into a high ponytail, she put on her pointed toe stiletto high heels and left for work.
“Morning Jenny,” Rita greeted her secretary, Jenny Parker who was already at her desk and entered her office as Jenny quickly followed behind with some papers in her hand.
“Morning Ma’am, I would like to report an abnormality in the financial records,” Jenny reported professionally as she placed the documents in her hand on Rita’s table.
Rita, now sitting in her comfortable leather chair behind a huge mahogany desk, took the documents and perused through.
A frown etched on her face the more she read. Whatever was written on the documents was not good news at all.
“Jenny, call for an emergency meeting right away, someone has been taking company funds and transferring them into ghost accounts,” Rita ordered, her heart pounding heavily in her chest.
“Yes Ma’am,” Jenny replied. She had just turned to leave when the door to the office was burst open and men in police uniform strode in roughly.
“Excuse me, you’re not supposed to be here!” Jenny anxiously exclaimed but the tall man with blonde hair ignored her and approached Rita’s desk.
“You’re Miss Jones right? My name is Joseph Porter, an inspector from the anti-corruption commission,” the man said, showing his badge to Rita then put it back in his pocket.
“I am here with the police to arrest you for tax evasion and fraud. All the documents in this office shall be seized for further investigation. You are hereby required to remain silent, as anything you say will be used against you in the courts of law,” Inspector Joseph said as he cuffed Rita’s wrists and pulled her out of her chair.
She was too shocked to react to the situation. ‘What the hell is happening?’ She asked herself as she was led out of her office in a daze.
“Officer, it must be a mistake, there’s no way Miss Jones would have done that!” Jenny screamed, running after them, but they turned a deaf ear to her.
Rita was in shock as they rode the elevator to the ground floor. Her heart thudded in her chest as she looked down at her cuffed hands.
The stares of her employees were making her uncomfortable. It was a very embarrassing situation and she hoped they would all forget about it later on.
Stepping out of the building, reporters swarmed over to her, shoving cameras and microphones in her face.
“Miss Jones, is it true that you committed fraud?”
“Miss Jones, who will take over the company now?”
“Miss Jones, aren’t you ashamed to taint your late father’s company’s reputation in such a way?”
The reporters kept throwing absurd questions at her and Rita clenched her hands tightly, raging in anger.
She caught a figure in her peripheral vision and furrowed her eyebrows. ‘When did Eric come back?’ She thought, confused but perked up when she thought of how he was her only hope.
But before she could call out to him, he opened the passenger door of his Ferrari, revealing a beautiful lady in a red dress. After hooking hands with her, they strode into the building, ignoring her completely as she was being dragged to the police car.
‘Eric….’ She called out to him mentally until she was pushed into the car and it drove off.
….
“I won’t repeat myself, where’s the money from the investors?” Inspector Joseph asked as he slammed his palm on the table making Rita flinch.
She was brought directly to the interrogation room and they started bombarding her with questions before she could even catch her breath.
“I said I don’t know anything about the money you are asking about.” She spat angrily, glaring at the inspector with a busted lip. He had slapped her earlier because he didn’t get the answers he wanted.
The way they were asking questions was as if they had already labeled her as the culprit.
“Listen woman, let’s not waste each other’s time, I am not talking from without, all the evidence is pointing towards you.” Inspector Joseph said, taking the paper that was on the table and placing it in front of Rita.
“See for yourself, that’s your signature, approving the transfer of millions of dollars into ghost accounts.” He said, pointing at her signature with his forefinger.
Rita’s head buzzed. ‘When did I approve these transactions?’ She thought in agony, trying to recall but she came up with nothing.
“Inspector, I really don’t know where that money is. That company is mine, does it make sense for me to steal from my own sweat and blood?” She denied having anything to do with the transfer.
The inspector went quiet, seemingly pondering on what she had said.
“You’re right, it doesn’t make sense. But right now, all the evidence that we have in our hands is pointing towards you Miss Jones. Do you have proof that this is not your signature?” Inspector Joseph questioned while he leaned over with both his palms on the table.
“I.. No.. the signature is mine yes but I don’t know how it got on those papers. Let me talk to my lawyer.” Rita demanded and the inspector chuckled.
“It doesn’t matter even if you try to buy time, as long as I’m in charge of this case, you will go to jail Miss Jones.” Inspector Joseph said, handing her a phone.
“You have 5 minutes.” He said and Rita perked up, feeling grateful, the inspector must have seen that she was not guilty.
Rita dialed familiar numbers on her phone, but the phone kept ringing until 3 missed calls. Her heart kept pounding heavily as she now dialed her lawyer, Mr Perry’s line. But just like Eric’s, Mr Perry’s line went unanswered.
Rita’s heart sank and her stomach twisted. A foreboding sense crept up inside her as she continued to dial both lines. ‘Why are they both ignoring my calls?’
Finally Eric’s line went through but the voice on the other side was of his secretary, Linda.
“Please call back later, the CEO is in a board meeting.” Linda said.
Rita’s heart flipped and she swallowed painfully.
“Linda.. what do you mean? Which CEO?” She asked over the phone and Linda gasped on the other side, seemingly recognizing Rita’s voice.
“It’s Mr Thompson Ma’am, he’s the new CEO of the Jones group.” Linda delivered the shocking news and Rita’s heart exploded into a thousand pieces. ‘What the fuck is going on?’
But she calmed herself down telling herself not to overthink. ‘He’s probably sitting in for me since I’m away.’ Rita convinced herself.
“Can you give him the phone and tell him I want to talk to him?” Rita asked and after hesitating for a second, Linda agreed.
“Sure, hold on a sec.”
“I’m sorry Miss Jones, Mr Thompson has said he’s busy.” Linda said trying to be as polite as possible as if the sword-like words that she was relaying would not hurt as much.
The phone in Rita’s hand slid off and dropped on the table as realization dawned upon her. ‘I have been framed!’
She did not want to believe her assumptions but if up to now, she didn’t know what was going on then she was really gullible.
“Inspector, I have been framed. That’s the only explanation right now. You have to believe me.” Rita pleaded as her eyes brimmed with tears.
This was the first time she was going through such a situation so naturally she didn’t know how to tackle it.
Her body had lost its strength and her heart felt like it was being pierced by a thousand arrows.
‘Eric.. did you really fool me? But why? All I did was love you but is this how you repay me?’ Rita screamed internally, the lines etched on her face were proof of the anguish she was going through.
“Miss Jones, the investors want their money back or you go to jail, not forgetting the tax evasion charge you’d go in for a very long time. If I were you, I would first start with paying back the investors so that they don’t make things more difficult,” Inspector Joseph mocked, his voice laced with sarcasm.
Rita’s mind was in turmoil as she felt lost and didn’t know what to do. ‘What should I do?’
“Why should I start paying back money that I don’t even know about. Inspector, you know the rules, find me a lawyer to bail me out, or help me out with a phone I call my lawyer friend to bail me out as I prepare to go to court.” She said after realizing crying wouldn’t stop anything and snapped back to her senses.
“You already used up your calls Miss Jones, I will apply for a public lawyer for you but I doubt they can help you with this case.” Inspector Joseph remarked coldly.
‘Why didn’t I think of calling Glenda first?’ Rita hit herself mentally for being stupid, but she forgot that, that was her natural reaction, Eric being her boyfriend would be the first person she thought of when found in a dire situation.
But it was clear she’s the only one who thought like that. Eric wasn’t sincere to her at all. The moment she got into trouble he rushed into having a board meeting and making himself the CEO of her company.
Inspector Joseph had gone to arrange for a lawyer for her so she was left alone in the room pondering about how she could have found herself in such a situation.
A lightbulb went off in her head when she remembered something..
~Flashback~
Six months earlier…
Eric was acting distant as usual and Rita was at her wits end, not knowing how to fix their relationship that seemed to be hanging by a thread.
“Eric, why don’t you tell me what’s going on with you? You’ve been distant,” Rita asked as they ate dinner at the mansion.
Eric didn’t even look at her and just kept typing on his phone as he responded, “it’s all in your head.”
He said it in a way that left Rita with no leeway to say something in return. She smiled, trying to make the pang in her chest go away. Returning to her plate, she promised herself to bring it up with him later…
It was an hour later and Eric finally said what was bothering him, “I just don’t feel like we are compatible.. I am just someone who became a vice CEO using connections.. they say I depend on a woman, it’s degrading..”
Rita’s heart squeezed painfully when he said that, she thought all was well between them. Realizing that he saw himself inferior she blurted out without thinking.
“I’ll make you a co-owner of my properties.. what’s mine is yours anyway..”
After a moment of silence, Eric suddenly agreed and after some late night sex, he went back to chatting on his phone leaving Rita to lay on her side of the bed, with a huge gap in between them.
~end of flashback~
It was only after being betrayed that Rita suddenly put two and two together. Eric constantly being on phone and him becoming a co-owner of her properties without resisting were huge red flags that she had overlooked.
Rita realized how stupid she has been and it cost her greatly.
…
Inspector Joseph walked back to the interrogation room with a constipated look on his face.
“Miss Jones, no lawyer is willing to take up your case and I have been told from the higher ups that your case is unbailable so you’d have to remain detained for the time being.” Inspector Joseph said, averting his eyes.
“You’re kidding me right?!” Rita yelled, desperation laced in her voice. Her chest felt heavy, like a boulder was pressed down on it, suffocating her.
“You’re a flight risk so you will be kept here until further notice.” Inspector Joseph said and after giving her an apologetic look, he left the room and went to prepare a cell for her.
Rita was hit with a whirlwind of emotions as she mourned the loss of her love and company.
A police officer suddenly opened the door to the interrogation room and announced. “Your friends are here to see you. You have 20 minutes.”
Glenda and Rita’s other two friends entered through the door and she immediately perked up.
‘Oh sweet Jesus! Thank goodness I’m finally saved.’ Rita thought excitedly as a ray of light shone through her heart, grateful that not all hope was lost.
Rita felt emotional when her friends entered the room and her eyes welled up with tears. “Hey.. it’s okay, don’t cry, we shall figure it out.” Glenda said approaching Rita and pulling her into a hug. Rita finally had a chance to vent out her grievances and cried loudly with her head on Glenda’s shoulder who patted her back soothingly. Amelia who was at the other side of the table looked like she wanted to say something but bit her tongue after receiving a glare from Glenda. Glenda knew what Amelia wanted to say.. but Rita was going through a lot for her to hear words like ‘hate to say I told you so’. They had seen Eric being interviewed on the news and he portrayed himself as the new CEO, completely distancing himself and the company from Rita. After what felt like eternity but were just a few minutes, Rita finally stopped crying and sniffling. “What happened honey, we were shocked to hear the news so we immediately left what w
“So, how is it? Would you take his offer?” John Kent persuaded a hesitating Rita who was skeptical after listening to the details of the offer. Life was full of surprises, but Rita certainly wasn’t expecting this one. In just 3 days, she lost all her wealth and someone came out of nowhere to offer her a helping hand but with a ridiculous request. 5 minutes earlier… “What? Your boss wants to marry me in exchange for dropping my charges and paying off my debts?” Rita inquired, still feeling shocked that there was a person in the world who would lay out such an offer. “Yes Miss Jones. My boss is very rich and has a great influence. He’s also one of your company’s investors and he’s willing to help you pay your millions of dollar debt. All you need to do is get married to him.” John uttered slowly. “That’s absurd! I can’t marry a man I don’t love, heck, a man I have never met before. This is a life time commitment we are talking about here
“Miss Jones, wait! Where are you going?” John shrieked as he chased after Rita who had run away the moment she realized who her husband-to-be was. “Back to prison!” She responded while trying to run fast in her high heels. “But why? Remember you can’t change your mind once you’ve signed the agreement and you signed.” John reminded while panting heavily. “I don’t care about the agreement!” John thought Miss Jones had a loose screw in her head. She was worried that her husband was old and had a beer belly but now she was running for her life after seeing the handsome Mr Stevens. ‘Was everything ok with her thinking?’ Christopher who had walked to the entrance narrowed his eyes as he stared at the fleeing Rita and John who was pathetically chasing after her. A surge of frustration arose in his heart. Even when she was in this kind of situation, she was still reluctant to be with him. ‘Was he really that bad in her eyes?’ Clenching
The more Rita read the conditions, the angrier she became. It was so biased and only mentioned conditions for her. [Party B shall be a good wife and perform her wifely duties perfectly without complaining. These include; Making party A breakfast before he goes for work, preparing his work clothes and giving him his conjugal rights.] [Party B shall not interfere in party A’s private life and will not cause a scene whatsoever.] [Party B shall put in her best efforts into making sure Party A is satisfied and comfortable.] [Party B is not allowed to file for a divorce until Party A says so.] [Party A being Christopher Stevens and Party B being Rita Jones.] Rita refused to resign herself to the agreement conditions. Come to think of it, she clearly remembered not seeing them when she perused through the document back in prison. Coming to a conclusion that she was being conned, Rita threw the document at Chris and it hit his
The next day, Rita woke up to an empty cold space on the other side of the bed. She figured Chris didn’t come home. “Oh well, even better. I don’t need to do any wifely duties.” She grumbled to herself and got up to have a shower. She planned to go to her house and get her things that were at least in her name. Including her late parent’s photos and her fluffy havanese dog, beanie. Rita dressed up in a light blue tank top, a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and sneakers. She was amazed at who ever prepared her clothes. No one knew her measurements but they were able to guess right. “When did they prepare them anyway?” She mumbled to herself and descended the stairs. “Good morning Madam.” Elizabeth and some other lady both said in unison. “Good morning, thanks.” Rita returned the greeting cheerfully. “This is Sandra, she’s also part of the staff around the villa. You shall get to know them all in due time.” Elizabeth said, introducing the plump-like lady who seemed to be in her late
“Hey man, how about some drinks tonight?” Jayden Molten, Christopher’s long time best friend said on the other side of the phone. He was a senior doctor at the general hospital and he was not on call anymore for a few days so he thought of calling his buddy to go and have a few beers at skybar. “Not today, I have to go home and see my wife. Single people like you wouldn’t understand.” Chris responded as he grabbed his laptop bag and left the office. John who was sitting at his desk in the next room was dumbfounded. “Is he talking about the same wife he left alone yesterday and spent his night in the office lounge?” He mumbled to himself, wondering why his boss was acting weird. “What? Rita? You finally got her? Congratulations bro!” Jayden said enthusiastically. Chris frowned when he heard his friends excited tone so he corrected him. “You know clearly why I decided to marry her so don’t act all sentimental like I’m in a fairy tale and shit.”
Rita came out of the bathroom with swollen eyes after crying her eyes out. While in the bathroom, the reality of her situation hit her hard. She lost everything including her dog! ‘How dare Eric sell my favorite sports car just like that with no remorse?’ Rita wondered if he was always this cruel or she just didn’t know him in the first place. She felt like a fool after falling for a person’s fake kindness. ‘The earlier I understand that not many kind people are genuine, the better for me.’ Rita thought to herself. Being thrown out of her own house had left her completely traumatized. It didn’t help that, instead of being comforted by her husband, she was scolded harshly instead. ‘How could he be so heartless?’ She grumbled to herself. Chris had not come back to the room so she got on the bed and curled up at the edge of the bed. Anyone who saw her would take pity on her for she looked pitiful. But the thoughts in her head were
Taking a deep audible breath, Rita picked up the untouched food and threw it in the trash can. Elizabeth had been watching the whole scene from the kitchen and she couldn’t help but feel bad for Rita. Walking over to Rita, she got the plate in Rita’s hand and patted her back. “Don’t take his words to heart Miss Jones. The master usually has a sharp tongue but he’s a kind man,” Elizabeth said, trying hard to comfort Rita. Rita just kept quiet feeling resentful. ‘How dare he.. I put in a lot of effort, the least he could do is say thank you and tell me to do better but he trampled upon my efforts like it’s nothing. What a dick!!’ She thought to herself, seething inwardly as she thought of how she will get her revenge in the future. ‘You’re so dead Chris!’ She mumbled in her mind resentfully. Elizabeth thought Rita was sad because Chris didn’t like her food so she suggested. “How about I teach you some basic stuff? If you cook something n