CHAPTER TWO

Summer, 2020

Five years later

Twenty three years old Rachel Reeves moved slowly around the tiny kitchen in the small house where she and her mother had lived since her father was jailed. She could tell just by looking at the bright sky, that it was afternoon already. She had to hurry up if she wanted to see her father today, before the jail wardens stopped people from coming in. Rachel carefully packed two plates of delicious food, what she could make with the little money she had.

She sighed in exhaustion, replaying the day in her mind. It was just early afternoon, yet she had shuffled two jobs early this morning – rushed to the market to do some shopping for her father's food – now, she had to go spend some time with him and come back for a night shift at a local restaurant. She wasn't complaining about going over to see her father, she would never complain about that. She really missed him.

Bringing her hands to wipe away the tears that ran down her face, she couldn't help but think if this was how she would continue to live. This had been her life for the last five years, too many part-time jobs and very little rest. To make things worse, the stress from completing her degree had knocked the remaining life out of her. She felt like a different person and not in a good way.

The miserable part of everything was the fact that she had not been able to make any progress at all in her father's case. Not even a little progress in the last five years.

She felt like a useless daughter – one that couldn't give her beloved father the one thing he wanted – freedom. He always had a smile for her whenever she got a chance to see him in prison but she knew his heart was breaking. He felt defeated. She could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice whenever he spoke. Her cheerful father was gone, he was just a shadow of himself now.

Her father's friend – Morris Scott and his wife, Patricia had tried reaching out to her mother the first year after her father was put in jail. They wanted to get them a house, so they wouldn't be homeless, but her mother – Amanda Reeves had turned them down. She was still terrified and paranoid from everything that had happened, and didn't want to have anything to do with Imperial Hub Limited.

Even though her mother's decision had caused more hardship for them, she couldn't blame her really. Amanda shared the same train of thought with her – that the person behind her father's downfall had to be someone from Imperial Hub Limited. She believed it was best if they stayed away from everyone there.

After a while, Morris and his wife stopped reaching out. Rachel recalled hearing a rumor that some board members of Imperial Hub Limited had warned both of them to stay away from her family, because all eyes were on Morris and his family as suspects – due to the drug trafficking case. That was probably why they never reached out again, she wasn't really sure.

Rachel thought about how Mr Anderson was doing. He was the only board member from the company that reached out to them. Believing that Arthur Reeves was innocent, he was ready to help him get justice – but had to stop when he started getting death threats from an unknown number. He finally had to stay away from them in order to protect himself, but Rachel was still grateful for his help.

Her phone alarm beeped, reminding Rachel that it was time to visit her father. She hurriedly tidied the kitchen then picked the small bag containing her father's food and strolled out of the house. As Rachel made her way to board a cab, she made a decision.

She wouldn't continue her life this way and neither would she leave her father to rot in prison for another five years. She was going to find a way to get access to Imperial Hub Limited, no matter what – and she would find the monster behind all this and make them pay for their crime.

                         ~~~~~•~~~~~

George stood in front of a huge mirror, his eyes studying his reflection. He focused on the burn marks that scarred his face and neck – the collar of his black shirt hiding them away from plain sight. The rest of the scars were scattered around his body from his shoulders to his toes. 

As he fixed his tie, his mind drifted to how hard it had been for him these last five years – from the look of disdain on the faces of the maids to the endless whispers among most of the board members, clearly stating he was no longer fit enough to be the CEO of Imperial Hub Limited. At first, he had been so depressed by their words, by the way they treated him. But now, he didn't care at all. Maybe it was the effect of staying on his own and growing a 'tough skin' these last five years, but it was working for him. He was no longer that soft, smiling boy who would do anything his mother wanted, just to make his father happy. As time went by, he decided he was going to live his life for himself first – before anyone else.

The door to his bedroom opened and Tony Williams – his personal assistant turned friend, walked in with a worried expression on his face and a phone in his right hand. Just one look at Tony and George knew what the problem was.

"Did my picture go viral again?" George enquired, a nonchalant expression settling on his face. 

"Yes, and the comments are worse than the last time" Tony muttered quietly. Turning on the phone, he read some of the comments from different people loud enough for George to hear.

"He used to be handsome but now he's so ugly, why would a billionaire CEO even look like that?"

"Does their scar removal cream really work? Why does he look like that even after five years? I won't be buying their products anymore. They're all fake."

"He looks so pitiful, like he needs a warm hug and some love. I hope he gets through this"

"If I was a woman, I wouldn't marry him either. I can understand why those elite ladies don't want him"

"Gosh, he's so unlucky. Two months after his golden era and his life turns to this. He has to win an award for the most unlucky billionaire to ever —"

"That's enough" George interrupted him coldly, his face void of expression. He turned to look at Tony "Are you having fun reading this?"

Tony's eyes widened in shock "No, not at all. I'm trying to show you how bad it has gotten. There are about a thousand comments claiming you're an ugly billionaire and no woman wants you"

"I'm just joking about that,'' George replied calmly, acting like he didn't hear the nasty comments Tony just read out. At least, there were still kind people in this world even though they were getting extinct, he concluded – his mind drifting over to that one comment that perfectly described him.

"Aren't you going to say anything else?" Tony asked, staring at him in confusion. "Are you not worried about how this is going to turn out? We still don't know the unknown person who keeps circulating these private pictures"

"I don't have anything to say" George was getting irritated by the minute with the whole thing. This was the third time someone had leaked the private pictures of him covered in his scars and burn marks – but this time around, the internet had really gone crazy over it which reduced the sales in the company. Some believed their products weren't that great if the CEO looked like he did. 

Soon his father and the board members would have to tell him to either step down for a while in order to save the face of the company or try to force him to get married. If he gets married, they probably believed the rumors will go down and he would no longer be the ugly billionaire that no woman wants'.

"Is there anything else?" 

"Yes, your father wants you to meet him in his office right now" Tony affirmed the thoughts on George's mind.

"Okay. I'll head there now" George replied calmly.

As George walked into the massive office and came face to face with his father, he noticed his tense jaw and he was sure of one thing – his father was ready to do anything to save his 'precious company'. He would definitely tell him to get married.

"You sent for me," George said as he relaxed on a chair in front of his father.

"I believe you have heard the rumors and seen the news, so I don't have to talk about that" Morris paused and looked at George straight in the eye "You have to get married in order to save your reputation and this company. The investors are getting impatient with the declining sales, getting married is going to put you in a positive light and sales will skyrocket once again. That is the only way"

"You are obviously worried about your company's reputation, not my reputation. There's no need to pretend" George chuckled at the look of shock that crossed his father's face. "I have already thought about it, I will get married."

"Really?" His father's face brightened for a moment.

"Yes, but on one condition"

"What condition?" Morris Scott was ready to do anything.

"You have to promise you'll grant my wish to marry who I choose, regardless of who it is," George replied, a playful smile tugging at the sides of lips. He was probably going to lose his position as the CEO of this company as time went by, so he was going to make sure he got this one thing he wanted. His father was desperate and he was going to take advantage of that.

"I promise you and I will keep my word. I'll find a way to get the woman you want" Morris replied hastily.

George knew his father would turn red in the face out of anger and his mother would scream until her voice went out – but that didn't stop him from saying the only name that had lingered on his mind for the last five years.

"Rachel Reeves, daughter of Arthur Reeves" George whispered firmly, his eyes daring his father to break the promise he just made "She's the one I want. You must keep your promise."