If Blaine was going to take this quietly, she won't.
She turned to the little bitch. The wh*re who had apparently apprenticed well under her mother, and has now slept her way to the very top. “You cannot be the boss here. You have no idea about the work culture or even our business model.” She said, trying her best not to yell. “Oh. I do.” Ariel turned her eyes to her. “I worked here for a few months, have you forgotten?” Ophelia gripped the table tightly, ignoring the temptation to leap at her. How dare she humiliate them like this? “But no, I cannot be your boss,” Ariel continued. She found her shoulders relaxing. Maybe that was all the little witch needed, someone to remind her of her place. “Your position in Mõshon has been terminated,” Ariel said. “What?” “You have been found guilty of misusing company resources, workplace bullying, gross underperformance, among a list of other things.” “What?” Ophelia could not help repeating. “The legal department is still debating whether we should sue or not, since you are family. But until then, please exit the premises and stay out.” Ophelia looked at Blaine, who just sat there like a statue. He was not saying anything, he was not defending her. He looked furious enough, but that was still not defending her. “Oh.” Ariel giggled, bringing her hand up to cover her lips shyly. “I’m sorry.” She looked around the table. “Does anyone disapprove of my decision?” To Ophelia’s horror, they all shook their heads. The filthy backstabbers. Her father had helped get some of them on this board. She walked towards Ariel. She was capable of standing up for herself, she did not need any of these cowards' support. Ariel’s assistants moved to bar her way, but Ariel raised her hand and they stepped back. “Do you know what you are doing?” She asked quietly, leaning down. “I can make your life hell and run you out of this country. Have you forgotten who my father is?” Ariel smiled sweetly at her. “The only thing that can stop me is you begging. I told you last night.” “You are out of your mind. You think a Turner will beg the likes of you?” Ariel giggled. “Oh, you will. There are still many hours left in that twenty-four I promised you.” She said gently. Then, still smiling at her, she said, “Please escort the former director out. Don’t forget to revoke her access card. We don’t want any company property missing.” Ophelia lost it. “You bitch.” She screamed charging at her. Her hand had barely managed to touch her hair when security grabbed her and began to haul her out. I gently patted my barely ruffled hair down and turned back to the table. The Tuckers in the room were staring at me. Some in shock, others with anger and hate. Blaine was staring too, but his emotions were unreadable. I smirked, and progressed with the meeting. Whatever he thought did not matter to me. *** “When will the feed go live?” Kan asked me. “In three minutes,” I responded, holding my breath. He took my hand and squeezed it in his. Until I could find proof besides my own words to show that Ophelia poisoned me, and killed my mother, I will not stop torturing her and exposing her past crimes. I looked at her now, standing in front of the big screen, on the stage, smiling. She seemed to have recovered from the drama at the company earlier. She went on in her speech, talking about her agency’s desire to help as many girls as they could in their pageantry and fashion careers. Suddenly, the screen behind her began to crackle, and the video came on. Everyone gasped as the video clearly showed Ophelia yelling at models in a dressing room, then she turned to one and began hitting her. The crowd became rowdy. This was one of the biggest events among the country's elites this year. Mõshon was not the only big company here, there were representatives from over thirty different others. All of them, who had been eager to sponsor Ophelia's modeling agency for next year’s global pageantry, and impress her father, the National leader, now stood frozen in horror at what their eyes saw. By the time this video was over, no one would want to be associated with that agency. I watched Ophelia lose her bananas on the stage, yelling at the engineers to stop the video. They must have told her they had been hacked, and were unable to stop it, because she looked back at the crowd widely. Her eyes found mine. I smiled, and gently raised my glass in a silent toast. She literally combusted. I set my glass down on the table. “Let’s go, honey.” I said to Kan. He squeezed my hand, and we began to walk out quietly. We were close to our car when Ophelia appeared. “It was you. Make the video stop. You cannot let them see her face.” “The face of the girl you drove into committing suicide?” I feigned an innocent look. “Stop it, Ariel.” Ophelia shouted. “With that tone, why should I?” “Please,” She said in panic. As panicked as I was when my mother began to walk to the parking lot that day. The crowd inside were sounding more animated now. I knew the video only got worse as you watched, and in a few minutes the girl’s face would show. The girl Ophelia had been hitting in the last three minutes. The girl who had committed suicide a few weeks later. Her case had been popular a few years ago, no one knew what drove her to suicide when she was seemingly happy with a budding career. They will tonight though. “Please,” Ophelia repeated in agitation. “Kneel.” I said. “What?” “Kneel and beg, and I will make the video stop.” Ophelia hurriedly got on her knees. I smiled. “I’ve changed my mind.” I shrugged. “I think the minister and his poor wife deserve to know what drove their daughter to suicide.” I turned away to join Kan, who was waiting beside the car. “You bitch!” Ophelia screamed as one of Kan’s assistants closed the car door. “Her father would be so mad,” Kan said. “I would be disappointed if he wasn’t,” I responded. *** I was still in bed the next morning when a maid came to call me downstairs. Ophelia was waiting in the living room when I came down. I gasped as I got closer to her. One of her eyes was badly bruised. “Don’t look so surprised. This is what my father did to me because of the mess you caused last night,” Ophelia said bitterly. “What are you doing here?" I heard Kan behind me as he joined us. “Your wife will undo what she did. I don’t care how. She will clear my name or her father dies.” I stepped back. I had only ever seen my real father a few times in my life. Not very many people knew him even, “What are you talking about?” My voice came out annoyingly in a whisper. “Well, checkmate,” Ophelia said and shoved her phone in my hand. I saw my father all tied up in a dark room. The image transported me to how I had practically watched my mother die, unable to save her. “You cannot drag another innocent person into this,” I said angrily. “I can,” Ophelia said. “And I have. You have four hours.” And then, she strutted away. I watched her, frozen in shock. She definitely could not be gaining the upper hand again, so early? “I’m sorry.” Kan said. I looked up at him in surprise. What did he have to be sorry for? “Your father wanted to surprise you, and finally meet Oliver. I could not tell you, and I did not know he would come to the country so soon, and without telling me in advance.” I was angry, but shook my head. Now was not the time to apportion blame. I knew how dangerous Ophelia was. I did not doubt for one minute that she would kill my father if I did not act fast. “We could tell her about Oliver and hold that over her head. She would not want the Tuckers to find out, so she will do anything we say.” Kan suggested. I looked at him angrily. “I traded one of my son’s lives for my mother in the past. I will not do that again.” He went quiet. I thought quietly for a while. “If I cannot find a way out of this in two hours, I guess I will have to come up with a plan to clear her name.” I said, smoothing the sleeve of my satin robe thoughtfully. She pressed the satin handkerchief to her face as she cried. She hoped her threat had worked on that witch. She could not stand this attack from the public much longer. The minister was now out for her head and no one knew what Blaine was up to. Her phone rang and she hurriedly picked it up. “Have you found a way to clear my name?” She asked, putting on a brave voice. “Step outside.” Ariel said over the phone. Ophelia frowned but hurried out. She drove quickly to the gate far out, where she met Ariel waiting. “Let my father go now.” Ariel said as soon as Ophelia stepped out of the car. “No. I call the shots now, remember?” Ophelia responded. “Do you?” Ariel giggled. Then she gently pulled a tablet out of her purse and handed it to her. Ophelia hesitated, but took it and stared into the screen. She went numb. Her father would kill her. He would send her through a meat grinder for bringing this trouble. “How can you drag my mother into this? Where did you take her to? She is in a damned coma.” “How did you say it this morning?” Ariel said, tilting her head at her. “CHECK. MATE.”Ophelia died. But contrary to what everyone would have guessed, and what I dearly wish, I did not kill her.I felt robbed when I walked into her body on the floor of one of the Kotei’s living rooms, because she should have died by my hands. It was the very next day after Kan's death, when, reportedly, the National leader’s guards caught her and dragged her HOME TO DADDY. No one would ever know what the man did to her, but her body was bruised all over with tiny cuts dotting her skin. She lay there on the floor, her face drawn, and I could only stare at her. I had been determined to chase her to hell if I must, and that is why I had dared come into the Kotei, but her father was quicker.But like I promised her during her lifetime, death would not set her free. Someone had to pay for what she did to me.I exposed her father as soon as his term was over, and stood at the top stairs of the courthouse as I watched the police drag him off to jail after the biggest court case the count
I had the file I had come for in my hand and nothing else, as I stepped down the porch when I heard a car speeding fast towards me.Cherry was quickly standing in front of me, and shielding me behind with her body.I hoped that was not Kan, because I did not want to talk to him right now. After all my father had told me about him, I now saw him in a new light. But when the single car stopped, and the driver’s door opened, it was a woman who stepped out.“Don't come any closer.” Cherry barked at her into the night. “Akira,” I gasped at the same time, and placed a gentle hand on Cherry's shoulder as Akira began to run towards me in a funny-looking, ungainly way. “Chairwoman.” Akira said in a choking gasp.Even in the darkness of that night, I could see how her eyes looked like she had a fever. The desperation in her eyes to get to me scared me a little.“Help me.” her voice came out in a whisper now, as she got to me, swooned, and I had to catch her quickly.But even with Cherry's
Blaine was still staring out that window when Ariel walked out of that room, thinking about everything she had told him, unable to look her in the face.Aoi, Aoi, Mün’s wife had set Ruby up all those years. Or perhaps it was her parents, but she was aware. She had to be aware that her parents were paying a man to take Ruby away from him so that they could get married without any problems as soon as they turned twenty.He brought his hand up to his face, thinking about Ruby, how she must have hated him the whole time, and came to hold him in contempt.It took him sometime to finally get out of that room, and when he did, he could not find Ariel anywhere.He ran into Mr Grigor, who was holding his grandson. “Did Ariel tell you where she was going to?”“She had to pick up something at the Sullivan mansion.” “What?” His eyes widened in disbelief. “And you let her go? What is so special about her clothes to go back there for?”How could this man of all people allow such a silly mistake?
Ophelia hurried out of the car without even looking at Draco, desperately hoping this was the last time she saw him. If he would not help her, he was useless to her and had better stay away.She hurried to the mailbox of her unit and found the brown manila envelope. When she opened it, she saw a black gift box in it. She smiled and hurried upstairs with it.Now that she had this in hand, she momentarily forgot all her problems, overjoyed at what she was about to do to Ariel.She opened the door and the first person she ran into was Akira. She smiled. Was fate not just absolutely wonderful?Her mind strayed to Olivia, but she decided to check on her after this, and take her when she was ready to leave. Akira turned to her and bowed quickly, and Ophelia could see a small fear in her eyes.“Are you familiar with hide-and-seek?” Ophelia grinned at her.“Ma’am?” Akira leaned forward, squinting in confusion. Ophelia grinned wider and brought her hands up to her face, then she moved t
Ophelia was still technically nursing her wounds, the one that bitch had given her, the one she had sworn to repay as soon as she was in a place where she had the upper hand, when the news broke out.She was in the seating area of her office and laying back straight on her couch when her P.A. ran in.“What is it Roxy,” She said without looking up? “Don’t tell me the bitch is back.”“Madaam.” Roxy exclaimed like she had just seen something horrible, like she had perhaps walked in and found a snake curled in the corner of the room, poised to attack her, and Ophelia flew off her seat, eyes wide and looking around in fear.“What? What is it, Roxy?” She yelled in fright. Had that bitch brought a snake with her and left it here? She would not put it past the bitch.She would not put it past the person that had come to wait for her in a dark office, almost giving her a freaking heart attack. “The news,” Roxy whispered, her eyes still wide, and she was stretching out her computer tablet. W
We were back at his house, and as we walked upstairs towards the nursery, I saw my father waiting by the door.“Dad.” I gave a quick bow and looked up with a squint, a little surprised.He smiled and walked up to hug me tightly. When he stepped back, his eyes were shiny. I noticed him and Blaine exchange a look and Blaine kissed my temple, tapped my shoulder and disappeared into the nursery. I could not help frowning. “Is everything OK?”“I have to talk to you. It’s important.”“Sure,” I said quickly, although my heart was already beating. What did he have to tell me? Was it about Kan? My eyes scanned our surroundings, thinking about where we could talk uninterrupted. I could definitely not take him anywhere on the top floor, because I still had some shame. The study then?“Can we go to the living room?” I asked, thinking about how that place was the place I still found coziest in the house.We got to the living room and I could hear the sound of the water trickling down from that