Every member of the Meyer family alighted from the luxurious car in front of their mansion after the party in the same way they went, and they all sauntered into the living room silently with so much silence that was stifled with heavy tension, through the grand double doors of their opulent mansion which swung open.
The family's footsteps echoed on the marble floors with their heels and shoes clicking rhythmically, with the force under their feet evident as they made their way in, each stride a confirmation of the restless anger coursing through their veins."Do you all believe what you just witnessed at that banquet?!" Ivy, who never took her time to speak her mind among everyone in the family, suddenly lashed out as soon as they all got to the living room."Is it even possible for someone to suddenly change within two weeks, and go from being a wretched lady from the countryside to the heiress to the Sinclair wealth?! Can you even comprehend the possibility?!" She continued with a huge frown, as she stormed her feet on the ground and held her temples with her hand, which was a way of coping with the headache that was threatening to split her head open."Malcolm, did you have any idea of this? I thought grandfather said she was his childhood friend's grandchild. How is she suddenly a part of the Sinclair family?" Isla turned to question her brother calmly regardless of repressed fury that was threatening to gnaw her from within, because she knew he was the only one that could have an answer to that question.The shocking revelation that unfolded before them at the banquet hall was too much to not talk about.However, Malcolm didn't answer Isla. He said nothing to his family either. He had a lot on his mind and he was contemplating heavily on what to do next."Did you guys see her dress? It cost millions and it is a limited edition. It is freaking expensive that you have to travel to Italy to purchase it only with connections to the brand owner!" Audrey almost lost herself as she marvelled in awe at the dazzling dress, which was the most stunning part of suddenly seeing Zoe stand before them.However, Ivy's scrutinizing eyes which turned to her direction shut her up instantly as she smiled awkwardly. She was talking out of context in the heat of a serious moment, and it could make everyone more mad than they already were."I mean, she walked past us like she wasn't scrubbing our floors just until recently. She acted pridefully like she didn't know us at all. Am I about to lose my mind here in oblivion to this crazy encounter of Zoe as a heiress?!" Irina, the matriarch of the family who was usually poised and composed, finally lashed out angrily, her gaze burning with an intensity that could scorch the earth. It was hard for her to believe no matter how hard she tried to think of it."Calm down, Mum. You shouldn't stress out yourself too much," Isla cautioned her mother when she noticed that she started coughing after her lash-out, because Irina, was on hypertensive pills and could not afford to have something to stress her out."Maybe that was why she rejected the alimony? I mean, how did someone who grew up with her grandmother suddenly become Sinclair's only granddaughter?" Ivy questioned no one in particular again, as she tapped her feet anxiously on the floor at the recollection of how her eyes met directly with Zoe's at the ball, and how she was brutally murdered by her fiery gaze."I said that it could be some kind of action-packed revenge-related series. Do you think she might come back for us? With her grandfather to punish everyone here for making only her do the chores?" Aaron turned to ask his Mum without minding the rage that was flying in the room at that moment, and the jocular Mum was fast enough to clamp her palm over his mouth. She sent him aggressively to his room instantly.A hush settled into the room as everyone seemed to have lashed out all their might even if they had no one to answer, and were all waiting for Malcolm to say something regarding the case. However, he said nothing, and didn't even meet their faces. He just sauntered out of their sight as soon as he took out his phone to make a call, leaving them to their restlessness and cluelessness. That was all for the day.The night ended with the members of the Meyers privy to the truth behind Zoe's sudden rise in power and wealth, and it left them with bloodshot eyes the next morning which told tales of sleep deprivation that left imprints on their faces.They were antsy all night!……•••>>>•••……Malcolm didn't allow his confusion to get the best of him in front of his family, and maintained his usual stoic and cold expression as he walked out of their sight without any answers for them. Immediately he entered his room, he phoned Edward instantly to get him moving that night, on finding the information about how Zoe was related to the Sinclairs.By the next morning, he had his answers."Francis Sinclair is her paternal grandfather?" He asked with a loop that suddenly formed an apprehension against his throat, as he mentioned those unimaginable words even if he was questioning no one in particular.Finding out that the only possibility of what happened at the ball party that he thought of all night was actually true, was rather too much to wrap his head around no matter how positively he tried to think of it.'Never in his life had he been caught unguarded by the news before. Never in his entire life had he been in the dark about something so trivial before.''But since he never cared about the wife that he married for business sake, he would not have the need to know anything about her either. Besides, no one knew Emily, Zoe's mother, had a child for the son of such a powerful man like Francis.'"Is this news confirmed and accurate?" He asked his assistant curtly who nodded instantly."Yes sir. She has been seen going on a few trips with him in his private jet, and the news is all over the press this morning to confirm the legitimization of it. Everyone is totally shocked too by the news, and even his board of shareholders. They didn't expect him to have someone like that as his next-generation inheritor," Edward explained everything to his boss in detail, even though he was also taken aback when he realized the new identity of his boss' ex-wife.He knew things were just about to get crazier with the new turn that had switched Zoe's position, after suffering so much physical, mental, and emotional abuse from the Meyers. He wondered what the illustrious billionaire would do next.Malcolm's lips twisted into her smirk as he began to think calculatively and smartly, of what he could do to make things not as hard as it might seem. Though his family had unprecedented power in the economic and political business, working with the Sinclairs would have gained them more power and territory. Especially, if it became known that he was the husband to the new heiress of the corporation.His position would be unmatched!But sadly, they just divorced two weeks ago."Have our divorce papers been registered?" Malcolm asked Edward instantly as soon as the next possible question occurred to him."We were out of the country throughout last week, so I was only chanced to submit it for processing this week," Edward answered instantly, as he stood so rigidly in front of his boss, trying to think of the possible idea that could be going on in his smart brain.'Maybe something absurd?'"Find out immediately, and stop it if it has not been processed. Now!" Malcolm ordered sharply.Nothing made sense ever since Zoe found out that it was her logistics supervisor, the man whom they had overlooked in every possible consideration, who got them into the terrible mess they were in.Right after his confession, he was dragged out by the security, and the police discreetly took over the case immediately. The HR team processed his dismissal instantly, and the mall’s legal team took on the remaining work to be done.The worst of all was that after everything the logistics supervisor confirmed was investigated, it led them to a dead end. The phone number that had been calling him and giving him instructions all along was a burner phone that couldn't be traced. The CCTV cameras caught his footage on the day he went to pick up the money from the locker at a train station, but nothing went beyond that because the person who dropped the money was nearly untraceable. It showed the figure who stopped the money, but the person was unrecognizable because of how well they covered
Zoe woke up a little later than she used to on days that she didn’t oversleep, and she felt refreshed and better because she had slept soundly, a little better than she used to whenever she was home alone. After getting out of bed, taking her bath, and doing quite a number of skincare treatments, something she used to forget to do every morning, she decided to dress in a fancy suit for work and wear very nice heels. She tied her hair in a ponytail instead of letting it down as usual, wore nice makeup, and picked up her bag as she walked out of her room, straight to where her new car was parked. And with exhilaration and a smiling face, she drove with her window rolled down as the cold breeze hit her face. She was in a very good mood ever since she woke up, and she didn't even know why. Glancing through her window, she wondered if Malcolm was still home as she drove past his house, remembering that she had sent a ‘thank you’ message, a few minutes before she fell asleep. There we
Malcolm read Zoe's thank you for yesterday's message on his way to work, and that was the only thing that eased his rigid heart. It was the first time he was going to the office since the last conference meeting, and he was ready for a full cleanup.He walked in wearing a three-piece AVARSON suit with a stern expression on his face, as he stalked in through the main doors of the huge company, sending a frenzy into the atmosphere instantly. Workers already knew one another, as the word spread endlessly that Malcolm Meyer, who no one heard anything from in days, was at the company, and that he was ready to wreak havoc. From floor to floor, everyone was restless and the entire place was in a hubbub. His arrival sent a chill down the spine of the entire building, and one could feel it in the air, the way the elevator dinged and everyone stopped breathing. At the huge lobby on the ground floor, silence fell into the place, and employees stiffened mid-step as conversations dried on their
“Hey Aaron,” Zoe smiled brightly as soon as she connected to a video call before he even had the chance to smile. “Hey Aunt Zoe,” the boy’s voice came bright, filling the room like sunlight through a stormcloud, even though he remained so cool before the camera. “Look at you,” Zoe's eyes widened in surprise to see that he had grown almost twice as the other time they last spoke, “What are you eating?” she chuckled. Aaron, now more mature than the last time they saw beamed, beamed as he ran his hands through his messy curls, “It’s not my fault. I'm barely even eating!” He chimed. Behind him, someone adjusted the laptop instantly, as she drew her chair closer to the camera, “It is nice to see you again,” she smiled. It was Erin, the young, smart, and beautiful maid from the Meyers. She looked different and much more beautiful than the last time she left, and she was more bubbly too..“Erin!!!” Zoe grinned from ear to ear, “It is nice to see your beautiful face. Are you doing okay?”
Gently matching on her car's brakes and slowing down at a spot miles away from the road she was supposed to drive through, Zoe gripped the steering wheel of the car longer than she needed to. Her eyes carefully glanced ahead of her, from where she carefully packed her car while observing that the reporters were still clustered by the main gate of the estate where she lived. Their cameras were dangling curiously, waiting to capture something worth it, as their eyes wandered around. ‘These relentless humans were still here till this moment?’ Zoe couldn't believe her eyes, as a low scoff escaped her. They were probably waiting there to see her car pass so that maybe somehow they would get an exclusive from her regarding the incident at the mall. ‘What else did they want again? Was the press conference not enough?’ She rolled her eyes, as a tired sigh escaped her because she was seriously hoping everything would pass so fast. She was tired already. Zoe instantly wound up the windows
Zoe Oliver. She wasn’t anything like what he expected. She was delicate in ways most elite women didn’t dare to be anymore. The more he knew her, the more he unraveled the mystery that was hidden in her painful smiles. She seemed so wounded at heart, but she was not in any way weak. She seemed a little forgetful, and was distant sometimes, but was so kind in ways he hadn’t been shown in years.A woman who was complicated in ways that were different from the elite ladies he had related with, dealt with endless new rumors, was entangled with the man he would never dread to face, and seemed so grateful for the smallest things. She was the kind of woman who had secrets too - a broken engagement she only half remembered, a memory loss that made her lose entire pieces of herself. A life pieced together by paper and pain.Finding out that she was engaged to Malcolm Meyer made him more fueled to ruin the relationship between them, because he had the backing of Isla Meyer, who never hid the