Chapter 2: Ready to take back everything.

**Third person**

 

One year later,

 

A tall, beautiful woman stood in front of Harrison Enterprises, a familiar feeling washing over her as she took in the towering building. 

Not much had changed since the last time she was here.

Just then, her phone buzzed, and she fumbled her bag for the device. A warm feeling spread through her as her eyes caught the caller's ID.

"Hey," Matthew's voice rang through the receiver.

"I'm just standing in front of the company. I'm feeling nervous, hurt, and excited all at once," Ashley confessed.

She could be vulnerable around him.

Matthew was more than a friend to her; he was her savior.

"I understand, Ash. It's normal to feel that way, especially after so much time," he soothed.

Because of the injury on her face from that night, Ash had undergone plastic surgery that completely transformed her facial appearance. 

And workouts had sculpted her figure into enviable perfection, the fitted red dress on her hugging her curves flawlessly.

She looked like an entirely different person.

Yeah, Matt was right, she thought as she rubbed her sweaty palm against her dress.

"Yeah, I know," she murmured to her phone.

"Just remember, no matter what happens today, even if things don't go as planned, I'll be here for you," Matthew reassured her.

“Thank you, Matt.” And then she slipped her phone back into her bag.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the company that was once hers. Before her sister and husba-, sorry ex-husband tried to kill her that night. 

She looked around the lobby; everything seemed pretty much the same except that there was a new receptionist behind the desk. 

“How can I help you, ma'am?” The receptionist asked Ashley.

Just as she was about to answer, she heard a familiar voice call out, "Hey, beautiful.” 

And then she felt a grip on her arm almost immediately. “Are you here for the interview?”

She could never forget the voice of the man who tried to kill her. 

Turning to face him, she felt her stomach clench, and she suddenly felt the urge to knee him in the balls. 

Ashley understood that she couldn't cause a scene now, he might have her thrown out or killed before she even gets the chance to see her parents arrive. 

She clenched her jaw, blinked rapidly, and plastered a smile on her face to prevent her tears from spilling. 

This was the man she'd always loved. 

The man who had left her for dead a year ago.

The man who killed her unborn child. And for that, she'll never forgive him. 

He'd moved on so quickly and gotten married to her sister, after he thought that she was dead.

How was it possible to love and hate one person this much?

It'll be very satisfying to tell her parents the truth in front of Adam and watch him struggle to defend himself. 

She let out a small chuckle when she imagined Adam being humiliated, kicked out of the company, and sent to prison.

“You have a really nice dentition,” Adam commented, snapping Ashley out of her thoughts. 

She pressed her lips together before murmuring, “Thank you.”

His eyes raked her body briefly, and then they landed on her full breasts, which had a bit of cleavage exposed due to the V-cut neckline.

Adam bit his lips and then swallowed. “You'll make an excellent secretary for me.”

What a dog! 

She'd been married to a man like this for three years?

Ashley scoffed lightly. “Secretary?” she whispered, her voice inaudible.

Just then, the doors slid open, revealing a couple.

The man wore a black suit; his brows were slightly furrowed, while the woman was clad in a lemon green dress; her nose wrinkled. It seemed they'd just had a fight.

Those were Ashley's parents.

“I have to run along pretty, I'll see you during the interview,” Adam said before dashing off.

Ashley watched him rush to her parents. “Mr. and Mrs. Harrison,” he addressed them, his head slightly bowed. 

"Please, let's talk in my office,” Adam suggested as he led the way.

“Ma'am, the interview is on the second floor.” The receptionist's voice brought her attention back to the desk.

After listening to Ashley's conversation with the boss, she assumed that Ashley was here for the interview. 

“Sure, thank you.”

Ashley headed to the elevator, she couldn't wait to see the look on that scum's face when she revealed her identity. 

Reaching the second floor, she noticed a bunch of nervous graduates waiting their turn to be interviewed. 

“Maybe I'll take over interviewing the candidates after seeing my parents,” Ash thought as she kept walking.

Now, standing before the familiar office door, a wave of bitter nostalgia washed over her. This used to be her office.

With another deep breath, she pushed the door open and stepped in. Chin held high; this was the moment she'd get rid of this scumbag. 

The outer section of the office was empty. And as she delved deeper, she was about to push open the door to the inner office when she heard her father's voice.

“You've still not been able to find the location of Ashley's secret fund?”

Her sweet daddy... They didn't have to worry about that again; she was back now.

Grabbing the door knob, she heard a woman's voice this time. It was her mother's. 

“Ugh, that stupid girl is still giving us a tough time even after she's dead.” Her voice bubbled with frustration. “Maybe you should have asked her about the secret fund before throwing her into the water.”

Huh? Ashley felt her cold dread course through her whole body.

“My wife is right. Getting the secret fund was the major reason that we agreed to kill her,” Peter Harrison, Ashley's sweet father, seconded.

She watched Adam from the narrow space in the slightly ajar door as he walked over to her parents. “Ah, mom, dad. I'm sorry, I…”

The rest of their conversation was blurred in Ashley's mind. Her grip on the door knob tightened as tears spilled over.

What was that? Her parents?

They were involved in her death too?

Ashley's chest threatened to explode, the pain she felt was indescribable.

Why was this happening to her? She bit down on her bottom lip and took a step backwards, trying to suppress her crying.

How… How is this even possible?

She definitely heard right. How messed up was this?

Maybe she had killed a child in her past life, and this was her punishment for it.

It took everything in her to not wail loudly… What was she going to do now?

Trying to gather herself, Ashley wiped her wet cheeks and decided to leave silently. She would restrategize and make all of them pay.

Just after taking a few steps towards the door, she bumped her leg against a chair, causing a sharp clang that echoed through the room. 

Instantly, the conversation in the inner room stopped; the sound was too loud for them to have missed. Adam scurried to the outer office, her parents following behind. 

Soon, three pairs of eyes were staring at her.