Chapter Sixteen

Headlines And Havoc

Maria's POV

  I woke up with a smile on my face still reminiscing about the day before where Sebastian planned a surprise for me.

  The book session with Angela Vangore was so precious that I didn't want it to end.

  I rolled to the other side of my California Queen sized bed and smiled as I recalled the conversation we had over the phone when I came back home.

  “You did so many unimaginable things today, Sebastian. How exactly did you pull them off?” I asked with awe in my voice, still unable to get over the excitement of the day.

  “Let’s just say, it pays to have friends in high places and it pays even higher to be able to call in favors in the shortest time possible.”

  “That's great! Thank you for today. I enjoyed every moment but the reading and discussion session with Angela was mind-blowing. I don't think I can get over it”

  “I am glad we could make you smile and get excited.” He replied but then his reply reminded me about all that was going on.

  He cleared his throat and continued. “I know you are doing it right now. I know when you are doing it. I mean, thinking about all the issues waiting for you in reality but I will make it my mission to keep taking you back to fairy tales even with the mix of reality so that reality will not have an upper hand until we think of a way to permanently handle reality.”

  I grinned like a schoolgirl talking to the boy she had a crush on, even though I would never let him see that then I controlled my voice to sound normal and said. “Mmm, we'll see. Goodnight Sebastian.”

  The conversation made me smile again until Helena knocked then opened my door with folded arms and a sarcastic look on her face.

  “Mmhmm, I see you're still here thinking about some guy.”

  “What guy?” I asked, sitting up on my bed.

  “You know whoooo.” She replied in a singsong voice.

  “Oh, come off it. The fact that he did all that yesterday, while I am grateful, doesn't mean that I am in love.”

  “Good! Because that man is after something and we need to find out what it is, while enjoying everything that comes with it.”

  “What makes you think he is after something?” I asked curiously then put on my TV so that I could listen to the morning news while I arranged my room.

  It was a Sunday morning so I didn't need to go to the office.

  “Well, my darling. He came to buy your company but immediately he saw you, he proposed marriage for investment where you are still in control. Now, he hasn't indicated that he remembered you from that night at the club many years ago which means that he either doesn't remember or does and is pretending.”

  I was about to reply to her message but then I paused with shock written all over my face as I stared at the news.

  Helena looked at my face then turned to look at the TV.

  “Oh, hell no! They didn't!” She shouted as soon as she saw the headlines.

  The news headline from a top media house indicated that the recent investment deal she got was from anonymous investors involved in money laundering and criminal activities.

  “This is crazy because they are insinuating that you partnered with shady people. This has your family written all over it.”

  “Don't! Don't call them my family. Nathan is my family. Call them the Kidmans.” I punched my fist against my palm, unable to contain my anger then turned sharply when my phone rang.

  The caller ID showed Sebastian so I picked up quickly.

  “Maria, what are you doing?” He asked cautiously, and I knew that he was unsure if I had seen the news.

  “Staring at the crazy news which indicates that I have dealings with fraudulent people. Do you know what this means? Banks, clients and even future investors will question my integrity.”

  “Maria,  please calm down. I will make a few calls now and sort this out. Please calm down.”

  “Calm down? How the hell should I remain calm? This is my company we are talking about here.”

  He talked for a while about fixing it then went off the call. I kissed my teeth and angrily threw my phone on the bed thinking about my next line of action.

  Helena moved closer to me and asked. “Maria, I have a question if you don't mind. When you received the investment contract from Sebastian's company. Why didn't you say so publicly so that the news will run with it. Why did you keep it private and make him anonymous.”

  I sighed and sat down on my bed. “I was trying to prevent this. A backlash from the Kidmans and possibly his father. They may twist the narrative to fit their goal. I don't want news out that I sacrificed myself by marrying a man just to keep my company afloat.”

  “I understand. There's that too.”

  “Let's sue them for defamation. I won't let this go. I am certain that the Kidmans have a hand in this. They use this media house to twist the narrative however they want it to go, so it's time someone calls them out on their bullshit.”

  “Sweet! I love that.” Helena replied, rushing to carry a notepad and a pen. “My team will begin preparation for it today. No wasting time and trust me, they won't know what hit them.”

  As they talked, my phone rang and when I checked it, it was an unknown number. I wondered who it was.

  “Pick it up, put it on speaker and record the call. We need every piece of evidence we can gather right now.”

  “Good! I like that idea.” I replied her then answered the call.

  “Hello, am I speaking with Ms. Maria Bellucci. Yeah, uhhh, this is the CEO of Trojan Media. Our media house passed out the news this morning that you uhmm, you had shady dealings with money launderers. We are very sorry about that because we realized that the news from the whistleblower was wrong. We are taking down the news from all our platforms and we will tender a public announcement and apology. We are sorry again ma.”

  I didn't know what to say after the call but then I had recorded the call in my phone.

  My phone rang after a while and when I saw that it was Sebastian, I rushed to pick up the call, curious to know if he did anything.

  “Have they called you to apologize? Trojan Media?” He asked as soon I answered the call.

  “Yes, they did. They called and apologized then said that the news will be taken down very soon.”

  “Good! I will not tolerate such rubbish and now  they know not to mess with me or anything that concerns me.”

  “You called them off? I was about to sue their ass.”

  “While a legal battle will put them in their place, dont forget that it will affect you too and the last thing you want around you in this delicate season of your company, is a law suit.”