Tess entered the office and shook Jordan’s hand. "Hey, Mr. Jordan, you're back!""Long time no see." Jordan nodded courteously. "Aunt Tess, what brought you here?" Maia was surprised that she had come. Tess feigned anger. "Am I not welcome?" Maia chucked. "Of course, you're welcome here anytime."She then signed the documents and returned them to Jordan. "Thanks, Jordan. I'll tell Nigel to handle the lawsuit."Jordan nodded. "He's the best man for the job. I trust him."Taking the documents, he smiled and said, "I'll leave you two alone then."After Jordan left, Tess sat on the sofa and asked, "Who are you suing, Maia? It's better to take it easy since you just took over the company."Maia shook her head. "Jordan found out that Theo had been taking money from the company." “"He's just like his dad,” Tess sighed. “I heard many big corporations wanted to hire Jordan, but he turned them all down. You've done a great job, Maia! Your mom would be proud of you." She gave her
Maia gave her a thumbs-up. “You sure do.”Tess laughed. “I’ll leave it to you then. Her contract ends next month.”“I’ll take care of it, Aunt Tess.”Celia wasn’t a versatile artist. She had a very youthful face, so she also couldn’t play many roles, but she was perfect for innocent and sweet characters. Thinking the audience would grow tired of her youthful roles, her agency didn’t seem to care about her. However, she was valuable to Starlight Entertainment as her innocent image was just what they needed.Tess was delighted by Maia’s promise. “That’s great! I should get going then. I need to see if Errol needs any help at the winery.”“I’ll walk you out.” Maia accompanied Tess as she headed to the elevator.As they passed by the administrative department, they heard the assistants gossiping inside.“Have you heard? Ms. Maia asked the tech department to restore the surveillance footage from the day the chairwoman jumped off the building.”“Yeah, I heard about that. Is it abou
Maia was alarmed to hear Hope’s desperate plea for help.“Where are you?”She sounded like she was somewhere noisy.“I… I…”Maia asked, “Hope, where are you? Can you hear me? Hope!”However, no matter how many times she called her name, Hope didn’t reply. Keeping the call connected, Maia grabbed her keys and dashed out of her office.“Where are you going, Maia?” Buck asked, as he saw her rushing away and quickly went after her.“Hope is in trouble.”“What?” Buck was alarmed. “Let me drive you!”Maia looked at her phone, but there was still no reply from Hope.She murmured into the phone, “Don’t worry. I’m coming for you now.”At that moment, a strange voice came through. “Are you Ms. Hope Burgess’s sister?”“Yes, I am!” Maia answered immediately.“This is the police. Ms. Hope and her mother were involved in a car accident and have been sent to the hospital. That’s where you’ll find them.”“Thanks! I’ll head there straight away.”Knowing where Hope was, Maia calmed down a little. “Let’
Hearing this, Hope said, “Can you please help me make a tweet? Tell them that I’m fine, and have some food delivered to them, okay?”“Sure, I’ll get it done.”“Thanks, Wesley.”Wesley nodded with a smile. “I’ll leave you two alone then.”After Wesley went away, Maia asked, “What the hell happened?”“I went to pick up my mom, and on our way back, a car sped out from an alley and crashed into ours. That man drove very fast, as if he did it on purpose. It was so scary.”Hope felt scared thinking about it. “Did you see his face?”Hope shook her head. “No, he was wearing a mask. It all happened so fast, I couldn’t get a good look at him.”Maia narrowed her eyes. Why would anyone wear a mask on a hot day like this?“Hope! Hope!” The door slammed open, and Homer almost stumbled as he stormed in. “Are you okay? How the hell did it happen?”Seeing him so anxious, Hope quickly said, “I’m fine, Dad. Have you seen Mom yet? How is she?”“She’s fine, and all she needs is rest. Thank God
She gradually slowed down her pace and glanced to see who was behind her using the rear-view mirror of a car parked nearby.As she expected, a man wearing a black baseball cap and a black mask was following her.She found his frame to be familiar.Who was he?Feeling anxious, she didn’t dwell on it as she knew the man had to be watching her every move.Not wanting to give herself away, she didn’t dare to quicken her pace now.Just as she turned a corner, she swiftly removed her high heels and threw them to the other side to make some noise before hiding behind a pillar.Hearing the clatter, the man hurried toward the shoes. Seizing the moment, Maia made a run for her car.The car lights flashed a few times as she unlocked her car with the key fob. However, when she was about to open the car door, a gunshot was heard, followed by hurried footsteps.Her plan had failed!Biting her lower lip, Maia saw the man charging over and ducked behind her car so that he couldn’t shoot her.
“Wait here.”Baz would arrive soon with the bodyguards. Cedric knew he had to buy some time for Maia.Shaking her head, she said earnestly, “No, it’s too dangerous. He has a gun!”Cedric saw her gripping his palm with both hands and smiled. “I’ll be fine.”He sounded casual and confident, but Maia knew how dangerous it was. “Cedric—”Before she could say anything further, the door was closed, and she was left alone in the cramped and dark room.Peering out through a narrow gap, she watched Cedric move away.Still feeling the warmth of his palm, she covered her mouth to stop herself from making any sound lest she would spoil his plan. ’Pull yourself together, Maia! You must not cry or make any sound…’She kept telling herself.However, she couldn’t hold back her tears. Suddenly, she heard a flurry of rapid footsteps.Maia saw Theo chasing after Cedric.As she was the one Theo wanted to kill, she knew she couldn’t stand by and do nothing. Biting her lips, Maia glanced arou
Maia was sure she would never mistake her cousin’s voice. She could still recall what Theo said in the basement parking lot. “Ms. Maia, thank you for your cooperation. I’m sure you’re drained. Please let us take over from here.”“Thank you. I’ll be counting on you.” Maia nodded at them. Moments later, she turned to look at the man still holding her hand. Her annoyance grew as she snapped, “How long do you plan on holding me?” “If I could choose, I’d say forever.” He smiled playfully at her irritation. He could not help but think that she looked cute when upset.Baz entered the room seconds later. “Have you found out who they were?” Cedric asked.Baz shook his head apologetically. “The person on the other end was cautious. The call was made from a burner phone. We couldn’t trace who they were.” “What call?” Maia looked at them in confusion. She could not make out what Baz was referring to. “Ms. Maia, you didn’t know? Mr. Cedric received a call that a man would threaten you with a
To Maia, the most terrifying thing in life was to receive warmth when you’re vulnerable. When Cedric comforted her, she felt her tough front crumble. Homer was rushing over while yelling Yvette’s name. When he saw Yvette’s lifeless body, he immediately ran forward. The police stopped him. “Mr. Homer, this scene is cordoned off to the public. You’re not allowed to enter. Please cooperate with us.” “We already made plans for tomorrow. I was supposed to bring her breakfast. How would she just…!” Homer could not believe what he saw as he cradled his head and sat against the wall. “We found a will in her drawer admitting to the murder of Rosa Burgess.” “What murder? Why would my ex-wife be involved in this?“Yvette Burgess has admitted to pushing Rosa Burgess down the building, causing her death.” Homer was stunned beyond words. He kept shaking his head and denying, “That’s not possible! Yvette had no reason to do that! Rosa always had bodyguards surrounding her. Even if she