Chapter 142

CHAPTER 142 CHAPTER 142 The income tax officers stayed in the villa all night, with three witnesses from the neighborhood. One of them was Mina disguised as a resident. Jacob didn’t even come home. The only mobile he could reach was Rebecca, so he kept calling her and asked for progress. He told her the spots where he kept some illegal documents. She couldn’t cover him for him, so she gave her mobile to Shawn, and he took care of whatever Jacob told him. Selena, on the other hand, kept asking the officers why their family was being suddenly targeted with no prior notice or anything. Even though they didn’t reply at first, she didn’t stop asking. At some point the Chief Commissioner grew tired and told her he received orders from the higher ups to do a raid and he had to do it even though there were no records of the Sterling family evading taxes. The officers found some illegal investments of Shawn in real estate, and some unexplained cash credits in Elizabeth’s accounts. To make things worse, Dorothy also had some bullion and jewelry in her lockers, which they had to break open. They mercilessly seized everything they could from documents to dairies and jewelry to computer chips. This went on until morning, and nobody in the Sterling family had slept that night, except for George who could still somehow peacefully sleep despite all the mayhem going around him. After the officers left, Elizabeth woke her brother up with a smack on the back of his head, as she always would. “Why didn’t they arrest us?” Dorothy could only wonder. “I thought they had the grounds to put us behind the bars.” “Oh, they will, but there’s a procedure to everything,” replied Nolan. “I will be sad and alone once you go to jail.” “Don’t worry, dear. I’ll tell them you gave me the bullion and jewelry.” “Eh?”

Meanwhile, Rebecca finally got the chance to talk to Louis after he walked out of the building and sat on a bench on the lawn.

She sat on the same bench and said, “Enjoying the fresh air?”, Louis lit up a cigar and took a whiff. “Just tell me what you want.” Rebecca looked a little embarrassed. “You must have heard about it by now. The whole holes-in-the-bras thing.” He nodded and smiled, “That’s a piss-poor idea, sis.” “That’s not my idea!”

Rebecca quickly denied. “I was framed by my CEO.” “And you know how?” “She doesn’t even talk to me anymore. She doesn’t want to listen to my explanation, and she fired me.” “She must be quite envious of you.” Rebecca took a breath. “I would have sued if not for this whole mess going on in the family. Our movies are releasing, too.” “Well, any publicity is good publicity as far as movies are considered.” Rebecca just shook her head. “So, I guess you want my help?” Louis asked. “Can you?” Rebecca expectantly looked at him. She used to ride on his back when she was young. He used to carry her on this same lawn. Does he still remember those times? Though she could see his eyes from a foot away, they felt strangely distant. Louis could, to an extent, understand why she came to him instead of going to Shawn or Jacob. He exhaled audibly and said,” You know why I don’t let Bella work outside?”

“Because she’s happy to be a housewife?”

Louis laughed. “No.You got your job without any issues and managed to become popular, but not every woman can be as lucky as you. Most of them get asked to sleep with others for them to get the job or to have some growth in their field. Men also go through this, but women have it a lot worse. I’m sure you’re aware of it as well that the cut-throat competitive world of men seeks some relaxation in women, making it unsafe for women to work outside.” Rebecca frowned. “Are you saying I should stop working?” “That’s for the best,” Louis said. “I can find a billionaire for you, and he’ll go through the hardships and take care of you like you’re his most prized possession.” “I’m nobody’s possession,” Rebecca stood and started walking away. “Thanks for your unnecessary advice.”

1/2 CHAPTER 142 “Haa...” Louis exhaled through the mouth and faintly smiled. “Why are you leaving? I never said I won’t help.”

Rebecca, however, didn’t stop. Though she didn’t expect the conversation to end like this, she began to understand that she didn’t even need his help. When she joined her first job, her superiors asked her out for drinks on the very first week and told her how she could easily climb the ladder if she satisfied them. There were even a couple of women among them. Rebecca complained about them to the boss, but after no action was taken, she quit the job and joined another company.

Hardships had always been part of her professional life, and she didn’t ask for her brothers’ help before, so she felt like she should also resolve this issue with her own strength.

Rebecca went straight to her personal lawyer without the need for appointment as the lawyer was her friend, though she used to be a legal assistant until recently. She was talking with a client early in the morning. It was a married man who kept begging her to do something about a divorced woman who had trapped him and then demanded money if he didn’t want their private photos and videos to be shown to his wife and children. He had already paid a lot of money to her, but that woman still kept demanding more. However, since he was also to blame, the lawyer told him to go away.

After he left, Rebecca asked, “Why didn’t you take up his case? He seemed to regret what he had done.”

“If he really regretted it, he would have also brought his wife here,” she replied. “Anyway, you have become quite the sensation on the internet,” she sarcastically said. “How did you come up with such ridiculous designs? Were you drunk when you made thern?”

“Sheila, listen...” Rebecca told her the whole story. “Can you help me?” “Of course, I can. And I will.”

Sheila’s straightforward reply boosted Rebecca’s confidence a lot. “Thank you. Thanks a lot.”

“Don’t mention it. We’re friends. Just go home and take a rest. It’ll take a couple of days to prepare the documents.”

“Okay.”

After Rebecca left, Sheila called the CEO Rebecca used to work for and told her everything. “I can stretch the case for months or years if you want, but it’ll be costly.”

“Don’t worry about the money, miss,” replied the CEO in a soft voice. “I can pay you ten times the amount she’s paying. I’ll give you free tickets to male fashion shows all across the country if you want.”

Sheila’s face lit up. “I’d really appreciate that.”

“I’m glad you are so understanding.”

Sheila ended the call and was all smiles. “Oh, my lovely Rebecca... you came at the right time to make me rich. I’ll milk as much money as I can from you Sterlings so I can settle for life.”

At the moment, Sheila had no clue that Mina was hearing her conversation from outside the walls.

Mina just sighed and thought, “This outside world is just as fucked up as the last time I was out and about. I regret leaving the clan, even though I get to taste a variety of ice creams here.”