Chapter 40: Justin At The Door

Moments later, everyone’s cell phones rang, and the reporters began watching a video that had just been shared. Shock spread through the crowd as they turned their eyes to Briena.

Ana, standing by Briena’s side, showed her the video, and Briena felt as if the ground had been pulled out from under her. Who could have recorded this incident other than the person she had trusted?

The video clearly showed Briena’s indifference toward their grandfather and the true reason why Natalie had slapped her. It cut off just before Ivan’s entry, as Natalie had decided not to involve a third party in their personal matters. This brief but revealing interaction between the sisters exposed Briena’s lies.

"Ms. Briena, what do you have to say about this?" a reporter asked, their tone demanding.

Briena, too shocked to respond, stood frozen, while Ana quickly interjected, "This video seems edited. We’ll investigate and answer your questions later."

Ana swiftly helped Briena leave the scene, with security guards ensuring the reporters couldn’t follow. They managed to get Briena back to her office safely.

"That was well played, Ms. Natalie," John remarked. "Now the reporters will keep her busy for a while."

"I can’t let those reporters chase after your boss, trying to uncover my husband. They’re better off focusing on my sister for now," Natalie replied with a satisfied smile.

"Ms. Natalie sure cares for Mr. Harper," John remarked, his tone lightly teasing. "Even when he’s not around, I hear more about him from you than from anyone else."

Natalie shot him a sharp glare. "You seem to be getting a little too comfortable here."

John was taken aback by the sudden shift in her demeanor.

he wondered.

"You’re just as annoying as your boss. Go back to your car," she snapped, her irritation clear.

John quietly stood up, ready to make his exit, but as he turned to leave, she added, "And leave that wafer pack behind. It’s not for fitness freaks like you."

"Do not show up in front of me at least till tomorrow I will make you lose your job," she warned him again.

John realized he had indeed angered her. He placed the wafer pack on the table and left without daring to look back.

-----

After the press conference, Star Elite was in an uproar, and Sephina stormed into Briena’s office, her anger palpable.

"I warned you to be careful of her," Sephina spat the moment she entered, glaring at Briena, who was sitting on the couch with tears in her eyes.

"Grandma, I didn’t know she would do this," Briena replied, her voice trembling.

"You’re an idiot," Sephina snapped. "If you had handled this better..." She paused, taking a deep breath to calm herself, then turned her sharp gaze to Ana. "It’s your responsibility as her manager to maintain her image and keep her out of trouble. What the hell are you doing, accepting a hefty salary from my company?"

Clara entered the office, not surprised to see Sephina furious. She hurried to her daughter’s side, sitting next to her. "Don’t cry, Briena. We’ll fix this. We’ll make that wretch pay for what she’s done." Turning to Sephina, she added, "Mother, there’s no point in getting angry. Can’t you see? Natalie played Briena like a fiddle. She could have released that video earlier, but she waited, letting Briena make a fool of herself in front of the media and ruin her image."

Sephina clenched her fists tightly, unable to bear the sight of tears in her most cherished granddaughter’s eyes. "That Natalie... I’ll deal with her. For now, find a way to sort this out."

"Mother, what will Ivan think of me now?" Briena sobbed. "Will he break off the engagement? I want to marry him, but..."

"Don’t worry," Sephina assured her. "He won’t act rashly. Our company still overpowers his. All you need to do is treat him well and act like a proper lady." With that, Sephina turned and left the office, as she needed to talk to Natalie to solve this situation.

Clara gently wiped the tears from Briena’s face and offered her a reassuring smile. "Just admit your mistake to Ivan and explain why you did it. He’ll forgive you. And after that, use some of your charm so he won’t be able to resist you. You know what I mean, don’t you?"

"Yes, Mother," Briena replied, trying to regain her composure.

Once outside Briena’s office, Sephina pulled out her phone and angrily dialed Natalie’s number.

"You wretch, you did it intentionally, didn’t you?" Sephina spat the moment Natalie answered.

"Yes," Natalie replied calmly. "Because I don’t believe in things happening ’unintentionally’ like they always seem to with Briena. She plays innocent after causing chaos, as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. But let me remind you, Sephina Ford, I’m not innocent anymore—your family took that from me a long time ago. And I’m certainly not forgiving like I used to be. So, if you dare plan anything against me, I’ll make sure you regret it tenfold."

"You..." Sephina started, her voice shaking with anger.

"If you called to warn me or to try and push the blame for Briena’s actions onto me again, don’t bother," Natalie interrupted. "You’ve seen me endure all your unfair hate and accusations. Now, you have another chance to see it—but this time, it’ll be with your other granddaughter."

Sephina gritted her teeth in frustration. "Natalie, come to the office and—"

Beep... Beep...

"She dared to hang up on me?" Sephina fumed, dialing Natalie’s number again, but this time the phone was switched off.

----

While her enemies were restless, Natalie was finally enjoying her peaceful time alone in her home and seeing Sephina enraged made her feel even better. She had prepared a nice meal for herself and enjoyed it while praying to the god to keep this peace for a while longer, as she entirely trusted her family’s ability to destroy her peace.

As evening approached, just as she was about to start preparing dinner, the doorbell rang. Natalie, assuming it was John since none of her family members or friends knew about this place, went to open the door.

’What does he want now? Didn’t I tell him to not show up in front of me? Does he really wish to lose his job?’

But when she opened it, she was met with the unexpected sight of Justin standing there, a black luggage trolley bag at his side.

Not her family but someone else was here to destroy her peace.

Utterly shocked, she exclaimed, "What are you doing here?" Her gaze moved to his bag, "and this?"