Chapter 468: The End Of Briena And Clara

The Browns were gone, while the Fords were not in a good situation either. Someone who had been waiting and worrying for her son finally arrived at the Ford Mansion—Sephina Ford.

"What are you doing here?" Clara asked.

"I’m here to see my son, and this time you can’t stop me," Sephina said coldly.

Since Jay got sick, Sephina had barely met him once or twice. When she decided to take her son away with her—knowing he was being neglected here—she was denied even the right to see him, let alone take him away.

Clara had been worried that Sephina might find out the reason for his illness: that she had been giving Jay Ford drugs.

"And what gave you the confidence that I’ll let you take my husband away?" Clara asked wickedly.

Sephina, a prideful woman, kept her calm. "Your husband? A woman like you, who brings her lover back to take her husband’s place—you dare still call yourself his wife?"

"You—"

"I have something for you," Sephina said, and Clara’s cell phone beeped with a message.

There was a video recording of Clara telling Briena that Larry was her biological father, and that she had forged the DNA report with Jay to make Briena appear as his daughter.

Clara was shocked.

Sephina spoke, "I left this home, but the people working here are still loyal to me. Do you think I didn’t know what’s going on? I was just patiently waiting for you to make a mistake."

Clara, shocked, almost marched toward the old woman, but the guards Sephina had brought with her entered the drawing room.

Sephina offered her a warning gaze. "Clara, I don’t care what you do with your life or the leftovers of the Ford Group. Neither do I care that Briena is not Jay’s daughter. All I want is to take my son with me. If you deny it, I will make sure this video clip goes viral—and you know what will happen after that."

It was enough to scare Clara. This might destroy her last hope of holding on to the Ford Group. She finally allowed Sephina to take Jay Ford away, in exchange for her silence about Larry.

Just as Sephina was leaving, with a guard pushing the wheelchair in which a weak-looking Jay was sitting, Briena entered the drawing room. The moment she saw Sephina, she rushed toward her.

"Grandma, please save me! Mom wants me to marry that old man, Peter Eli," Briena cried out. "I don’t want to marry him. I’m still so young..."

"I am not your grandmother," Sephina said coldly, "and you know it better."

Briena’s teary eyes turned shocked and sad. "G-Grandma... you always loved me..."

"For that, I’m already being punished," Sephina said sharply. "Jay and I have no relationship with you. Don’t you ever show up in front of me again."

With that, Sephina left with Jay. She took him to her home in the village. Though he was not her biological son, she had raised him like one. The mother inside her could never stop thinking of him as her own. Her heart hurt to see him live like this, but she was sure—with proper treatment—he would get better.

"Mom, I’m telling you—I’m not marrying that disgusting old man," Briena cried out.

Clara slapped her hard and said, "So you want both of us to beg on the streets?"

"Mom..."

"He’s the only one who’s ready to help us now. And he agreed only on one condition—marrying you and having his kids," Clara replied. "That old man will die soon, and with his kids, you can enjoy his wealth."

"His kids? That disgusting old man..."

"You slept with that old man—the movie director. What’s new for you?" Clara spat out in frustration.

"Mom, how can you—"

"Shut up! Get ready. We’re going to meet him," Clara declared.

Along with Larry and Clara, Briena arrived at a hotel. Briena looked at Larry. "You’re my real father. Do you really agree to this? Don’t you care about me?"

Larry stayed calm and said, "We’re doing this so you can live a better life. Your mother and I are old—we can manage anywhere. But can you? With everything lost, will you be able to survive without a single penny in your hand?"

Briena had nothing to refute, as she knew the Ford Group had gone down and they were on the verge of bankruptcy.

They entered the hotel room where a wealthy old man was waiting for them. The moment he laid eyes on Briena, the perversion in his gaze was obvious. He scanned her from head to toe and almost licked his lips.

"You’re prettier in real life than on screen," the man said as he ogled her chest. "I saw the movie you worked in. I must say, you stole my heart just then."

Briena felt disgusted, knowing exactly what the man was implying. Larry interrupted as they settled down. "So, Peter, when should we go ahead with the marriage?"

"What’s the hurry?" the man said, then looked at Briena. "Come sit next to me."

Briena didn’t want to, but Clara nudged her. She sat next to Peter, who held her hand and then let his gaze linger on her face, neck, and down below. "Lovely."

Larry spoke again. "Peter—"

"The bag full of money is there," Peter interrupted, pointing. "First instalment of our deal. You’ll get the rest once the deal is done."

They looked at the black briefcase kept on the table, and Larry opened it. Clara and Larry almost drooled at the sight of all that cash.

"Now you two leave. I want to spend some time with my girl," Peter said, and the two stood up, ready to leave with the bag.

"Mom," Briena called out.

"You two are going to marry soon. There’s nothing wrong if he wants to spend some time with you," Clara said and looked at Peter. "Take care of her."

The two left, while Briena was stuck with the old man, who clearly had all the wrong intentions toward her.

"We’re not married yet. Stay away from me," she said, but...

All she knew was that she could do nothing at all—and had to bear the disgusting things the old man did to her.

When he was finally done and left, Briena was filled with rage. She didn’t know what to do, or whom to blame. Her once perfect life was ruined. Now she had to endure one disgusting old hand after another.

----

Jay Ford was being treated properly under Sephina’s care.

"Mrs. Ford, the drugs have affected his normal brain function, but slowly it can be healed. Not entirely, but he will be well enough to live a normal life," the doctor informed.

"Do whatever you need to, but make sure he gets better," she said.

"We need to continue these medicines. After a week, we’ll conduct another test and see what adjustments need to be made to the treatment," the doctor assured her.

Once the doctor left, she looked at Jay, who was lying in bed, gazing at the ceiling. She held his hand.

"I’m a little late in getting you back. But don’t worry. You’ll get better soon, and we’ll spend a peaceful life."

----

Even after spending time with Briena, there was no news from Peter about marrying her. Clara was getting restless. She called Larry, but he didn’t answer. Neither did Peter respond to her calls.

"What’s wrong with these two?" Clara said in frustration.

In her agitation, she and Briena both went to Peter’s home. Just as they were allowed to enter the drawing room, Briena noticed a familiar woman sitting intimately with Peter—the same woman she had met at the hotel when she went to see the porn director.

"What are you doing here?" Briena asked.

"Oh, so you recognized me this time," the woman said. "I thought after sleeping with that movie director, your memory would be even worse."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Briena shouted. "You slut, get out of here!"

The woman looked at Peter. "She called me a slut when she herself is no different."

Peter chuckled. "I know. That day, I had a good taste of hers, but trust me—she’s not as good as you."

"Peter," Clara said, trying to keep calm, "we are here to finalize your and Briena’s marriage."

Peter laughed. "Do you take me for a fool—to marry a slut?" he said, smiling wickedly. "All the time I slept with her, I paid more than enough to that Larry."

They realized Briena had slept with this man a few times, but Larry hadn’t told her about the money, except for that first time Clara was aware of.

"You gave him money again?" Clara asked.

"And he must have already run away with it," Peter replied.

Clara was shocked. "That asshole. That’s why he’s not answering my calls." She kept her calm and said, "Peter, we talked about marriage... and then the deal..."

In response, Peter threw a mobile toward them. "Check it first, and then tell me if I should marry your slut of a daughter."

Both of them checked, and it was a video from the day Briena was blackmailed into sleeping with the director.

"It was you who did it!" Briena shouted angrily at the woman in Peter’s arms.

"Why are you surprised?" the woman asked nonchalantly. "Back then, you did the same to me. You ruined my entire life, so I’m just giving you a little taste of it. You should be glad I didn’t release it online for the entire world to see—just like you did with me." Though she mocked Briena, there was a deep pain in her gaze—the pain of the utter humiliation she had once faced.

"Mom, delete it," Briena said in a panic, filled with fear.

Clara immediately deleted the video, while the woman said, "Do you think I’m the only one who hates you? There are many. And soon, you’ll see them coming for you. And good that you deleted it—I didn’t want that disgust in my phone anyway."

Clara looked at Peter, only to have him yell at her, "Get lost! Or you’ll see your daughter’s video spread everywhere."

Clara and Briena left, while Peter asked, "If you had posted it online, it would’ve been fun."

"I wanted to. That’s why I recorded it, but..." she sighed, "Let it be. She’ll get what she deserves."

"Suddenly playing the good woman?" Peter asked with a chuckle.

"I was never bad. That Briena turned me into one," she commented and both them resumed what they were doing.

----

The Ford Group went down. All of their assets were sold. Larry had run away with all the money from the company—even the money Peter had given him.

Clara and Briena were literally on the streets with nothing in their hands. No one came to help them, as everyone now knew what Clara had done—how she had driven away Sephina and Jay. All her misdeeds were exposed in front of the people.

"It’s all your fault," Briena shouted at Clara. "You brought that man, and he ran away with the money. Why couldn’t you just live with Dad instead of dragging him through your greed for money?"

"Stop blaming me!" Clara shouted back. "When I was doing it all, you were happy. But now that things have gone wrong, you’re blaming me."

They fought for a long time until they grew tired. In the end, with no other option and very little money, the mother and daughter took shelter in a lowly hotel with the cheapest rates.

Both of them sat silently, wondering what to do next.

Briena received a call on her mobile. Her body stiffened when she saw the number.

"Who is it?" Clara asked.

"That porn director," Briena replied hesitantly.

"Answer it."

"Mom?"

"See what he wants," Clara said. "We have nothing to lose anyway. It’s better to look for options before we end up on the streets. You know we don’t have any money left."

Unwillingly, Briena answered the call and put it on speaker, only to hear the man say, "I heard you have no money... no work either."

"What do you want?" Briena asked irritably.

"Want to work and earn money?" he asked.

"What’s the work?" Clara asked before Briena could say anything. "I’m her mother."

"Your daughter is lucky that we’re considering casting her in our latest porn movie," the director answered. "She’ll be paid well."

"Ah, okay. She’ll do it," Clara said.

"Mom—"

Clara shushed her and listened as the director continued, "You’ll get the details. Send her there."

After they hung up the call, Briena asked angrily, "Do you want me to work in a porn movie?"

"If not, do you want to be on the streets, where random human trafficking groups can take you away and sell you?" Clara asked. "Do you even know what they do to beautiful girls like you? I know it all. I’ve seen it. You wouldn’t ever return."

Briena had no words. But then she asked, "Back then, you sold Natalie to them. Then why did she come back?"

Clara frowned. "That bitch had some good luck written in her stars."

"Yes, and now she’s living the life that should have been mine," Briena spat angrily. "Only if I could kill her..."

"Don’t even think about it," Clara warned. "The Harpers are dangerous. James Harper might really send you somewhere to suffer until we die. And didn’t you see how dangerous her husband is?"

Briena sat helplessly, tears starting to roll down her cheeks. "But why is my life like this? I didn’t want this..."

Clara looked at her. "There’s no use crying. Get ready. We have to go meet that director."

"Are you even my mother?" Briena asked quietly.

"Don’t forget, I was the one who brought you into the Ford family so you could live a rich life," Clara said. "It’s not fair to blame me now that we’re back to where we started. Now get ready—if you don’t want to lose the last job you can get."

Briena had no other option and finally decided to work in the porn film industry. She became addicted to drugs and lost all sense of reality, as if she had completely given up on life.

Clara was busy counting whatever money she could get from Briena’s films and, at times, making her sleep with wealthy men who wanted her.

One day, the news finally broke: Briena had killed her mother by stabbing her with a knife, and then she jumped from the rooftop of the Ford Group building—taking her own life.