"She's alive…" Claudia's voice shook slightly as she stared at her mother.
Irene looked up from the papers in front of her. "Who is alive?"
"I saw her… I saw Anna."
"Didn't you say she fell off a cliff? How is she alive?" Irene asked, a deep frown settling on her forehead.
Claudia shook her head in disbelief. The more she thought about it, the more crazy she became. There was no way Anna would have survived that fall. Even if she did, she would drown in the river.
"I'm not lying, mom. I saw it happen. She couldn't have survived that."
But she did. She didn't only survive, she looked very happy too. She was dressed in an expensive dress that looked custom-made. Her hair was styled and her makeup was flawless. The one thing that still baffled Claudia was the huge diamond ring on her finger, the memory of it made her stomach churn. How could she?
"She wasn't just alive," she said, her voice growing bitter. "She was wearing a designer dress and a ring too."
"A ring?"
"Yes. She has some sugar daddy taking care of her. There is no other explanation."
For a long moment, Irene didn't speak. However, her face grew colder.
"How dare that thing try to bring shame to this family," she hissed, her fingers clenching around the armrest. "We gave her a roof over her head, did everything for her, and this is how she repaid us? Dragging the Steele name in the mud like something common…" She trailed off, her anger shimmering on the surface.
Claudia just stared at her own ring on her finger with a sour look on her face. She had been engaged to one Alexander Vaughn her entire life, yet her diamond ring wasn't as big as Anna's. It made her heart burn with hatred to think that Anna could be living a better life than her. She wasn't supposed to. She was still the same runt that had lived under her shadow for years. Nothing changed. Even though she was involved with someone rich and suddenly became confident, it shouldn't bother her.
"She always was a problem. I should have known she would find a way to embarrass us even after she was gone."
Irene stood up and started pacing the length of the room.
"I won't allow this. If she's playing mistress to some rich old man, she will bring nothing but disgrace to the Steele name. The world would know her connection to us. That can't happen. No one should know the mistress' daughter."
She stopped pacing and turned to Claudia. "We need to find out who this rich old man is. Contact Jonan right away. We need his help right now. I need to know what is going on."
Claudia nodded with a smirk. She would find out who the man was. And when she did, Anna would regret ever showing her face again.
She took out her phone and texted a number.
"Let's meet, Jonan."
****
"Sign the properties over to me, and I will ensure the Resort and Estate are restored to their former glory. This is an opportunity Mr. Steele, and I'm afraid if you refuse, they will surely sink further into debt."
Alexander smiled inwardly at the memory. George had unknowingly signed the ownership of the Resort and Estate to him. Though it wasn't very easy to manipulate him, he was glad for the call that George received. After that call, he literally lost his mind.
Alexander was quite sure it was the news of his boys who were murdered, but whatever it was, he was glad that it came when it was needed.
Adjusting the mic in front of him, his gaze swept across the conference room, taking in the expression of the 35 men, who were sitting silently, waiting for him to speak. He cleared his throat to grab their attention. "I'm glad you all are here today," he began. "There's something I want to share with you. You all know that we have been having issues with buying more shares from different companies. But now, I made a significant acquisition that will take this firm to a milestone."
"Mr. Vaughn, I hope we are not buying shares. The market is…"
"Did I mention that, Mr. Gogh?" Alexander interrupted the man, frowning slightly.
"I'm sorry sir, I thought otherwise…" Mr. Gogh faked a smile at him.
Alexander didn't like that the man was always trying to assert himself in every meeting. But he kept his calm and continued. He wasn't in the mood to fire anyone today. Mr. Gogh should consider himself lucky.
He looked up straight. "As of today, I'm the new owner of Steele's 76 billion dollars worth Resort and Estate," he declared.
Joyous noises and claps erupted through the hall. The men were all happy, and it took quite a while for the noise to die down.
"That's a great job, Mr. Vaughn!"
"We are now the richest firm in and across the country!"
Alexander just smiled. It was indeed something significant. His heart should have been filled with joy, instead, he felt empty. There was definitely something broken inside of him. He couldn't feel any satisfaction. But why? Everything was going as he planned. He got his revenge on the people who killed his mother and gave George Steele a significant loss. Then what was it?
He needed to do more. There was still a long way to go, and maybe after he was done, he would be satisfied.
"Boss, Sebastian met with George Steele. I'm sure he told him about what happened and… you too," Ethan informed as soon as Alexander stepped inside the house.
"Better that way. We'll be dealing with each other like real enemies now."
"Would he demand his properties back?" Ethan asked.
"I'm already the owner." He stopped as he thought about something. "Any problem?"
Ethan nodded cautiously.
"George's board executives are demanding that you can't overhaul the previous company's culture. They are threatening not to abide by the new rules."
Alexander knew there would be some bad eggs among them, who would surely want to retain the previous rules that were benefiting them. But to hell with that.
"If anyone is in disagreement with my rules, they should leave. I'm not George Steele."
"But boss… you need them now, you just acquired the company, the executives are still very useful."
Alexander seemed to think for a while. Ethan was right. Though he might have managed to claim what belonged to George, that didn't mean everything was stable yet. He needed to Integrate those properties into his firm, then solidify his position as the new owner. That would be really challenging. And he needed the help of the executives.
Letting out a frustrated sigh. "Schedule a meeting with the executives and make sure you assemble a team that would be working on the logistics," he ordered and without waiting for Ethan's response, he turned his back and walked away. As he moved up the stairs, he noticed Ethan was still following him. Alexander frowned. He hated to be followed. So he stopped on his tracks.
"What is it?" He asked, irritation clear in his tone.
Ethan hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"There is no new record about the girl six years ago. I believed she's dead."