Chapter 10
“Hmph!”
The old shareholders of the Mueller Group flung their sleeves and stormed off, throwing out a threat, “We’ll get you back for this, sooner or later!”
Waylon looked utterly dejected, while Emmitt and Lillian kept sighing.
They knew exactly what their son was like. The second they walked in and saw their son and Sandra acting all shifty, they pretty much got the whole picture.
But Sandra was from a side branch of the Mueller family. There was no way she could compare to Mariana in status.
Right now, the priority was to calm Mariana down.
Ralph saw the look his parents gave him and hurried over to explain, “Marie, trust me, nothing happened last night.”
Mariana pushed Ralph’s hand away, crying and trying to leave. Lillian quickly grabbed her. “Look, we’ve got the engagement ceremony to go through later. You can’t leave now.‘
“Ralph did this behind my back and can’t even give me a straight answer. Are you trying to force me into marrying him?”
Mariana’s eyes were dead serious. She asked in a way that made Lillian feel too embarrassed to stop her. Lillian turned around and yelled at Waylon, red in the face, “This is all because of your daughter! She has been trying every trick in the book to marry Ralph. Let me tell you, it isn’t happening!”
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“Don’t you dare slander Sandra! Who has been trying every trick in the book? Make it clear!” Hailee got worked up and stepped in to defend
Sandra.
“Don’t you know who I’m talking about? The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!”
While the two families were quarreling, Mariana slipped away.
Everything that had just happened in the room was caught on the hidden camera Karlee had set up, and it was going to be her ticket to take down those cheaters and make a huge splash!
***
Nine o’clock in the morning.
When the engagement party was about to kick off, all the guests suddenly got a notice that it was off.
“What’s going on? Everything seemed fine last night, right?”
“I heard it’s because Mr. McKinney cheated.
The guests were buzzing with talk. Amidst the confusion, Mariana and Karlee got together to sift through the “material” the cameras had caught last night.
She picked out a few photos where things were a bit blurry and told Karlee, “Send these out first.”
“Just these?”
Karlee was surprised. “Why not drop the video bomb and totally expose that cheating couple? Why leave them any wiggle room? These photos are low–res. They’ll deny it!”
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“The time isn’t right yet,” Mariana explained, cool as a cucumber.
“So, when will it be?” Karlee asked, not giving up.
“After how they treated me, if I don’t pick the perfect moment to let everyone know what they did, how can I make things right for the past two years?”
Mariana said with total confidence, “The day after tomorrow is the 30th- anniversary bash for the McKinney Group. The McKinney family has invited almost all the big shots and media outlets in Forechester. That’s when I’ll nail them all at once!”
***
After Mariana and Karlee made their plan, they split up. Mariana went straight home. As soon as she walked in, she saw her mom who had rushed back from overseas.
Ever since Brenton passed away, Natasha had been running around for the Mueller Group all by herself. She had to handle the struggling business and watch out for the pressure from Waylon’s group on the board.
“I just got to your engagement party and heard what happened. Are you upset?” Natasha got up, took the cane from Mariana’s hand, and helped her sit down.
Looking at Natasha’s smile, Mariana felt a rush of courage. “Mom, what if I tell you that I never really wanted to get married in the first place?”
Natasha looked at her with a loving gaze and smiled calmly. “I knew it. My girl always knows what she wants.”
Mariana smiled too. She leaned her head against Natasha’s chest, feeling the warmth of family love filling the empty spot in her heart.
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“Marie, after what happened today, I’ve decided to let you join the Mueller Group for real.”
Natasha’s laid–back way of saying it made Mariana sit up straight and look at her, surprised. “Didn’t Dad say I couldn’t work at the company?”
Back in the day, Brenton had left a will saying she couldn’t be part of the company stuff. Over the years, Natasha had been handling the board of directors on her own. Every time Mariana tried to pitch in at the company, Natasha shot her down.
She never thought Natasha would say yes this time.
Natasha gently ran her fingers through Mariana’s long hair, her eyes kind of misty. “My girl has grown up now.”
“Okay.”
Mariana gave Natasha’s hand a firm squeeze, like she was making a promise. “Mom, don’t worry. With me on board, you won’t have to do everything on your own anymore.‘
Natasha’s eyes got a little teary. She didn’t want Mariana to get tangled up in all that mess, but if she didn’t face the storm, how was she supposed to build up her defenses?
Before bedtime, they went back to their own rooms.
After shutting her bedroom door tight, Natasha stood in front of Brenton’s picture and whispered to herself, “Some things are meant to be in her life, no matter what. If those people still come in the end, you won’t hold it against me, right?”
