Louis strained his eyes for a better look, but the car door was already closed.
There was no mistaking Raymond Carnegie's car, though!
Why on earth was Paige getting into Raymond's ride? Did she know him?
Given how Raymond usually treated women with disregard, why would he help Paige?
What was their relationship?
These questions captured Louis, tantalizing and unsettling. He had summoned one of his underlings to bring the car around, but before he could leave, Xena caught up with him.
"Louis, what's gotten into you today? Chasing after Paige twice, what’s on your mind? You do realize your engagement with her is null and void now, right?"
Louis glanced back at Xena Sackler, "No matter what, it was my idea five years ago that resulted in her serving extra time."
Xena retorted, "So what? Haven’t we compensated her? Isn't five million dollars enough? Oh, and by the way, that money is still up in smoke as we speak. Hilarious, isn’t it? She’s so broke, so desperate for cash. Five years ago..."
Louis interrupted her sharply, "Five years ago when she went to jail, she never claimed it was for the money."
Xena was taken aback by Louis's grave and heavy tone. It took her a good ten seconds to speak up again. "What are you getting at, Louis? Are you blaming us? Don’t forget, you were part of the plot that sent her behind bars for five years."
After saying her piece, Xena took on her masterful air and walked away. These past few years, Louis had been making steady progress at Hawke Corporation, securing his position; he had been increasingly dismissive of her. Xena had been nursing her discontent and with Paige’s sudden appearance, her irritation escalated. Louis had not only neglected to console her, but he had also twice pursued Paige.
Meanwhile, Paige had been whisked away by Raymond to another hotel.
In the presidential suite on the top floor, a guest room attendant had already drawn a hot bath and laid out a plush bathrobe.
As Paige sank into the steamy water, her mind replayed the scenes from her encounter with the Sackler family like frames of a movie.
Five years ago, she was brought back from the countryside to the Sackler family, only to have her identity utterly debunked by a DNA test laid before her, and her mother shamed with accusations of secret affairs and an illegitimate child.
There was even an incident that almost cost the poor woman’s life. Paige's focus was fixed on finding her as quickly as possible. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes tightly. She needed to push Margaret further to release her mother.
Submerging herself in the bath, Paige held her breath until her body screamed for air, seeking to quench her anger at the brink of death itself.
Meanwhile, Raymond sat comfortably in his car as an attendant delivered clothing options to him. After a brief inspection, he chose the simplest dress.
"Send it up," he directed.
The attendant, taking the dress, delivered it to Paige's penthouse suite. Once there were no others around, Raymond gave a new order to Charles, "Her resume was too cursory. I need a detailed copy of her within half an hour."
"Understood. I'll have it pulled up from our records immediately," Charles responded.
Raymond watched Paige light a cigarette at the same time she torched a box of cash, around five million in cold hard currency. He had thought that the money was a leash set up by Louis, luring her with the promise of riches. To his astonishment, she burned the five million as casually as she smoked her cigarette. Now, this was truly intriguing.
When the attendant, from outside the bathroom, knocked on the door, Paige surfaced quickly, gasping for fresh air and her mind slowly returning to clarity.
"Miss, I've left your clothes here," the attendant notified from the other side of the door.
"Got it," Paige acknowledged curtly, emerging in a bathrobe. She scanned the room briefly, her eyes landing on a computer.
"May I use this computer?" Paige asked.
"Of course," the attendant replied politely, excusing himself from the room.
Once on the computer, Paige navigated expertly into one of her secret accounts. During her first two years in prison, she was hammered with knowledge daily and executed what she learned by night, trading on international financial markets. The first year, she almost lost everything she had. The second year, she made a fortune.
However, before her release, she had promised her mentors not to touch those funds unless she faced a life-or-death situation. But she overheard at the party that the Sackler family was teaming up with the Trump family to venture into the luxury home furnishings market, just as it was going public. It was too tempting for her to ignore and too pivotal not to act within the financial arena she so mastered. How could she possibly hold back?
With a few deft keystrokes, a hint of a smile began to play at the corners of Paige's mouth.
In three days, she'd shrink the assets of the Sackler Corporation by a third!
Did they really think that a measly five million would be enough to get rid of her?
Did they still see her, Paige, as that defenseless, naive girl she was five years ago?
Just as Paige was about to clear the digital tracks from her computer, an email notification popped up in her inbox.
It was from Pearl South, the executive assistant at Universe Group, urging her to meet as soon as possible.
She had been out of jail for only a few days and hadn't had the chance to make up her mind for her mentor's company, Universe Group.
As she was preparing to respond, a knock sounded at the door, followed by the attendant's voice, "Miss, we need to tidy up the room soon for other guests."
It was then that Paige's thoughts, which had been elsewhere, snapped back to her surroundings.
Oh, that’s right. Raymond had managed to get them into this opulent presidential suite. How could a mere programmer afford such luxury?
And the Rolls Royce they rode away in from the hotel; that was surely out of her financially strained husband's league, wasn’t it?
Realizing that Raymond might be exploiting someone else's resources, Paige quickly powered down her computer, packed up, and stepped outside.
Paige inquired of the attendant, "Excuse me, who owns this suite and that Rolls Royce I was in earlier?"
With a practiced professional smile, he answered earnestly, "Miss, the hotel and the car you were in belong to Mr. Carnegie, CEO of Hawke Corporation."
Paige naturally assumed it was all Louis's doing.
She knew Raymond worked for Hawke Corporation, but how he had access to the CEO's car and suite was beyond her. Preferring to keep a respectful distance, she simply thanked the attendant and walked away without further inquiry.
It was at that moment when Charles handed a tablet to Raymond.
Peering at Raymond's face, Charles hesitated, then blurted out, "Raymond, we have a bit of a problem; madam... she's done time."