Chapter 32 Chapter 32
As soon as Megan disappeared into the bank, Deborah’s face darkened with suspicion.
“I don’t know what exactly she is up to,” she said bitterly, “but that Diamond card she showed us there is definitely something behind it.”
Her eyes narrowed as she replayed the scene in her mind.
“There has to be some kind of mistake. She must have stolen it. How else can an ex-convict suddenly be walking around with a Diamond card when people like us only just managed to secure a Silver card?”
She let out a sharp, irritated breath.
“No, this is completely out of hand. It makes no sense for Megan to have something like that. Something is wrong.”
Then her voice hardened with determination.
“I will get to the bottom of this. I will expose her completely.”
Her expression turned even colder.
“Someone like her can become a threat. Someone like her would definitely want to bring Vincent down because of everything he has accomplished.”
She lifted her chin proudly.
“And by now, I know his name must already be everywhere.”
Jessica quickly nodded in agreement.
“Well, whatever she thinks she can do, she cannot do anything,” Jessica said confidently. “And if that card is fraudulent or if she stole it then she is going to be exposed. We will make sure of that.”
Her tone became smug again as her thoughts drifted back to Vincent.
“And by now, all the connections we have been hoping and praying for should already be falling into place. Things are about to become easy for us.”
Then, with a self-satisfied smile, she added, “I am sure very soon Mr. Liam will come back out here and start apologizing.”
She folded her arms.
“Let’s just wait here. You’ll see.”
Her confidence only grew louder.
“I guarantee you that in less than ten minutes, he will come rushing back outside.”
Deborah slowly nodded, visibly clinging to that hope.
“Since we are waiting,” she said, “why don’t we check? Vincent’s pictures should definitely be everywhere by now.”
Her eyes brightened a little at the thought.
“The congratulatory messages should already be flooding in.”
Without wasting another second, Deborah hurriedly pulled out her phone and opened her social media account.
Deborah had expected triumph.
She had expected to see headlines announcing the deal, photographs of Vincent shaking hands with powerful men, congratulatory posts flooding every corner of social media, and proud comments pouring in from people eager to align themselves with success.
That was what she had expected.
But instead, Jessica suddenly screamed.
“Oh my goodness what the hell is going on?”
The panic in her voice was so sharp that Deborah’s heart lurched.
She turned to her daughter at once, her face tightening with confusion.
“What is it?” she demanded. “What happened? What are you seeing?”
Jessica’s hands had already begun to tremble violently.
Her eyes were wide far too wide for good news.
She tried to lift the phone to show her mother, but her fingers were shaking so badly that it slipped from her grasp and fell.
“Oh God—”
She bent to pick it up, but her hand fumbled again, and the phone dropped a second time.
Now even her legs were beginning to wobble beneath her.
Deborah’s patience snapped.
“Just give me the phone!”
She bent quickly, picked it up herself, and snatched it fully into her hands.
Then she looked at the screen.
And the moment she saw what was there, her entire expression changed.
Her face drained, her breathing faltered.
She brought the phone closer so close it was nearly pressed against her face and began scrolling frantically, as if hoping that the first headline had been a mistake.
But the more she scrolled, the worse it became.
Everywhere she looked, there it was.
The news, the disaster, the humiliation.
With a shaking voice, she whispered, “Canceled… how? How is that even possible? What the hell is this?”
He was supposed to be the one getting that contract today.
His face was supposed to be everywhere on every business page, every trending headline, every congratulatory post. People were supposed to be praising him, hailing him as the fastest-growing entrepreneur, and best entrepreneur, celebrating his rise, admiring his success.
Not this, not cancellation, not mockery, not public embarrassment.
Deborah’s eyes raced across the screen again and again, as though repetition might somehow change the words staring back at her.
But it did not, If anything, each new post made it worse.
There were comments ridiculing him, there were reactions full of shock and amusement.
There were even whispers that the very people who had once seemed eager to back him had suddenly withdrawn their support without warning.
Deborah’s breathing turned uneven.
“What the hell is going on here?” she demanded under her breath. “Who did this? There has to be an explanation for this. There must be.”
Jessica, who had completely lost all the arrogance she had been wearing moments ago, looked pale with alarm.
“Mother,” she said quickly, “we cannot stay here any longer. We need to leave.”
Her voice was urgent now, stripped of all her earlier pride.
“We need to leave this place immediately. Something is happening, and we need to understand it. This is no longer something to joke about.”
Deborah did not argue.
For the first time since arriving at the bank, both mother and daughter looked genuinely shaken.
Without wasting another second, they glanced around hurriedly, then turned and rushed toward where their car was parked. Their steps were quick, almost clumsy with panic, and within moments they had gotten inside and driven away.
Inside the bank, Director Liam turned to Megan a
nd said, “Please place your fingerprints on this machine so that we can register them.”