Chapter 103

"Diego, do you really think he came back for revenge?" Vanessa asked, a hint of fear in her words.

"Honestly, I don't know. But, he's the only suspect in my mind." Diego muttered.

"This just means that we have to be careful." Vanessa whispered to herself.

Lily walked out of Damien's office. "Ms. Rodriguez, the cleaners are almost done."

"Alright, let's head back." Vanessa said, handing back the files to Diego.

"So, what was Diego able to get?" Lily asked Vanessa as they made their way back to her office.

"It's not her, she's currently not in the country." Vanessa informed.

"Then, who does Diego think it is?" Lily asked slowly.

Vanessa steps faltered as she turned to face Lily.

"Alexander Grey." She whispered.

"OMG. That creep, how did we forget about him?" Lily asked.

"I don't know, Lily."

"Don't worry, Ms. Rodriguez. Let's get to work, we'll talk about this later." Lily muttered, trying to reassure her.

"Alright." Vanessa replied, picking up her pace.

When she reached the front of her office, she pushed the door open and walked in. Her office looked normal, at least no one had broken in.

She stalked towards her desk and immediately got to work, but her thoughts slowly drifted. "Why does trouble always find me? No matter how hard I try to stay away from it?" She asked herself loudly.

Whether or not, if Alexander Grey was involved in all of these, one thing was sure. She was not going to let any harm come to her kids. She had not done anything cruel to him, so she didn't deserve wherever hate he had towards her.

She pushed the thoughts aside and focused on the task at hand. She didn't know how long she sat in front of her chair.

It was only when Lily informed her that Mr. Gonzalez was here, that she realized that time had gone by.

She raised her head and stared at Lily. "Invite him in." Vanessa replied.

"Okay." Lily muttered and walked out of her office.

Few minutes later, Riccardo walked in, dressed in a black tuexudo pants and blazer, with his hair gelled to the back.

"Good morning, Mr. Gonzalez, Please have a seat." Vanessa offered.

"Thank you."

They quickly delved into business talks and soon they both reached an agreement. As they shook hands, Vanessa's thought raced back to her kids.

They would soon be closing school for holidays, maybe she would send them on a vacation with their grandparents, till all of these is over.

"Yes, that would be a great idea." She whispered to herself.

"Are you alright?" Riccardo asked quietly, bringing Vanessa out of her reverie.

"Yes, yes. I'm fine." She quickly replied as she realized that she was still shaking hands with him.

She laughed awkwardly as she let go of his hands. Riccardo rose from his seat.

"I'll get going then, my secretary will send you the contract." He informed.

"Alright." Vanessa agreed.

"Then, I'll take my leave." With that being said, Riccardo walked out of her office.

***

"It's been months! Yet you still can't get rid of that girl." Sophia, Juliet's Step Mother fumed at her right hand man, who knelt before her in the empty yet spacious room.

"I'm sorry. We've not been able to sight her all these months, it's like she's disappeared into thin air." He muttered, not daring to look up at her face.

She scoffed angrily. "Of course, you always have excuses to give me!" She yelled approaching him steadily.

He shifted uncomfortably on the ground, not wanting her to get too close.

"I don't need you anymore, I'll tell your boss to get rid of you." She said, no emotions in her words.

His eyes widened in surprise at her words, he quickly crawled towards her and held her legs.

"Please, just one... Please, give me one more chance." He begged, clasping his hands.

She stared at his pleading figure and a dark smirked curved onto the corner of her lips.

"Just one more chance!" She agreed through greeted teeth.

"Thank you, Ma." He bowed profusely, bids of sweats around his forehead.

"Get out of my sight." She snapped, her eyes blazing with anger.

He didn't need to be told twice, he quickly scurried out of the room. With a calculated step, she walked back towards her desk and picked up her glass of champagne.

"Just you wait!" She muttered icily, slowly seeping from the glass.

"I'll be sure to get everything that's rightfully mine." She added, lowering the glass from her lips.

Just then, her daughter Leah walked in.

"Mother." She humped.

Sophia turned to face her, the look on her face softening.

"What is it dear?" She asked.

"There is this party that I want to attend this night."

"Sure, you can go. But don't stay out too late." She replied.

"I need to get some new designer outfits." She grumbled, giving her mother the 'Puppy's eye'.

"What? You got some dresses last week. What happened to them?" She asked.

"They're not fit for this party, I need new ones." She responded.

"Alright dear. You know I can't refuse you." Sophia replied, picking up her bag from her desk.

She opened it and took out her credit card. "Take this, get yourself whatever you wish." She said, handing the card over to her daughter.

Leah accepted it happily. "Thank you, Mom." She gave a mother a kiss on her cheeks before walking out of the room happily.

Sophia smiled as she stared at her retreating figure.  Leah was her source of Joy, she'd do anything to see her happy. They should have been on Vacation now, enjoying her father's money, if not Juliet that came into the picture, destroying all of their plans.

But, it was only a matter of time before everything becomes hers. Just then, her phone beeped, signifying that there was a new message.

She picked her phone up from her desk and unlocked it, she realized that it was a message from her right hand man.

"We just laid eyes on Juliet." The message read.

A large smile spread across her lips.

"Get to work." She typed and sent the message.

She glanced up, her smile not faltering. "Finally, some good news!"