Chapter Twenty Six

Gabriel's Pov.

The plan was to head out of the office and go straight home, when all of a sudden, my assistant rushed into my office, informing me that there was a woman outside creating a ruckus and insisting on seeing me.

"What are you talking about? Why hasn't the security thrown her out yet?" I questioned, wondering why she would be reporting something so insignificant to me, especially when she knew that I do not meet people without a prior appointment.

"I apologize, sir. The security team attempted to throw her out of the building, but she kept screaming at the top of her lungs that she must see you, and she also kept mentioning your girlfriend's name," she responded.

My brows furrowed. What business would Antonia have to do with some crazy woman? I wondered to myself.

"Did she perhaps give you a name?" I asked.

"No, she didn't, sir. She only mentioned that she wanted to see you and that she knew who your girlfriend was really well, so it would be in your best interest for you to meet with her," she explained, and my curiosity heightened.

"Alright then, send her in, but make sure you search her thoroughly before letting her in. In fact, don't let her bring anything into my office," I instructed, wanting to be sure it wasn't some crazy woman who was trying to pull a fast on me.

I waited for a few more minutes, delaying my plans to head home. Antonia and I barely communicated with each other anyway, so I didn't have any specific reason to rush home early.

After waiting for about ten more minutes, my assistant finally escorted the woman inside, and even from a distance, she looked just as crazy as I imagined her to look. She was dressed in very shabby-looking clothes that looked like they had been worn over and over for ten years straight, and her hair looked like it hadn't seen a brush in eons.

Don't even get me started on her face. Her poor skin must have certainly seen better days—hopefully.

I wasn't one to discriminate and shame people for what they could afford, or maybe I was sometimes, and in this case, I honestly couldn't help it. She was visibly very intrigued by my office as she kept looking around while chewing loudly, which I assumed was gum.

"You may be excused," I said to my assistant, who was clearly not in agreement with leaving her alone with me.

With a skeptical look on her face, she walked out of the office, leaving me with the crazy-looking lady.

"I understand that my office is something you may not have seen before, but I think you should introduce yourself as soon as possible and tell me why you were both enough to come all the way to my company, create a scene, and demand to see me," I demanded sharply, making it clear to her that she didn't have the time to keep looking around because I intended on throwing her out of here in the next five minutes if she didn't say something reasonable.

"Are you always this impatient, son-in-law?" She responded all of a sudden, and I froze in shock, struggling to understand what I just heard her call me.

"What did you just say?" I asked, unable to hide my disbelief.

"I'm sure you heard me loud and clear, Mr. Wilson. I called you my son-in-law because you're my daughter's boyfriend and possibly husband, so you should be treating me with more respect, even if I don't look as glamorous as you might have expected," she responded.

I was stunned into silence momentarily, but quickly regained myself.

"Did you come into my office to spout lies, Miss?" I asked.

She chuckled. "Would I be that foolish?" she retorted with a toothy smile, and even seeing how rotten her teeth were made me conclude that this woman couldn't be right in the head.

"You tell me, Miss. As far as I'm concerned, my girlfriend doesn't have parents, so I don't know who you are or why you think you can come here to impersonate her family, but I suggest you leave at once before I have you thrown in jail," I responded sternly.

Apparently, my words were extremely funny, because for some reason, she burst out laughing like I had said the most hilarious thing she had ever heard.

"Feel free to throw me in prison if you like, but it's not going to change the fact that I'm Antonia's mother," she said. "Of course I'm sure she didn't mention me; she never does, since she considers me to be an embarrassment, but unfortunately for her, I'll always be her mother, no matter how much she wishes she could change it."

Something about how confident she sounded made me realize that she wasn't bluffing, but I was confused because, doing a background check on Antonia, it was said that she didn't have any parents. According to her background check, she was orphaned and has been for a very long time.

"Let's assume you're really Antonia's mother, so what do I owe the honor of your visit? Surely, you didn't come all the way here to determine if I was good enough to be your daughter's boyfriend," I said.

She scoffed. "Of course not. You're probably the best boyfriend that idiot has ever had, and frankly, I'm surprised that she managed to pull off a big shot like you after years of working so hard. It was about time she stopped wasting her energy on those other useless men, and I'm certainly proud of her for catching a big fish like you," she responded.

The way she spoke about Antonia made me feel sick to my stomach, and as much as I wanted to call security and have her thrown out of here, I knew I needed to deal with it for a while longer and hear her out.

"Why are you here then?" I asked.

She sighed. "I've been trying to meet with my daughter for the last few days, but she has been avoiding and denying me as usual, even going as far as telling the security in your estate to call the police if I ever come around again. She doesn't even pity the fact that I'm only just coming out of jail, and she's ready to send me back there just because I wanted to meet her," she explained.

"And why do you want to meet her? It's clear that she doesn't want to see you, so why aren't you respecting her decision?" I asked.

"Well, she's the only one of my kids who actually made something of her life, and now that I'm out of jail, I believe, as her mother, it is her responsibility to take care of me. I need money to survive in this treacherous world, and who better than my successful daughter to help me?" she responded, and it finally clicked.

Clearly, this woman wasn't interested in getting anything but money from Antonia, and it was also quite obvious that this wasn't her first time harassing Antonia for money.

"So why did you come all the way here to see me? Don't tell me you expect me to give you money." I questioned.

She shrugged. "As my daughter's boyfriend, you should prove yourself useful if she can't. I'm very sure you wouldn't want the entire world to find out that your girlfriend's mother is an ex-convict who looks like this, so how about we make things easy for each other? You give me enough money to get through life, and I won't have any reason to bother my daughter," she replied.

I scoffed.

"And if I say no?" I asked.

She smiled, showing off her mostly rotten teeth. "I can understand that we might not be able to reach an agreement today. You may want to confirm who I am with Antonia, but if you truly love your girlfriend, you should know that she would rather die than have anyone else find out that I'm her birth mother. So, I'll give you two days to think about it, and in two days, I'll be back. You just have my money ready for me."

She was about to walk out of the office nonchalantly, but then I realized that she didn't give me a name.

"How am I supposed to confirm who you are if you're not going to tell me your name?" I questioned her, halting her in her steps.

"They call me Sexy Cleo, Mr. Wilson. Once you mention that name to her, she'll know it's me," she responded, before proceeding to walk out of the office while I kept wondering what the hell just happened.