Chapter 89 The Wrong Room 1
Calista sat stiffly in the defendant's chair, her eyes locked on Elizabeth with a glare so sharp it looked as if she might leap across the aisle and strike her.
Across the courtroom, Elizabeth sat in the plaintiff's seat, her expression unreadable. The Howard family had already realized she would never withdraw the lawsuit. Their only option had been to spend heavily on an attorney, though even the most expensive counsel could not work miracles.
The charges against Calista were severe—extortion involving a large sum of money—and the evidence was ironclad. Despite her lawyer's relentless efforts to mitigate the sentence, the outcome was inevitable: ten years in prison.
When Elizabeth stepped out of the courtroom, Ron's gaze followed her. There was hatred in his eyes, but also a flicker of fear.
This lawsuit had not ended quietly.
There are no walls in the world that can keep the wind from seeping through.
At TechStrong, whispers about Elizabeth began to circulate among the employees.
"Miss Penrose really doesn't hold back, does she?" one murmured.
"You're not afraid she'll hear you and turn her wrath on you next?"
"Oh, I'm terrified," another replied with exaggerated sarcasm.
On the rooftop, Elizabeth stood with both hands wrapped around a cup of coffee, leaning against the wall. She lowered her gaze, listening to the faint laughter drifting up from somewhere below.
She wondered if it was time to leave this job.
When she had first applied to TechStrong, it had been for the sole purpose of getting close to Armando and provoking Sherry. But that reason no longer existed. And truth be told, she had grown to like her current position. Yosef's way of running the company was something worth learning from.
She took a deliberate sip of coffee and stepped out into the open.
The moment her chatting colleagues spotted her, their conversation died mid-sentence.
Elizabeth glanced at them, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips, and headed downstairs.
"Are you resigning?" Yosef asked, setting aside the file in his hand and looking at her.
Elizabeth wore light makeup, her complexion as healthy and luminous as ever.
"Is it because of the recent gossip in the company?" Yosef guessed, studying her for a few seconds. "You don't strike me as someone that fragile."
Elizabeth's lips curved into a small smile. "I'm just… tired of it."
Who wanted to be the subject of idle chatter over coffee breaks?
Yosef suddenly stood, leaning forward slightly until he was close enough to test her reaction. When she neither flinched nor stepped back, he smiled faintly.
"Miss Penrose, stay. This is a place for work, not for gossip."
He straightened, picked up the phone, and dialed an internal extension.
"Send out an announcement. Effective immediately, all personal gossip about colleagues is prohibited. Investigate the source of the rumors. Anyone found in violation will be terminated and permanently barred from employment at TechStrong, both at headquarters and all branches."
The order was nothing short of draconian.
Elizabeth was silent for a moment before a laugh slipped out. She could already imagine the curses her colleagues would be muttering under their breath once the announcement went out.
"See?" Yosef said with a hint of satisfaction. "Problem solved."
Elizabeth gave him a thumbs-up, took the file from his desk, and walked out.
Later that day, when she stepped into the elevator, the other employees inside stood in stiff, awkward silence.
Meanwhile, far away in another country, night had already fallen. The room lights were still on, and a faint haze of cigarette smoke hung in the air.
Armando sat with a cigarette between his fingers, his expression cold as he picked up a photograph.
It was a shot taken from a distance at a beach. The image wasn't sharp, but the silhouettes of two people inside a tent were clear enough to suggest exactly what they were doing.
He flicked the ash from his cigarette, his eyes bloodshot.
Timothy was a man to be wary of, but even Timothy had enemies.
Armando reached for his phone and read three messages from Mindy:
Mindy: [Armando, when are you going to marry Sherry?]
Mindy: [Sloane's already been born. Don't you think it's not right to keep delaying?]
Mindy: [She's actually very hurt.]
Armando typed a single reply: [When I return to the country, we'll get engaged.]
At that moment, Mindy was at Imperial Garden, playing with Sloane. The moment she saw his reply, she bolted upstairs to find Sherry.
"Sherry! Open the door! Armando says when he comes back, he's going to get engaged to you!"
Sherry opened the door, blinking. "What?"
Mindy shoved the phone toward her. "Look—his message. He said he'll get engaged as soon as he returns."
Sherry's face lit up, though a trace of doubt lingered. Why not go straight to marriage? Still, she brushed the thought aside. Perhaps Armando wanted her to experience the engagement before the wedding. And once they were engaged, the wedding wouldn't be far behind.
A smile spread across her face—an unexpected joy. She pulled Mindy into her bedroom. "Come on, I have a gift for you. I bought it a couple of days ago."
Elsewhere, after replying to Mindy, Armando sent out several business proposals. When he was done, his gaze drifted back to the photograph.
He picked up the phone again. "Tom, book a flight for tomorrow. We're going back."
Tom rubbed his temples, clearly just woken by the call. "Mr. Johnson, but the matters here aren't resolved yet."
Armando said coolly. "Do exactly what I told you."
Tom hesitated. "Yes, sir."
Armando told no one in the Johnson family about his return—not even Sherry.
Timothy, however, heard the news.
"Looks like he's planning to abandon that branch," Joe reported. "It's a strange move."
"Keep an eye on him," Timothy instructed, tapping a finger against the desk. He couldn't yet guess why Armando would suddenly rush back. The branch was still salvageable.
When Armando arrived at Imperial Garden, Axel met him at the door and took his coat.
"Where's Sloane?" Armando asked as he headed upstairs.
"Miss Johnson is asleep," Axel replied, following behind.
Sherry wasn't home—she was away for a show taping.
In the bedroom, Armando unbuttoned his shirt absentmindedly, his gaze falling on the slightly ajar safe.
He walked over to close it, but something inside caught his eye: a single DVD.
The safe was Sherry's domain, used to store her jewelry and important documents. Normally, Armando would never bother with its contents. But a lone DVD inside was enough to stir curiosity.
He picked it up, studying it for a moment, then slid it into the DVD player.
The footage was clear enough. A hotel corridor filled the screen.
Elizabeth stepped out of a room, wearing a man's white shirt.
Armando, who had been lounging on the sofa, sat bolt upright.
As she walked down the hall, a man wearing a hat and mask passed her, spraying something in her face from a small bottle.
Armando's grip tightened on the remote.
The man took Elizabeth by the hand and led her into another room.
There was a drug known as "Obedience Serum"—a substance that stripped away a person's will. It was obvious that was what she had been sprayed with.
The masked man left quickly.
Moments later, Timothy appeared in the corridor, dressed in a black shirt and dress pants. He swiped a keycard and entered the room Elizabeth had just been taken into.
Armando didn't need to see more to guess what had happened inside.
He glanced at the timestamp on the video. His memory was sharp—this was during the business trip he had taken with Elizabeth. That night, he had been drunk and feverish. The next morning, he'd awoken to find her at his bedside, offering him water.
Her neck and lips had been marked, and she had told him they had slept together—asking if he meant to accept her now.
He had believed she had taken advantage of him, and the thought had filled him with disgust.
Now, veins stood out on the back of his hand as his mind raced.
Why did Sherry have this DVD?
The calmer he appeared, the more dangerous he became.
He set the remote down, removed the disc, and placed it back into the safe.