CHAPTER 5

Leona hurried out of her office so she could catch up with that old man. She was full of irritation and anger because of what she found out. Of all the other things she doesn't like was when the people she trusts will talk about her on her back. The girl felt she would get sick that night and she knew herself she would not stop it.

After taking the car, she hurried to the front of the Aragon Empire to wait for the person who caused her annoyance. When she saw it walking out of the building, she just smiled. She blew her horn loudly so that she could get its attention.

"Mr. Ayala, are you heading over to see the chairman?" She greeted the old man.

He looked at her and nodded then quickly averted his gaze from her, so she widened her smile even more. Leona knew the old man was guilty of what she had done to her.

"I'm on my way home now anyway," she added to the old man. "Let's go in my car."

She waited for the old man's reaction. When she saw that it was increasingly avoiding looking at her, she just ignored it, instead, she removed the clutter that was in her car.

"It's a bit messy, but I'd like to talk to you about something," she added then caught the old man's gaze again.

In the end, the old man did not refuse because even he knew what kind of person Leona was.

Mr. Ayala Ayala throughout the trip while Leona was still speaking. She is not the kind of person to go blind especially since she is his superior from now on. She glanced at the man from time to time while still smiling.

"We're going to the same place. We shouldn't waste cars by taking two cars, even if the company is paying," she started again. At that point, those smiles had disappeared from Leona's lips.

She heard Mr. Ayala smile, so she looked at it for a moment.

"It's an honor for me to be in a car driven by you, Ms. Aragon. Why don't you hire a driver? Why do you still drive yourself?" It politely told her so she couldn't help but laugh sarcastically. She doesn't care even if the old man heard it. That is exactly what she wants to happen. This old man is really a great pretender that it made her blood boil even more.

She grinned at the old man and shook her head.

"I have a shitty temper, Mr. Ayala, so no one ever lasts. Three drivers quit this month alone. You know that," she simply said to the old man.

"Also, why do you keep calling me Ms. Aragon? Is it to test me? Or is it because you want to put me in my place?" She asked further.

She saw out of the corner of her eyes how quickly he averted his gaze from her.

"Excuse me?" Mr. Ayala said as if he was confused, so Leona snapped.

"I'm sure you're pissed off as hell that the young daughter of the chairman became your superior... thanks to her daddy," she said sarcastically to the old man and glanced at it for a moment.

"What? No. Not at all, Ms. Aragon... No, Ms. Leona, why would you say that?" He refused what she said so she felt even more annoyed.

Leona tightened her grip on the steering wheel as she looked straight at the road.

"So, what if she got an MBA from Harvard? What would a 23-year-old girl know about running a company? Does she think running a company is a game?”

She said firmly and glanced again at the old man next to her who quickly averted his gaze again. She smiled at it and then turned her attention back to the road.

"I heard that's what you said behind my back," Leona continued. She felt the tension despite being calm.

"That's not true. Someone's framing me," he denied again what she said but she ignored it.

"I don't hold grudges. I'm cool and you know that so don't wet yourself," she said softly and smiled again. 

“But what I’m about to say should scare you though. If you’re taking any heart medication, this would be a good time to take one,” she said coldly and stomped on the gas.

In an instant, the car became faster because of what Leona did. But there is no trace of fear or apprehension in its appearance, instead, it seems that it still enjoys what it does.

"The acquisition of Global Department Store. Its total assets are worth 109.2 million pesos, and it has liabilities of 6.62 million pesos. Thus, it has a net value of 4.30 million pesos. How could you acquire a company like that for 6.8 million pesos?” She asked the old man directly and glanced at him quickly. But the man did not immediately answer her question, so she accelerated the vehicle even more.

"Even when you say we paid a premium for its potential, it's still more than 10% above the appropriate amount," she continued. Mr. Ayala noticed she was reluctant to overtake vehicles, so he already felt nervous.

“About 4.13 million pesos for Max Department Store last year and 1.5 million pesos for Hello Mall two years ago. They were all acquired for 10 to 20% more than their market value. I know you’re not a that big moron. Did you collude with the consulting firm and take a kickback?” She asked the old man directly and violently turned the steering wheel to overtake the vehicle in front of them again.

That was another reason why she was angry with the old man. Aside from the fact that she and her Dad trust him, she found out that it secretly takes kickbacks from the shares and sales of their investors. She no longer had the allusions she had heard her say the other day.

"How can you say that? I'm hurt." Mr. Ayala said to her shamelessly, so Leona became furious even more.

“You’re fucking pissing me off even more, huh,” she uttered and was about to overtake again but a car suddenly appeared in front of them, so she immediately stops.

“That fucking idiot!” Leona cursed and immediately opened the passenger’s window.

“Hey, fucking moron! Are you blind? Drive properly!” She shrieked at the driver of another car and started the engine again. She glanced at the old man for a moment before continuing to drive.

"Jerks like that should be shoved down to the garbage disposal," she said and cursed again and again.

When Leona remembered what they were talking about the old man, she quickly turned to it.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ayala. Where was I?"; She asked, she could clearly see the extreme fear on the latter's face.

He didn't answer her because he was so nervous that she just laughed. Leona was silent for a moment on the flight before speaking again.

"Tell me what you want. Should I report you and have you locked up? Or do you want to give back 97% of your severance and walk out on your own? You can keep the remaining 3%," she threatened the old man but she quickly stepped on the brake of his car causing it to stop abruptly.

She turned her attention to the woman outside the gate of the Aragon mansion. She examined it from inside the vehicle. Her hair is messy, she can also see her tangled clothes that look like they were just covered with a jacket. It also had a hug that looked like an envelope on her chest.

Leona's forehead furrowed as she watched the woman as if she was waiting for someone in front of the gate of the mansion. Later, Leona was surprised when her Dad suddenly came out and went straight to the woman. Even Mr. Ayala was also surprised to witness. She just kept looking at the two until the woman handed her Dad the envelope that she had hugged earlier. She also noticed that they were talking about something.

Later, Leona's anger increased when her dad suddenly hugged the woman and seemed to be saying something. She didn't know what to think or do first, so she just shook her head and remembered the old man with her.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Ayala…” she uttered and immediately looked at the old man next to her. “But where were we?”

-

Adan’s expression was blank as he stared at the ceiling of the jail where he was. There’s nothing else on his mind right now but Amelia and the possible reasons why until now it still doesn’t go to him to visit him. He knew in himself that something was wrong, but he tried to dismiss the matter in his mind because he had a lot of trust in Amelia. He also knows that she loves him so she can't do to him what Marco said just now.

But what if those are true? What if he just hopes for it and just blinded himself from the truth? What if that was the real reason why the woman, he loved so dearly, was not by his side now? What else can he do now that he is in jail?

“Amelia… I don’t know what will happen once I found out the truth. My sacrifice… I hope it won’t go to waste.”

I won’t forget this. I will repay this for the rest of my life. I swear.