CHAPTER 195: CHAPTER 194. POURING GASOLINE

How many times had it been, when Amber called her after the chairman did--only a few hours later. This time, it was even right after, as if she stalked her or something.

[I heard Father called you earlier] Amber said in place of greetings.

Ah. That was why.

"So you called me immediately after the chairman ended the call?" Sarah chuckled while giving the rest of the drumstick to poor Hajin who had been waiting for it.

[I don’t know if you’ll have the time to answer me otherwise] Amber replied; Sarah could feel her eyes roll all the way from the other side. [You seem to be very busy despite having nothing to do]

Sarah laughed--at the fact that people thought she had nothing to do and was just rolling around at home. "We don’t see our phones when we’re on a date," she said with a little, spoiled-sounding giggle.

It was true, too. Sarah rarely checked her public phone when she was at home. Important calls only came to her private number anyway, and for the sake of her disguise, she liked ignoring calls and texts.

[Ugh--whatever] Amber groaned in exasperation. [About Mason, though...] both her tone and volume drop, almost make it seem like she was whispering--but menacingly. [You know where he is, don’t you?]

Sarah replied in a bright, refreshing, burden-free tone. "I don’t."

[Don’t lie]

"I’m not," Sarah shrugged, glancing at the smirking driver beside her. This was another reason she never asked Hajin or the others about Mason. "The last time I saw him was in that exhibition--that too, through a screen."

[Do you expect me to believe that?] Amber hissed sharply.

Well, it was to be expected since she was the only outsider who knew that the whole exhibition scandal was orchestrated by Sarah. But like anybody else, there was no evidence pointing to Sarah, and if Amber said anything, she could be considered an accomplice for bringing Mason there in the first place.

So, really...she could doubt Sarah as much as she wanted, but what could she do?

"I don’t care, really. What does it change whether you believe me or not?" Sarah changed her bright tone to a challenging one. "Why? Do you want to find him?"

Amber paused for a few seconds before clicking her tongue. [My mother is a mess right now]

"At least she has that younger lover of hers with her, right?" Sarah scoffed.

Ah...perhaps Amber got her preference for younger, pretty boy from her mother, after all?

[Doesn’t change the fact that she’s a mess and kept pestering me] Amber grumbled.

Sarah heard about that already from the guy stationed to observe the first wife. Rather than a sweet reunion with her lover, they seemed more like a couple on the verge of a divorce. With Mason gone, she became even more of a screaming mess and had been going to both the mansion and the office to see either the chairman or Amber.

And because the chairman was in the middle of suing her, a whole restraining order was in place.

At this point, Austin would have already sent someone to approach her with the intention of giving a loan. With Amber and Axton keeping their distance from her, she probably didn’t have enough money to support two people’s lavish lifestyles, much less pay a lawyer for her case.

"Just ignore her, then. Did she ever do anything for you?"

[She’s still my mother, Sarah]

"Well, what do I know? I no longer have one," Sarah shrugged.

It was something Sarah usually hated to do, weaponizing her mother’s death. But for the people in her supposedly family, she had no qualm about using it. Sarah would repeat it again and again if it could etch her mother’s existence and how badly they treated her even in her death in these people’s minds.

That being said, she was still rather surprised that it worked against Amber at all.

[Damn you] Amber muttered sharply, but the guilt could be felt in her voice. [Oh, whatever; I just want to tell you that Andrew gave me a date]

Sarah straightened her back, right when Hajin stopped at a red light. "The drug party?"

[Yeah, and I asked the driver in charge of Jasper what he’ll do that day] Amber continued. [It seems like he’ll be attending the party]

Sarah tapped the windowsill lightly, reminding herself to call Sol after. "I’ll have my guy contact your boy shortly."

[Fine. But, Sarah...]

"What is it?"

[Don’t forget what you promised me]

Sarah tilted her head. "Did I promise you anything?"

[Fuck--you said you’ll give me the shares!] Amber hissed sharply, but still kept her voice quiet. Sarah wondered if she was actually in her office or the headquarters.

Sarah smirked, replying calmly. "In exchange for what?"

[Don’t play dumb! You said...] Amber paused, and Sarah waited for her to continue for a while. When she didn’t after a few seconds had passed, Sarah finally spoke.

"I said what?" she arched her brow. "Is it to get rid of Jasper? No, is it not?"

Perhaps because it was the plan they had been cooking up, Amber forgot that the real plan was to get rid of the third wife. Busting Jasper’s ass wouldn’t mean anything if it didn’t end in a divorce. Even if a divorce happened, if the third wife managed to stay in the mansion for whatever reason, their deal would be void.

Not that there was ever a signed contract or anything.

[Damn it!]

"Don’t worry, Eonni. At the very least, if a situation arises where you need my vote in a board meeting, you’ll have it," Sarah said in a calm, soothing tone that probably only enraged Amber even more.

[I’m recording this] she told Sarah in return, obviously pissed off.

"Sure," Sarah replied brightly, and the call ended abruptly before the last syllable came out of her lips. She scoffed and sipped her ade while sighing in relief.

Why was it that once someone called, another always followed? She started to truly consider living in a secluded place where people could hardly contact her after everything was done.

"Will you really?" Hajin asked with narrowed eyes. "Give your vote, I mean."

"The question is, my puppy," Sarah pushed her seat back so she could relax more, smiling deeply. "Will the situation ever arise?"

During the next major board of directors meeting, Sarah would make sure it was the last one happening under HS’s royal family management.

Deciding the next heir? It would be about deciding on the new chairman.

Sarah tapped the boxes of chicken in her lap loudly. "Let’s get home quickly before my chicken gets cold."

* * *

For her drug--busting--party to happen, Sarah had to prepare a lot of things. Aside from giving some instructions to the showbiz guy under Sol--who was actually a quite named actor--they also had to make several escape routes and design how the prosecutor could do the bust perfectly. For that, Sol had to make several contacts with Daesung’s rival gang and make sure they cooperate with the prosecutor Sarah told him about.

When it came down to it, Sarah felt like Sol did more than her for this whole scheme...

But then again, he was under Yonghwa, so it counted as using her investor’s resources.

On the other side of the planning, the trusted lawyer lent to her, Logan, was also making sure Daesung got pressured from all sides so that they wouldn’t be able to concentrate much on the drug party they sponsored. They might be nothing more than Joseph’s collaborator, but knowing what they did to minors behind the scenes, Sarah had already put the company on her dart board.

The investigation had been launched by the prosecutor’s office, and Sarah played her part by constantly calling Henry about the project’s future--which, of course, had to be halted because of the investigation.

They couldn’t hide the evidence, so a case was already made. The only thing they could do was to say they had no idea--which was actually true--and found a way to keep the project going while not desecrating the dead patriots. What was damaging for Daesung was the fact that they were in charge of land acquisition, and the entertainment company shifted the whole fake land deeds onto Daesung’s ass.

"Naturally, we told the other landowner to never settle," Logan said during one of their meetings.

Sarah twirled the pen in her hand. "And you’re confident the project will be dropped?"

"The settlement money needed will eventually exceed what they have and the profit they could generate from the project itself, so continuing would only generate a loss," Logan said. "I’ll make sure they understand that."

The man said it with such a dry calmness that Sarah felt like she was the one getting threatened somehow. Perhaps that was the qualification for being in Yonghwa’s legal team.

"I’ll make sure you’ll get the shares before they can appeal for bankruptcy," Logan said.

Knowing that lawyers never said anything as a certainty unless they already had it in the bag, Sarah simply nodded. Truly, going to Helios on her first day of returning was the best decision of her life.

"Still having this drug party while the main house’s on fire is certainly a choice," Hajin commented in the middle of drawing an escape route on a blueprint.

"On the contrary; it’s a necessity," Sol wiggled his finger. "They’ll need more money and power, so they had no choice but to have it."

Logan nodded. "Indeed, a lot of important figures--or at least their children--will be there, so it’s blackmail content worthy."

Sarah raised her brows. "They didn’t have it before?"

"It’s popular because it’s safe for the clients’ privacy," Sol shrugged.

"Just like the Colosseum?"

The manager snapped his fingers and winked. "If they’re going to take some recording, it will be at this party."

"We’re just doing the same, then."

Sarah and Sol chuckled lowly that it felt like they were planning a conspiratorial move to take down the government or something. Well, not today.

Stretching her arms, Sarah smiled deeply while staring at the picture of Daesung’s building in the middle of the table. "Let’s make them run around even more, shall we?"