Hearing her mother’s words, Vanessa smiled. She joined her mother at the table and sat opposite her.
"Mom, don’t worry. We have a few bodyguards outside. They will ensure Abigail can’t bring anyone in here."
"Vanes, what about your friend Milan? Are you planning to hurt her, too?" Betty asked, curious about her daughter’s idea to kidnap her friend and hide her in an abandoned warehouse not far from their location.
They had decided not to bring Milan here to ensure no one would beco suspicious of them. Also, that would make Abigail unable to do anything but follow their request.
"Well, my people already beat Milan to get information about Abigail, but Milan is stubborn. She’d rather take a beating than betray Abigail. It’s so frustrating that she won’t spill anything about her..." Vanessa said, annoyed. "Milan is hiding sothing from ; she is working with Abigail now!"
Vanessa’s eyes flashed with anger. She suspected Abigail and Milan colluded and laughed about Urbangrid’s impending bankruptcy. She felt incredibly stressed. Ryland now seed like a madman; every ti he ca ho, he beat her and expressed his annoyance toward her.
This is her last hope. She plans to force Abigail to return to the company to help secure another project. And to make Ryland stop blaming her again.
"But, Vanes, you can’t harm Milan or take her life. Your punishnt will be severe if this doesn’t go as planned, dear..." Betty expressed her worry once more. She had already lost her husband; she didn’t want her only daughter to end up in prison, too.
Vanessa clenched her fist tightly. She understood the consequences but didn’t want to be Ryland’s punching bag when he got angry with the company.
"Mom, I’d prefer going to prison rather than letting Ryland torture !" Vanessa snapped, struggling to hold back her tears.
"Oh dear..." Betty lost her words. She didn’t know how to respond to her daughter, but one thing she wanted to tell her was, "You are so stupid! Why did you steal your sister’s fiancé?" However, she couldn’t say that, fearing it would make her daughter even sadder.
"Mom, don’t worry. I’ll ask Abigail nicely, not forcefully. Plus, I know she needs a good job, too. Ryland already ntioned that he’ll give Abigail a share if I can bring Abigail to the company. I believe she wouldn’t say no!"
Vanessa and Betty fell silent montarily when they heard a knock on the door.
"Is that Abigail?" Betty whispered.
"I think so, Mom. It’s been almost an hour." Vanessa stood up from her chair, her arms crossed over her chest and her sharp eyes fixed on the door. "Co in!" she said calmly.
When the door opened, a woman she hadn’t seen in a long ti appeared before her.
"Abigail, you finally co..." Vanessa’s anger at the woman began to overtake her, but rembering her goal, she suppressed her anger. A forced smile erged on her lips as she gestured for Abigail to enter.
However, her smile faded when she saw an unfamiliar man walk behind Abigail.
Countless questions filled Vanessa’s mind. ’Why had she co with soone? Did she forget my warning? Damn! What the hell are that bunch of people outside doing? Why are they allowing Abigail to enter with a man?’
"Abigail, you—how dare you!" Betty struggled to continue her outburst as the man at the doorway shot her a sharp glare, fierce enough to make her blood run cold.
’Who on earth is this man? Is Abigail seeing soone new?’ Betty wondered, swallowing hard and trying to avoid eye contact with him.
When she turned her gaze to her daughter, Betty was surprised to find Vanessa shrinking back at the sight of the man accompanying Abigail, just as she was. Betty clenched her hands tightly and looked back at Abigail.
...
Abigail laughed inwardly at the shocked and frightened mother and daughter in front of her, disregarding them as she pulled out a chair at the end of the table.
She sat down casually, her sharp eyes focused on Vanessa and Betty, who remained standing. It was entertaining to observe their confused expressions. They gazed at her with their mouths slightly agape as if astonished by her relaxed deanor.
"You can close the door," Abigail said, glancing at Vincent before turning to Vanessa. "You said you wanted to talk to ? You can speak now," she continued, casually placing her Birkin bag on the table. The sight of it made Vanessa and Betty’s eyes widen in disbelief.
Vanessa shook her head, trying to push aside her curiosity about Abigail’s expensive bag.
’There’s no way she could have such an expensive bag! This woman cannot afford the original Birkin. It must be a fake, right?!’ Vanessa thought before clearing her throat and sending Abigail a fierce glare.
"Abigail, how could you bring soone when I specifically asked you to co alone?" she asked, pulling out the chair and sitting down, her gaze locked on Abigail.
Abigail ignored the sharp glares from both Vanessa and her mother. She didn’t want to linger; her main goal was to save Milan. However, as she had anticipated, Milan was not there.
She had already guessed it: Vanessa wouldn’t be foolish enough to et her in public while bringing Milan along.
"What do you want from ? You can speak now, or you will face the consequences of dragging here using Milan. And, Vanessa, if you hurt Milan, even just by touching her hair, I will return the sa to you..." Abigail smiled, looking at Vanessa. However, her cold smile was enough to make Vanessa freeze.
Betty lifted her hand and pointed a finger at Abigail. In a fierce voice, she snapped, "Hey, bitch! Stop talking; you’re supposed..." However, her voice trailed off when she noticed the man with shoulder-length hair marching toward her with an intense glare.
"W-what are you going to do? St-stop—" Betty’s voice faded abruptly as the man paused just a few steps away. The look in his eyes was so terrifying that she instantly felt as if she had aged five years.
"Vincent, stop..." Abigail said gently. She chuckled softly before continuing, "It’s not ti to punish them..."
Vincent turned to Abigail, his deadpan expression unwavering as he asked, "Ma’am, are you sure? This granny deserves a slap—"
"A granny?" Betty was left speechless. "I’m not that old, alright?" Despite the intimidating presence of the man before her, she protested. How dare soone call her ’Granny’?
"Are you sure you’re not a granny?" Vincent frowned as he looked back at Betty. He noticed her shaking her head, clearly refusing the title. He continued, "But why do you look the sa age as my late granny?"
Vanessa swallowed quietly, hearing the man mock her mother. However, she stifled a laugh, noticing how red her mother’s face had turned.
Betty opened her mouth to scold the man, but no words escaped her lips; the man’s scary gaze silenced her. She could only curse and scold him in her mind.
Abigail stifled a laugh at Vincent’s humor; she didn’t expect her usually cold and flat-faced bodyguard to make a joke.
She silently cleared her throat and turned her gaze back to Betty. This was the first ti she had seen this fierce woman appear so frightened as if she were encountering the Grim Reaper, ready to take her life.
"Vanessa, I don’t know your motive for bringing here. But believe , you and your mother will not return ho today; instead, you will end up in jail just like Adam Snow!"
Abigail’s sentence imdiately awakened Betty and Vanessa to return to their original plan, forcing Abigail to follow their wishes.
Vanessa clenched her hands, and annoyance surged in her chest when she saw how relaxed Abigail was. She had never imagined this woman could remain so calm; she had expected Abigail to co begging and crying, pleading with her to let Milan go.
’Am I wrong? Is Milan not that important in Abigail’s eyes? And is that why she appears so relaxed?’ Vanessa wondered, squinting at Abigail as she tried to read her mind. She searched for any sign of worry, but there was no hint of concern in Abigail’s eyes, which only confused her further.
"Abigail, my wish is simple..." Vanessa began to say her goal. She didn’t care about the man behind Abigail; the most important thing was that Milan was still in her hands, and the man would not harm her.
"So speak now..." Abigail lazily said as she crossed her legs and leaned back.
"You return to assist Urbangrid. If you’re concerned about not receiving a fair salary, don’t worry. Ryland has promised to increase your salary and provide you with 20% of the company’s shares."
Noticing that Abigail kept silent, Vanessa quickly continued, "If you prefer not to return to the office and would rather work from ho, that’s fine, as long as you support the company. Whatever you want, we will provide it to you..."
Upon hearing Vanessa’s offer, Abigail feels relieved because neither this woman nor Ryland knows that she owns CMD.
’So, that day...when Ryland ca to the CMD Building because he knew we received the contract from Silverstone Group. How interesting!’ she pondered.
"Abigail... Say sothing!" Vanessa urged.
"What if I refuse?" Abigail responded.
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