Riya’s face paled instantly, her spine trembling. She blurted out a denial, "No, I didn’t. There must be so misunderstanding. It has to be...Why would I do such a thing?" Panic rushed through her veins. "Zara is my sister-in-law. I would never do sothing to harm her."
"We have the footage," Edith shot back firmly.
Riya’s stomach dropped. She had pretended as if she had done nothing wrong and that she had kept her tracks hidden. But she had forgotten that when Nathaniel could find it, Shay and his agency would definitely find it too.
Her cover had blown up. Her lies had been exposed.
"Do you still want to lie?" Edith hissed.
"No." Riya shook her head in a frenzy. "It’s not . Soone must have been trying to fra . Yes...That footage must be fake."
She clung to the hope that Edith would listen to her. "Please, Edith. Believe ...I could never hurt my sister-in-law."
But Edith remained unyielding. "I don’t know what grudge you have with Mrs. Grant," she said fiercely. "But after what we have seen, we can’t keep you. The contract is terminated. So please leave quietly. Or I’ll call the security."
At her cold dismissal, Riya’s temper flared. Humiliation scorched her pride. To her, Edith was nothing but a small assistant of Shay. Basking in Shay’s protection, Edith was flying high, acting as if she owned the entire place. She had the nerve to look down on her.
Riya’s fury overrode her fear. "You can’t terminate the contract as you please," she retaliated. "Our agreent is clear—if either party breaks it before the term, there is a penalty. If you want to cancel it, pay the penalty, and I’ll leave."
"Penalty?" Edith let out a cold, sarcastic laugh as if she had heard sothing utterly ridiculous. "We are not paying you a di. What you did wasn’t just unprofessional—it was criminal. That waitress you bribed is already dead, and we suspect you had a hand in her murder. Why would we keep soone like you? With your kind of mindset, anyone here could be your next target."
Criminal? Murder?
Those words stabbed deep into Riya’s heart. She was not the one who had killed that waitress. But she was involved in that murder. Fear of being exposed had driven her to push Jaxon into silencing the woman forever. If the police ever caught Jaxon and pressed him hard enough, he might spill everything. He might drag her na into the mud along with him.
Terror gripped her chest.
"You should be thankful that we are only terminating the contract with you," Edith added. "We haven’t called the cops. We don’t want your ss to tarnish the image of our brand and Mr. Walsh. However, if you continue to cause trouble, I won’t hesitate to hand over the footage to the police. And then you face their interrogation yourself."
Riya staggered, chills crawling up her skin. The thought of police interrogation numbed her scalp. Her reputation, her carefully built career, everything she had done to crawl up to this position—it would all crumble in an instant if her na were linked to a cri.
She had just achieved success recently. She couldn’t let anyone ruin her career.
Although she was afraid, she refused to bend. She wouldn’t accept her mistake or show her vulnerability.
"You will regret it," Riya spat before storming out of the office.
Fury churned within her. She had thought destroying Nathaniel’s phone would be enough to cover up her cri. But now she saw how foolish it was. Jaxon had beco a liability.
She regretted the mont she had thought of using him. "This man is nothing but useless," she muttered under her breath as she ca out of the studio and slipped into her car. "I gave him a simple job. But he couldn’t even get close to Zara."
The thought of his failure only fanned the flas in her chest. "Now, he has beco a trouble for . I have to get rid of him before it’s too late."
Cold and decisive, she dialed her manager. "Listen, do another favor. Hire that man again. Pay him as much as he wants. Money isn’t the issue, but the job has to be done quickly." After a mont of pause, she added, "I want soone gone."
She lifted her chin a little. "I’ll send you the photograph."
"But ma’am, it’s way too dangerous," the manager cautioned, sounding hesitant. "Snatching a phone is one thing — murder is another. What if we get caught?"
"I’ll pay. Na the price, and it will be transferred," Riya said with an air of impatience.
The manager thought for a while and then said, "Alright. I want five million. After this job, I’ll quit. I’ll leave this place. You find soone else."
Riya gritted her teeth in frustration. Even a small manager had the nerve to talk to her in that tone. "Fine. Half now. And the remaining half, after the work is done. et at the office. I’m on my way."
Ending the call, she drove away.
Inside the office...
Edith’s expression was filled with worry. She had taken the quick action against Riya as per her boss’s instructions. But she couldn’t forget the warning Riya had dropped. What if Riya acted against them and damaged Shay’s image?
From his office behind the one-way glass, Liam had watched the whole exchange. Edith had seed composed while confronting Riya, yet the mont the woman left, she looked shaken. Liam couldn’t help but wonder what she’d said to make her so rattled.
Curiosity piqued his mind. He picked up the phone from the table and dialed her number.
Edith flinched at the sudden ringing of her phone, shattering the silence. She saw Liam’s number on the screen. Taking a deep breath, she answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Co to my office."
Edith stood up and hurried out, ending the call.
Liam put the phone aside, his gaze moving to the door. A mont later, the door knocked twice before it opened, and Edith slipped in.
"Sir," she inclined her head slightly as she stepped forward. "Miss Riya was here, demanding explanations. She was furious, called it a breach of contract, and even demanded the penalty be paid."
Her expression clouded with worry. "I am afraid she will cause problems for you. What if she does sothing to damage your image? Do you think we made a hasty decision?"
"Absolutely not," Liam replied calmly. "We did the right thing. I should have done that before. I can’t work with soone like her. She drugged Zara. Who knows what she might do next? I don’t want to keep any ties with her."
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