Chapter 9
Margaret's hands got stomped on by a bunch of boots and fancy shoes.
The pain had her crying and sweating bullets.
But he just bailed, turned around with Sarah, and walked out the back door of The Hughes Group, leaving her in the dust.
How absurd. She actually thought he’d come to her rescue.
Turned out he only gave a damn about Sarah, leaving her to fend off the media alone.
Cameras and mics were all up in her face. She tried to get up but got shoved back into the snow by the reporters.
Their questions were brutal, and the mics were practically jammed in her mouth, grilling her about her marriage with Raymond and if Marlon was already dead.
Was she kneeling here 'cause she felt guilty?
Every question was like a dagger to her heart.
Raymond crushed the pride Margaret once held so high.
Even more messed up, this whole circus was being broadcast live.
Tons of people online were watching Margaret get swarmed.
Suddenly, sirens blared.
A bunch of cops showed up, broke up the crowd, told the media to turn off the live feed, and delete any footage.
She had no clue who was so kind to step in and save her dignity out of nowhere.
A cop, seeing her all messed up, offered to give her a ride home.
Her phone suddenly rang. It was Nancy.
Her face changed a bit. She bowed to the cops to say thanks, saying she had her own ride. The cop even bought her some ointment and insisted she take it.
She kept the ointment and tried to give the cop some cash, but they refused. He then told her to seek help from the police if she faced any difficulties as they now lived in a society governed by the rule of law.
After the cops left, she picked up the call.
Nancy was complaining on the other end, "Why didn’t you pick up? Don’t you know time’s ticking?"
"I was just caught up with something." Her knees were killing her, but she forced her voice to sound normal so Nancy wouldn’t freak out.
Nancy asked, "Did you get the money?"
Nancy kept going, "Why aren’t you saying anything? Margaret, your dad’s getting worse. The doc’s already given a critical notice. I’m begging you; save him."
She asked, "Be straight with me; did you really get the money? No lying, Margaret."
Nancy, trying not to cry, finally broke down. "Say something, Margaret."
Margaret thought, 'What can I say? I got nothing.'
Marlon and the Hughes family ended up like this, all caused by her.
She wasn’t heartless enough to tell Nancy the truth and risk her passing out from the shock again.
One lie needed a bunch more to cover it up. "I got the money. It’ll be in the account in like half an hour."
Nancy asked, "For real?"
Margaret said, "This will blow over soon. Just hang in there a bit longer. I gotta go now; I’m pushing the money through."
Margaret hung up, wiped her tears, and called Raymond.
She thought kneeling at The Hughes Group, getting mobbed by the media, and losing her dignity would be enough.
But Raymond, that jerk, just wouldn’t pick up.
Maybe he found her annoying.
When she called the third time, Raymond turned off his phone.
Only then did she realize she’d been played by Raymond.
But she really had no other choice.
She grabbed a cab to his other places, hoping to find him.
No luck, he wasn't there.
Raymond seemed to have vanished into thin air; she couldn’t find him.
But she didn’t have time to cry. She hit up a store and bought a $500 phone card.
The salesgirl looked at her like she was nuts but still sold it to her gladly.
She switched to a new number and wandered aimlessly in the cold wind. The heavy snow blurred her vision.
Without realizing it, she ended up by a frozen lake.
She used the new number to call him again, and this time his phone was on.
Maybe he didn’t know who was calling. Raymond picked up quick, his cold voice coming through the line. "Hello?"
His voice was the same as always, rough yet magnetic.
But now, it grated on her nerves.
She asked, "Raymond, did you set up the media tonight?"
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
