CHAPTER 18

Sauna's mind was a tumultuous sea of fear and anxiety. She knew that if her secrets were exposed, the consequences would be devastating.

Sauna remembered all too well how her family had struggled before she married Jaden. The Toni family had been mired in abject poverty, scraping by day to day. It was Jaden who had lifted them out of their desperate situation, using his influence and resources to provide opportunities and support that had transformed their lives. Without him, they would have remained in the shadows of society, unnoticed and unimportant.

If her secrets came to light, Sauna was certain that Jaden would not only divorce her but also withdraw all his favors from her family. They would plummet back to zero, losing everything they had gained over the years. The thought of her family returning to their previous state of destitution filled her with dread.

Sauna's memories drifted back to the early days of her relationship with Jaden. Despite the Thompson family's objections, Jaden had chosen her. The Thompsons had always looked down on the Toni family, considering them unworthy and uncouth!

They had believed that Sauna was too wild and crude for Jaden—a match that would only bring him trouble. But Jaden had defied them all, standing by Sauna and her family.

Now, the prospect of her secrets being revealed threatened to validate every negative opinion the Thompsons had ever held about her. She could already picture their smug faces, ready to pounce on the opportunity to remind Jaden of how they had warned him not to marry her. The shame and humiliation would be unbearable, and Sauna would become an object of mockery, scorned and ridiculed by the entire Thompson family.

She knew she had to act fast. The call had given her 24 hours to influence Jaden's decision, but time was slipping away. Her initial attempt to persuade Jaden had been futile, and she couldn't risk pushing him further without raising his suspicions. She needed another plan, something more effective and immediate.

She recalled James, the chef whom she had tasked with poisoning Ralph. Had he failed to follow through? The uncertainty gnawed at her. She decided to call James to find out, but he wasn’t picking up her calls. The silence on his end only heightened her anxiety.

Sauna needed to think of another alternative quickly. Her hands trembled as she set down her phone. She couldn't afford any more failures; her secrets were hanging by a thread. Perturbed and lost in thought, she barely noticed her sister Laura approaching.

"Sauna, are you alright?" Laura asked, concern etched on her face. "You look like you’ve seen a ghost."

Sauna replied with her voice shaking. "Charlie’s men threatened to expose my secrets unless I convinced Jaden to transfer JFlier Group to Charlie. If Jaden finds out about my past, he’ll divorce me, withdraw his support from our family, and we’ll lose everything. I can’t let that happen, Laura. I can’t."

Laura widened her eyes in surprise. Had Charlie become this terrible to even threaten his mother? She had always known Charlie to be wayward and evil, but she never knew that he could work against his own biological mother!

Right now, Laura knew they needed to act fast, as Charlie was very dangerous. She had heard of some of his criminal escapades in the past, and he never made empty threats. Laura couldn't dare watch Sauna's secrets exposed while their family returned to zero.

"Alright, Sauna, I’ll take care of it. Give me 24 hours, and I promise you, Ralph will no longer be a problem."

"Laura, please," Sauna pleaded, grabbing her sister’s arm. "Don’t do anything reckless. This situation is already spiraling out of control."

But Laura didn't respond. Instead, she excused herself from the Toni family house with her mind already racing with possibilities. She stepped outside and made a call to one of her old friends, a renowned mafia boss in Cebana City.

"Hey, it's Laura Toni," she said when the call connected. "I need a favor."

The gruff voice on the other end responded with a hint of curiosity. "Laura, it’s been a while. What kind of favor are we talking about?"

"I need you to work with your men and do everything possible to ensure Ralph Thompson is blackmailed, expelled from JFlier Group, and replaced by his twin brother, Charlie Thompson, as the CEO. And it needs to be done within 24 hours."

There was a pause before the mafia boss replied, his tone serious. "That’s a tall order, Laura. You’re asking for a lot."

"I know," Laura said, desperation creeping into her voice. "But it’s urgent. I’ll pay ten million for the job."

The man on the other end of the line chuckled softly. "Ten million? Alright, I’ll get my best men on it. Send me all the details, and we’ll handle the rest."

"Thank you," Laura said, relief washing over her. "And please, don’t delay."