âNina, youâre so MEAN!â
Seeing Mayaâs face flushed with anger, Nicole rushed over to check on the children.
After hearing an impassioned reiteration of what happened, Nicole chided Nina sternly.
âBut Mommy, thatâs not fair! Maya hit me! Why arenât you scolding her as well?â
âMaya, you canât just hit people,â said Nicole exasperatedly. âApologize to her right now!â
âI WONâT! Humph!â Maya stomped up the stairs, her arms akimbo.
Nina feigned a kick at her retreating figure, still displeased at Mayaâs behavior.
âThatâs enough, Nina. Off to bed with you.â
âYouâre not being fair, Mommy!â said Nina with crossed arms. She then went upstairs in a huff.
Seeing that the children had finally returned to their rooms, Yoda sighed. âWell, well. Nina certainly has your temper.â
Nicole turned around and glared at him incredulously. What nonsense! Nina is cold and arrogant, so who do you think she got that from, genius?
âIs that so? Yet why do I feel like she got her arrogance and aloofness from you instead?â
âReally, now? Alright, why donât we have a few more that behave like you instead?â
Have more kids? I already have four children whose personalities are enough to drive me up the wall, thank you very much!
âP-piss off!â sputtered Nicole.
âAlright, alright,â said Yoda, putting his hands up in mock defeat. It was time for him to leave anyway.
With a smirk, he turned on his heel and left.
Unbeknownst to them, Juan and Kyle had been observing the whole exchange from upstairs.
âAlthough I canât hear all of what theyâre saying, Yoda can indeed speak, right? I wasnât lying,â Juan whispered.
âIt seems like we need to look into this properly,â said Kyle thoughtfully.
âAre you hoping that Yoda is Daddy?â
âYes, but I really hope he isnât actually that ugly.â
It was already the next morning by the time Levant came out of the hospital.
He managed to ascertain that it was Zackery Williams who somehow took it upon himself to drug the wine. Levant seethed with a hatred that could grind bones to ash.
âThat presumptuous idiot! Who gave him the permission to act?â
Levant clenched his fists in anger and gave the chair a mighty kick.
The manager shrank, not daring to breathe. Under his breath, however, he cursed Zackery Williams with all his heart.
âFind him, and bring him to me!â roared Levant.
âMr. Levant, I tried to this morning. But his place was empty! Itâs like he vanished into thin air!â
Upon realizing that Levant ended up in the hospital, Zackery fled and went into hiding.
The manager sighed inwardly. Given Levantâs penchant for ruthlessness towards himself, he shuddered to think of how anyone else would be treated. If anything, Levant would be utterly merciless towards them too.
For that very reason, the manager still felt that his life was more important than the promise of a generous reward. Forget it. Iâm going to wait for him to calm down before saying anything, he thought.
âHe vanished, you say? He should consider himself lucky then! Otherwise, Iâll have him ripped to shreds!â roared Levant.
The manager lowered his head, afraid to even meet Levantâs gaze.
He knew that there was another reason behind Levantâs anger. Levant had received word that Nicole had escaped unharmed and promptly left for Imperial Garden with Yoda.
But she had drunk the wine, so there was no way that she wasnât affected at all. The fact that she had since slipped away without even being rushed to the hospital was suspicious enough.
There was only one possible explanation. Which man had gotten lucky with her?
Levant exploded in anger as he thought of this. He raised an arm and swept everything on the table onto the ground. A resounding crash was heard as the objects fell.
The possibility of someone soiling the woman he loved was not something he took lightly. Iâm not going to let this slide, he vowed.
âFind a way to get me all the surveillance tapes from Amazon Hotel.â
âYes, Mr. Levant.â
Back at the Seet Group, a storm was brewing. It was no thanks to Adamâs manipulation, of course.
Davin knew that it wouldnât be long before all hell broke loose.
He sat in the presidentâs office, staring straight at the sky outside the window in a daze.
He sighed to himself. Honestly, some people are built for the roles theyâre assigned to. Sadly, Iâm not one of those built for leadership.
Sheila was also worried about this. If someone had really made a grab for power, Davin would end up as the joke of the century.
Even Patrick Muir, who had tried to protect Davin at the expense of several large projects, would not be spared. The Muir Group would incur losses of their own.
Sheila felt that it wasnât wise to let her troubles consume her that way. She then drove to Imperial Garden to discuss countermeasures with Nicole.