I Am The Queen

Satele slightly frowned thinking that the security of the place was really tight. Even she had successfully followed the two, she doubted that she could get past anything beyond this point.

They must really have something to hide!

Her nerves were hyperventilating in excitement and was slowly showing on her face while Asher threw a glance at her and smirked which she reciprocated with a glare. She didn"t waste any more time, brushing the man to the side while she walked ahead, her phone at the ready.

She stopped when another brightly lit hallway greeted her with clear gla.s.s part.i.tions at the side, and…

People?

There were also people that seemed like any ordinary people sitting in the nearby lounge in contrast with the majority of people in lab coats going to and fro.

What is this?

She glanced left and right, yet all she could see, besides the ordinary people, were people in white coats and animals.

Before she could walk around to check, she felt hot air behind her ear which made her shiver involuntarily. "This is the laboratory and the private vet section. Have you found anything that"s worthy of your news? If you like you can watch how the animals are being dissected and put into jars to be processed to meat." Asher said in undisguised mockery.

Satele pushed him aside and walked a few steps away from him while holding her reddened ear. She was red all over from shame and embarra.s.sment at knowing that the man had found out what she was hoping to see, only to be slapped on the face that this was an area meant to save the animals lives.

Wait a minute….

Satele stopped momentarily. Now that she could somewhat think clearer and a little calmer. What is he doing here? And… judging by the guard and the tall lady"s att.i.tude towards him, he seemed to be important.

She opened her mouth to ask, yet another voice intruded in their s.p.a.ce.

"Ah, Boss! You"re here!"

All eyes instantly went to those two men in loose uniform with tattoos on their uncovered skin.

Those thugs that kidnapped the dog!

Before Satele could think things through, her legs went towards the two and her mouth opened for interrogation. Her phone"s recorder at the ready.

"You two, you"re from Fate Academy, right? What happened to the dog that you s.n.a.t.c.hed earlier? Is it dead? Why did you bring it here? Is it true that this place performed animal experimentation?"

The two men took a step back while raising both hands to defend themselves against the barrage of questions and the approaching girl. "Whoa! What"s with this chick?!"

"Have you received payment from this establishment to bring strayed animals here to be exploited? Or are there other reasons? Judging on how the staff received you earlier it seems that you two are a frequent visitor of this place. Or are you two secretly working in this establishment? Then—!"

Before Satele could finish her interrogation, however, a tall, well-built physique blocked her view.

"That"s enough."

She glared at Asher and mocked. "Why? Are you feeling guilty now?"

Asher"s face remained stoic, yet his eyes were blazing with furry that Satele unconsciously took a step back.

"I don"t care about what you do or what you"re asking. But have more consideration in those people who came here to have their pets healed."

...

...

Satele"s eyes slowly swept her surroundings and saw that most people were now looking at her, skepticism and worry in their eyes.

She was immediately drowned with shame and embarra.s.sment while unconsciously lowering her head.

The place instantly turned much colder and unsettling.

"Alright, alright. That"s enough." Álvaro broke the awkward silence and unceremoniously put a lace around Satele"s neck causing the woman to be stunned.

But before she could react, Alvaro was already beside Asher, smiling, clearly enjoying the show.

Satele felt that this man took enjoyment in the misery of others.

She lowered her head and checked the ID that was hanging around her neck. It was a VIP access pa.s.s! She threw a glance at the guard who was now back and standing behind the tall, gorgeous lady in formal shirt and pencil cut skirt, looking all strict and disapproving at her.

While Asher secretly sighed and turned to look at the lanky and fat man behind him.

"What are you two doing here? Didn"t I ask you two to fetch me flowers for Eva? Why are you here?"

The lanky man was the one who answered while rubbing the back of his head, feeling a little scared. "Ah… well, the truth is, on our way towards the flower shop we came across a dying dog. He seemed to be run over by a car and was left to the sidewalk to die. Feeling that his life is on the line, we immediately brought it here."

Asher sighed and pinched the s.p.a.ce between his brows. He never liked cute pets, but to make his precious Eva happy, "how is it now?"

The two men abruptly loosened, feeling that their Boss was no longer angry at them for disobeying orders. Ehehehe, we know it. As long as it"s related to her highness the Queen, Boss will forgive us for anything!

"Don"t worry, Boss! The dog will be safe. Besides from its broken leg and dehydration, nothing else was life-threatening. The doctor said that it will recover in days" time." It was the fatty that answered in full smiles. If he had a tail, it would be wagging left and right by now, asking for a pet for a job well done.

"Mm…" Asher slightly nodded his head. Then he threw a glance at Satele. "You two, I have another job for you. Tour this woman around and answer all her questions."

The two men and Satele blinked.

However, before they could react, Asher, Alvaro, and the tall, gorgeous lady had already walked further along the bright corridor.

They could only manage an "eh" before the three of them glanced at each other.

----

"Ehhh~ what is it again...? We kidnapped the dog and brought it here for experimentation while we were compensated with a thousand bucks for our reward. And then we are hooligans that do this kind of business for years now, and this place is actually a laboratory that used animals for experimentation." The lanky man lazy narrated as he picked his nose while they were walking on the cobbled pathway around the establishment. When he got a booger, he casually flicked it to who knows where while he sn.i.g.g.e.red.

Meanwhile, the fat guy beside him guffawed as he added. "Ahahaha, that"s a good one! Why don"t you also add that we kill animals to be appetizers during our drinking season? In that way, our image will be more ferocious and intimidating. Ahahaha."

Satele bit her lower lip in indignation at watching the two thugs laugh so nonchalantly. They were already walking for almost two hours around the place and yet, none of her questions were seriously answered.

"You two! Be serious! Don"t you know the severity of the issue if I write this? Tell me the whole truth, now!"

The lanky man made a side glanced at the woman and resumed talking in a carefree manner. "The truth, huh. Even though the truth is already in front of your eyes, you still refused to believe it since what you want to write is something dramatic and eye-catching, right? Then, just write what we have said to you. Besides, even if you write it, without evidence, no one will pay it any mind. Instead, it will be you who"ll be in trouble for writing without any bases."

Satele was slightly taken aback. She was quiet for a minute, couldn"t find the words to retort since what the lanky man said was mostly right much to her shame.

She hates to admit it, but somehow, she was becoming that kind of person that just wanted to write something the ma.s.ses would want to hear rather than the truth.

She was slowly straying from her ideal profession, gradually becoming someone who just wanted to stir the publics opinion to be famous.

She didn"t know when she had started nor what brought about the changes. She was not that kind of person before. Was it brought about by that woman? Was it brought about by her circ.u.mstances? Or was it the harshness of society and reality?

She didn"t know.

What did she know was that, to survive in this world, kindness, compa.s.sion, honesty — wasn"t enough. She had to be ruthless and conniving, or else… she"d be step upon and push around for the rest of her life.

She wanted to change, change her family"s circ.u.mstances. She wanted to be the kind of woman that was respected and admired. Not the type of woman before her right now.

It was like a wakeup call to her. And this realization was brought about by these unexpected people who were considered to be the menace of society. Could there be any more ironic than that?

She clenched her hands and looked seriously at the two, trying to change her way of speaking.

"Even so, if I wrote this and added the source that this information came from your mouths just from that alone, what do you think will happen to you two, huh?"