Miya pressed a hand into her stomach and sat up straight. She didn"t know what she had been expecting to hear, but it was certainly not the news that Kang Sheng was backed into a corner. She had been dealing with the man for years now. She lived under a constant threat, thanks to him. She had never had direct dealings with him, but the Kang family was as dangerous as they came.Kang Sheng was fearful?
And to think she had a part to play in causing that aggravation!
The thought of it itself brought her immense relief.
It surprised Miya, how much she craved to get even with that man. Him, and his d.a.m.ned son.
Kang Sung was a long gone story now, but if she had caused Kang Sheng even one sleepless night, then all her ordeal was worth it.
Miya felt instantly better. The news of Kasu letting Becky live for the sake of getting back at the Hunters, and naming the drug cartel after her made her feel disgusted to the core still. But it was like Kasu. She could imagine that sly, thin face of his, as he would have laughed out loud and hissed, "It"s fun, no? Name the cartel after her, daddy."
But now she was worried about Rebecca"s choice even more. Sis Becky had to be warned about the Kang family. Not for a second, could they be taken lightly.
Rebecca sat beside Miya stiffly, her eyes fixed on the Chairman"s back.
Meanwhile, Simon Hunter watched the orchard beneath with glazed eyes, his face lost as he let the cigarette burn in his hand. His head flooded with a thousand thoughts, and he arranged them in order one by one.
"I will admit," he said after a while, "Your choice to go back has made me satisfied, child." His voice had softened, "You may doubt my reason to back you, but hatred sometimes is reason enough. It"s a force stronger than any other. And it binds better."
The Chairman"s words took Rebecca by surprise. She shrugged, forcing out the words when she said, "I don"t doubt you at all, sir."
Simon Hunter chuckled. Then shrugging, he said softly, "Then you"re not prepared for the Kangs, dear. Else you wouldn"t have said something so naïve."
Rebecca flinched, whereas Miya looked at the Chairman"s back, slightly disoriented.
Right then, when he had made the statement about sis Becky being naïve, he had echoed Miya"s own sentiments exactly. Because Becky was being naïve! Worried beyond measure, Miya gathered her courage and dared to interrupt the old Hunter. He had gone back to smoking silently anyway.
"C-Could I talk to sis Becky in private, sir?" she asked, her voice barely loud enough to be heard. The Chairman caught the words though, and even smirked to himself. In fact, he had been expecting the girl to interrupt. It was just like her, to do something like that.
"Sir?" he asked rather casually.
Miya frowned at the response, but then remembered what the old man was pointing out. Having the urge to roll her eyes despite the tense atmosphere, Miya shrugged when she said, "F-Father."
"Go."
Simon Hunter pointed at another door to the right of the room they were in. Miya"s sudden request to talk to Rebecca privately surprised the older girl, and she frowned at Miya, raising her brows in order to know what she wanted. Miya simply got up from the chair, and indicated Becky to come along.
Simon calmly said, "It"s soundproof," before the girls walked to the other room.
The old man finally turned around from the window and sighed.
Miya was probably going to try and talk Rebecca out of taking over the Toby-Freeman Publications. It was justified too, given her own history with Kang Sheng. The real test would begin now, though.
Did Rebecca Freeman Storm really have it in her, to stick around?
Once inside the other room, which was as grand as the one they had just left, Miya held her head and plopped down on a nearby sofa with a thud.
"Sis," she said in distress, "You have to say no."
Rebecca, who was already shocked from all the overwhelming information that the Chairman had related, was now confused.
"What?" she asked.
Miya almost groaned out loud.
"Sis!" she hissed in a sharp, low voice, "I mean, say you won"t take over the company. Back out! Didn"t you hear what the Chairman said?"
Becky c.o.c.ked her brows. Albeit it shook her that one d.a.m.ned b.a.s.t.a.r.d from her past had been so deeply involved in s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g her over, she did not understand Miya"s logic. Crossing her arms over her chest, she scowled,
"Again, Miya. What?"
Miya shrugged.
"Kang Sheng is not a joke, sis! He is a dangerous man, and you have zero experience in running a company. The publishing house is rooted deeply in the cartel, its being funded by it. Do you think it would be easy for you to take over? He"d gobble you whole! And what if he exposes the company just like that, putting the blame on Carver alone? We have no proof that the cartel is being run by Sheng. I did not talk about the drug business with Carver at all, because I didn"t thing he was the owner at that time. I don"t think the Chairman knew too back then, he must have found out later! Sis, if the company is exposed, who do you think will take the fall?"
Rebecca"s expression wavered for a bit, and she looked deeply into Miya"s eyes. The girl was so worried, it touched her heart. But also, it reminded her of her own incompetence, how even Miya thought she wasn"t one who could survive this fight.
"You don"t trust me?" she asked quietly.
Miya groaned again.
"This isn"t about you, sis!" she explained once more, "This is about who you"re dealing with! And the situation as it stands now. The Chairman says he"s backing you now, but what if he withdraws?"
Becky raised her brows.
"So you don"t trust the Chairman?"
Miya rolled her eyes.
"I can"t say no. But I won"t say yes either. I just don"t know him enough!"
"That"s a very diplomatic answer, for someone who just called him father."
"He insists on that."
"Why not say no?"
"Sis, that"s not the point!"
Miya pressed her lips, her head hurting again, feeling like it was being drilled through from all sides. Why was sis Becky so keen on not using any logic, whatsoever?! And as far as calling Simon Hunter "father" was concerned, she did it because it felt nice!
Why did the man make her address him that way anyhow?
Wait… could it be because of Zaila?
"Then what is the point, Miya?"
Miya"s thoughts were cut short by Rebecca"s stern voice, and the girl looked up at the taller woman in dismay. Putting her suspicions regarding the Chairman on hold, she huffed and explained again.
"The point I"m trying to make, sis, is this – what if this is just some colossus power game between two giant companies, and you are just a p.a.w.n? Kang Sheng wouldn"t care about Toby-Freeman Publications, and the Chairman could drop it whenever he sees fit. He said he would be personally involved – that the Hunter Corporation would have nothing to do with it. And think about the constant danger this puts you in. The Chairman said it himself – Kang Sheng killed Marjorie, and he got Thad shot. Thad Carver, who worked with him for thirteen years!"
Rebecca exhaled.
"You have a point, Miya, and a good one. But I know the danger involved. I knew it when I was with Karl and wanted evidence against my uncle, and I know it now. Why do you think I was trying to come back? You of all people should be standing by my side, and supporting my decision, punk. Not asking me to run away!"
"I"d support you all the way to h.e.l.l!" Miya said agitatedly, "I just have to make sure you know the consequences of this, sis. Look, I trust Jimmy. And I think the Chairman is a good man – but I don"t know! He said it himself, didn"t he? That you not doubting him was naïve?"
Rebecca put a hand to her forehead, then pinched the s.p.a.ce between her eyebrows. Her voice was stoic.
"Miya – stop. I am not doubting him not because I have blind faith in him. I am not doubting him because there is something he wants out of this deal as well. Don"t you remember that file he talked about in the last meeting? The one he had lent to my father to serve as information for the Hunters" biography? He said he had had the Freeman bungalow infiltrated countless times but couldn"t find it anyway. That is my reason for not doubting the Chairman"s intention for now.
If the file is important enough for him to have infiltrated our house for over thirteen years, I"m thinking he"ll want me to find it at least. That"s an incentive, right there."
Miya almost gasped.
Yes!
She had forgotten about that!
The Chairman had wanted Becky to find some file, and had mentioned that it contained some original doc.u.ments that he had loaned to uncle Jonathan. It was related to a mighty history of the Hunter family, he had said.
Miya"s brain began to jump and function abnormally again.
What was in that file, that Simon Hunter had been looking for it for so many years?
And almost instantly, her mind stopped on one short name.
The buried secret of the Hunters –
Zaila.
Could the file have information on her too?
Blood almost drained from Miya"s face as the thought raced through her head.
Because if that was so, this piece of information put her in a very, very awkward situation now.