The Heiress's Revenge - A Bloody Affair - Chapter 31

[31 – False Loyalties]
Seraphina had once read that two criminals could never be loyal to one another, incapable of forming genuine friendships due to a fundamental lack of trust. These criminals, who know each other’s secrets, would readily betray one another to save themselves. When it came to their own selfish interests, they would not hesitate to stab each other in the back.

She had read about it once and now she was watching that happen in real life.

After the celebrations ended and everybody went back to work, Seraphina went to her cabin and locked it close. Toeing off her heels, she placed her feet on an ottoman while she sat on her chair as she watched live news being reported on her laptop.

She had been eagerly waiting for this specific piece of news after secretly helping Ethan gather everything that he needed against “Caroline” as a payback for what happened at the engagement party.

Ethan was under the assumption that Caroline was behind leaking all of those video clips of him having sex and presenting it as a dirty movie. Seraphina knew how to take advantage of the situation, and she did.

Munching on her caramel and sea salt popcorn, Seraphina watched the news with uncontained excitement as the anchor reported the latest development of the scandalous affair between the Grayson and Sullivan families.

“Shocking revelations have surfaced regarding the Grayson and Sullivan engagement!” the anchor reported with a serious face but Seraphina could not stop giggling in excitement.

“For the unversed, the Grayson family, once esteemed for Ethan Grayson’s status as the most eligible bachelor, now faces relentless scrutiny due to leaked sex tapes. The scandal has erupted amid Ethan and Caroline’s engagement, sending shockwaves through their once-gilded reputation.”

“That’s totally among one of my best moves though. Alas! I can’t even take credit for that.” Seraphina mumbled to herself and continued eating popcorn while watching the news.

“Initially, people were sympathetic towards Caroline Sullivan, offering support. However, with the latest shocking revelations, sentiment has drastically shifted, turning the public opinion on its head.”

“Aaww! My poor cousin, what are you going to do now?” chuckled Seraphina knowing very well about what revelations have surfaced. After all, she was the one who got them delivered to Ethan.

“In a shocking twist, not only have Ethan Grayson’s numerous sexual affairs come to light, but explosive new photos and videos have unveiled his fiancée Caroline Sullivan’s infidelity as well. The nation is in a frenzy as these salacious images and self-made tapes go viral, igniting a firestorm of outrage and disbelief!”

A few, blurred, less scandalous pictures of Caroline with various men were being displayed on the screen. The faces of men in those photos weren’t blurred or pixelated. They were as exposed as Caroline was.

“Oh, this is going to ruin so many people!” smirked Seraphina.

“Adding to the scandal, several well-known figures are seen alongside Caroline Sullivan in the photos and videos, including wealthy businessmen, movie directors, and producers, among others. Some of these men are reported to be married, amplifying the scandal’s impact.”

“Tch. Now, there’s nothing that you can do about this, because not only is this going to ruin your reputation but now, you have evoked the wrath of your sexual partners as well.” Seraphina muttered to herself with mock sympathy.

“This scandal has shed light on a stark reality of the rich and wealthy. Who could have imagined that Caroline Sullivan, daughter of Michael and Emily Sullivan known for their generosity and good deeds, would be embroiled in such controversy?”

Seraphina’s mood dulled hearing her parents name. She knew that by exposing her cousin she will drag her parents into this mess as well but she needed to do this because it was only after exposing Caroline through the hands of Ethan that Seraphina would be able to create a rift between her enemies.

She wanted to make them fight each, make them loose the little trust they have on each other which will help her a lot in getting her revenge. Sometimes you have to take hard decisions for the greater good.

“Similarly, Ethan Grayson, whose parents are revered for their philanthropy and community contributions, now find themselves at the center of a scandal that threatens to tarnish their family’s reputation. These revelations have seemingly shattered the pristine image both families have cultivated over the years.”

Seraphina smirked and placed the bowl of popcorn aside, “Now that’s a bomb of epic proportions.” and then she burst into peals of laughter while the news anchor continued to report further details about the people who were involved in this scandal.

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Just as Seraphina had predicted, the news of Caroline’s scandal dropped and exploded like a bomb in the Grayson and Sullivan family mansions.

In the Grayson mansion, Marcus was pacing furiously in his study while Katherine was trying to contact their children to tell them to stay where they were and not come back home to avoid being bombarded by the news reporters.

When none of her three children answered her call, she sent them a quick message describing the situation and instructing them to avoid commenting on the latest scandal.

“I know where Chole is and I have an idea about Ethan as well, but where the hell is Elijah?” Marcus worries regarding Elijah were slowly becoming true.

Marcus had always been concerned about what Elijah might do after he discovers that his family and loved ones are not as they seem.

Now, that both Ethan and Caroline have been exposed, this mess would be a lot difficult to clear and for that Marcus would need to take some serious but illegal actions to suppress the news. He was worried that soon his true colors might get exposed in front of his son and then Elijah would not rest until he puts Marcus behind the bars himself.

“He said he had something important to do and that he was going to spend the night out.” Katherine explained.

“And you let him go?” Marcus questioned angrily as he held Katherine roughly by her shoulders and shook her hard, “Why the hell did you let him leave amidst all this?” he asked before pushing her away.

Katherine stumbled and almost fell down on the floor but managed to stabilize herself in time. Pushing everything off his desk, Marcus punched the top of it letting out his frustration. He was about to punch the desk again but stopped hearing his cell phone ring.

Seeing Daniel’s name flash across his cell phone’s screen, Marcus answered the call, “Tell me you know who it is.”

“Well, Marcus -” Daniel hesitated before saying, “I still haven’t found the person who leaked Ethan’s clips but -” he stopped again but Marcus whose patience was wearing thin, became furious and yelled, “But, what?”

“The one who leaked Caroline’s photos and videos, well, it’s Ethan.” Daniel replied.

“What?!”

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The atmosphere at the Sullivan mansion was worse than this. Caroline, who had managed to step out of her room to have breakfast was now curled up in a corner again as she cried in her aunt’s embrace while her uncle William continued to yell at her.

“Did I ever stop you from doing anything? Did I ever interfere or nag you about who you were seeing, with whom you were having sex, or anything else?” shouted William making Caroline cry.

“Then why? What was the need of taking these pictures and self-videos? What were you thinking while doing that, huh?” yelled William making Caroline jump and hide behind Victoria who stayed silent knowing her husband’s anger.

“Do you know what have you done?” William picked up the decorative glass piece from the table and threw it in Caroline’s direction. Fortunately, Caroline ducked in time and the decorative glass piece shattered on the floor in multiple pieces.

“Not only have you ruined our reputation but you also ended up inviting public humiliation and the anger of all those men you have fucked! Do you think they would let -” William stopped yelling when he heard the shrill ringtone of his cell phone.

Answering the call, William barked, “What?!”

“Sir, I have found the person you asked me to find.” William too had assigned a minion of his to find the person responsible for leaking Caroline’s private photos and videos.

“It’s Ethan Grayson, Marcus sir’s son.” the minion replied adding fuel to the fire of William’s rage.

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Daniel sat in his study holding a glass of whiskey, smirking while thinking about how would Marcus and William would react to this latest development. Sitting beside him was the minion, the man that William had hired to gather information about the person who was responsible for Caroline’s scandal.

“Sir, I did just as you told me to.” said the minion after ending the call with William.

Daniel opened his desk’s drawer and took out a wad of cash. Throwing it towards the minion, Daniel praised, “Well done!”

“Leave now.” ordered Daniel.

Among the three of the Daniel had always been the one with least advantage. While his business was doing fine but it was nothing in front of how well Marcus and William’s companies were flourishing.

Those two left no opportunity to tell him that his business was in operations only because of their funding. This is why Daniel had to sow the seeds of discord between his two friends.

he was aiming to break this alliance from the start because Daniel knew that if Caroline gets married to Ethan then the whole Sullivan family fortune would go into Marcus and William’s hands. He knew that those two would not hesitate to eliminate him to get his share of the fortune. This is why he let William know that it was Ethan who messed up.

He might not have completely eliminated the possibility of Ethan and Caroline getting married but Daniel had surely delayed the event. Now was the time to take advantage of the situation.

Daniel looked at his family photo on his desk. His daughter Mia was in love with Marcus’s son, Elijah, and Daniel knew how to use that to his advantage.

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“Tch tch tch.” Seraphina shook her head and chuckled. She knew about Daniel’s plans but Daniel didn’t know that Seraphina was not going to let the succeed because Elijah belonged to her.

Elijah was her pawn and there was no way she was going to let anybody else use him. Not like that.