The Heiress's Revenge - A Bloody Affair - Chapter 40

[40 – Unforeseen Intrigues]
Jaxon was in his cabin at The Seraphina Atelier. Sitting on his chair he had his feet propped up on an ottoman as he chatted with Chloe through messages.

‘Are you okay?’ he was the one who initiated the conversation with the message. Jaxon waited for a few minutes but when Chloe did not reply he started reviewing the next quarter’s budget report while keeping the previous budget reports as reference. There was a lot to understand in the short time that he has before completely taking over the Chief Operating Officer’s responsibilities.

Soon, he got deeply engrossed in the reports and documents that had it not been the buzzing of his cell phone with that specific ringtone that he had set to alert him of messages and phone calls from Chloe, that he wouldn’t have paid attention to his cell phone that laid buried under the piles of paperwork.

‘I am fine. Just sitting at home, working on the project that Seraphina assigned us.’ Chloe had replied to his message.

Jaxon’s eyes darkened and a sinister smirk curved upon his lips as he pushed back the reports and picked up his cell phone to reply to Chloe’s message.

‘Glad to hear that you are okay. I was worried.’ at first he typed the message but quickly deleted it because he did not want to look too interested, too early. So he typed another response –

‘Good. When will you be coming to office next?’ this time he phrased his words in a way that could sound formal, and also as if he was missing Chloe and wanted to know when she would be coming to the office. It was obvious what Chloe would think of this message.

‘Tomorrow😊’ her reply had Jaxon frowning. He was of the opinion that Chloe would be spending at least this week at her place considering her family situation.

‘That’s great. By the way, everything is okay, right? I mean, it’s okay if you want to work from home for a few more days considering your family situation.’ asked Jaxon in his response to Chloe’s message.

‘It wouldn’t be a problem by tomorrow. We found a solution to that 😉’

Jaxon did not like the sound of that. He would have to talk to Seraphina about this but still he responded with, ‘That’s nice. What solution though?’

‘I can’t tell you about it. But you will know soon on your own.’ Chloe responded.

‘Okay. If you are coming tomorrow, then how about joining me for lunch tomorrow?’ asked Jaxon. If this scandal was no longer going to be a problem for the Grayson family, then Jaxon decided proceed with his plan.

‘I would love to! ❤️’ Jaxon chuckled darkly on reading Chloe’s response. Seraphina had given her the perfect nickname – poor little canary. Responding to Chloe’s message with a simple smiley face emoji, Jaxon put his cell phone aside.

He took out his wallet from his trousers’ pocket and opened it to look at the small sized photograph that he always kept in his wallet. The said photograph was of beautiful woman who had once been a big part of his life, of his heart, and his soul.

Smiling, Jaxon traced the woman’s face in the photograph with the tips of his fingers, “Soon, Vivi. Soon.” he muttered to himself before clutching his wallet against his chest. Taking in deep breaths, Jaxon willed himself to stay determined and focused because no matter how disgusted it might make him feel, he has to do this for justice.

For Vivi.

══════ ∘◦♛◦∘ ══════

Seraphina was sketching the drafts for the outfit that Natasha wanted to wear for her bachelorette party while watching the events unfolding in the Grayson mansion on her laptop. She watched Elijah walk into the spacious living room of the Grayson mansion when a girl of about her age jumped over him from behind, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck like a monkey.

She rolled her eyes but continued to watch the interaction between Elijah and Mia. Mia Thompson, Daniel’s one and only daughter. The only innocent person in this fucked up and messy situation.

“What the f-” Elijah cursed while trying to stabilize himself and grabbed at Mia’s arms around his neck. The familiar scent of Mia’s all time favorite mint shampoo and chocolate body butter greeting him.

“Language!” Mia hit her head against Elijah, “Where were you? Do you know how long I have been waiting for you?

“Mia!” Elijah tried to shake her of but she only tightened her grip on him, “Get off first, you Mia the Monkey!”

“If I am a monkey then you are a gorilla!” Mia responded childishly and got off Elijah after smacking him on the head one more time to which Elijah responded by ruffling her hair.

“When did you came though? Uncle Dan said that you wanted to spend some more time in Thailand.” asked Elijah while grabbing an apple from the fruits basket on the dining table, “Also, where is everybody?”

“I wanted to but when I heard about Ethan and Caroline, I just couldn’t stay away. So I took the first available flight back home and landed her early in the morning, at about 4:30-ish.” replied Mia as she began to serve breakfast to Elijah, “As for your other question, everybody is at the hotel where the press conference is going to be held. I stayed to make sure you have your breakfast, get ready at the earlies and reach the venue on time.”

Mia placed the plate of chocolate chip pancakes in front of Elijah who pushed it away, “There’s no need, I am full. I had a nice breakfast at my friend’s place.”

“Oh, okay.” smiled Mia and grabbed onto Elijah’s arm, “Then go start getting ready! We have to leave in an hour and a half.” she started pushing Elijah towards his room.

“By the way, do you have any idea about who could be behind this disgusting scheme?” Mia’s face contorted in disgust, “What kind of people are there in this world?” she wondered.

Hearing Mia’s query, Seraphina wished she could show Mia her own father’s reality, that he could tell the oblivious Mia about how disgusting her own father is.

“I have no idea.” Elijah frowned, “But whosoever is behind this, I am not letting them go. They will have to pay for what they.”

Seraphina chuckled and awed, “Aawww, how are you gonna do that Mr. Elijah Grayson?” she muttered to herself, “You are not going to have this chance Elijah because I have a better use for you.”

Seraphina continued to keep an eye on Elijah and Mia, she watched Elijah step inside the washroom to shower while Mia began arranging his room though there wasn’t much to do. Mia was a genuinely nice person and she actually cared for Elijah.

But her presence complicated Seraphina’s plans. She needed Elijah distracted and off his guard to be able to use him as her pawn in this game of life.

Seraphina’s mind raced, searching for a solution that wouldn’t hurt Mia. She did not want to make Mia a collateral damage in her schemes because if that happens she wouldn’t be any different from her enemies who did not hesitate to harm innocent people just for their selfish motives.

It was a fact that Mia was in for a heartbreak because Seraphina was not going to let Elijah be with anyone else but other than that, Seraphina planned to never hurt the other woman.

Her cell phone buzzed, pulling her from her thoughts. The name Maddy flashed across her cell phone’s screen and Seraphina wasted no time in answering the call.

“Sera, have you heard about the press conference?” Madison’s voice was urgent, “Do you know that Marcus and William are planning to announce that all those photos and videos are fake?”

“Yes, I know.” Seraphina replied coolly.

“Are you not going to do anything about it?” Madison pressed, she could not understand why Seraphina was so cool about it. Didn’t she say that she wouldn’t let Ethan and Caroline come out of this mess anytime soon?

Seraphina’s lips curled into a sly smile, “Let them have their moment, let them enjoy and brag. In fact, I actually want this engagement to proceed. The further along Caroline and Ethan’s marriage plans go, the better.”

“Okay, I get it.” commented Madison knowing that Seraphina must have something else in mind, “What are you planning?” she asked, her curiosity piqued.

“I have a little surprise for their wedding day.” Seraphina said in a sing song tone, her voice dripping with anticipation and excitement.

“Wait, I’ll show you.” she tapped a few buttons on her phone, sending a set of screenshots to Madison and waited for her response.

A gasp echoed through the line, followed by a snort, “What the hell is this?!” Madison exclaimed.

Seraphina’s smile widened, “I discovered this recently. Isn’t that just amazing?”

“It is!” chuckled Madison, her voiced laced with mirth, “It sure is.” and then she burst into peals of laughter, “Oh my god! That is going to be the most fantastic show ever!”

“I know right!” Exclaimed Seraphina, “I am going to watch this from the front seats. It’s definitely going to be a blast!”