I frowned at the deep red lip stain on my wine glass.

Smudge-proof my ass! A total waste of two hundred bucks.

I put the glass down on the white table that I was leaning on before looking at the dull crowd.

A slow jazz was thrumming through the ballroom. A big screen projector was showing slides of Trexon Auto's brand-new car model. It was the last slide of a close-up of a sleek black sports with neon green trim lines on the sides—my personal favorite—before the whole video reshuffled to 'Welcome to the Grand Launch Celebration.'

I hid a bored sigh and turned to a middle-aged woman who had been babbling about some Gucci purse for the last five or so minutes. She was one of the investor's wives so I couldn't even shut her off the way I'd have liked. And neither I had the option to walk away.

She was my safest 'I'm busy socializing' card at the moment until Sawyer arrived.

Last night, we went through details late into the night in his study.

The plan was rather simple. We'd get to the party separately—me first to survey the situation aka keep an eye on Devon and Sawyer would do the rest. By the rest, I meant the big announcement of Sawyer challenging Devon's position in the company with Sawyer's shares of votes from shareholders.

But where was he? He should have been here thirty minutes ago. I swear to God if he was getting fashionably late for our plan—

A spoon tinked with a glass somewhere and I turned left to see Devon on a stage.

His dark hair was back brushed as he wore a dark blue suit with a striped white shirt underneath. His entire face was beaming with a proud smile.

"Thank you everyone for giving me your attention. I'm humbled that you all are here for the grand celebration of our new Trexon series launch. Our main attractions are sports collection. But we are also introducing eco-friendly with improved mileage regulars in this series. The specifics..."

I watched the tall glass doors on the far right corner with deep red drapes adorning the sides.

The dinner will start at any minute after the speech. Where was he?

I wiped my clammy hands in the discreet folds of my velvet emerald bodycon gown. My feet ached in the dark stilettos and I longed to sit.

The investor's wife mercifully walked away at some point during the clap session. Devon was attempting a lame car joke at the moment and people humored him with a soft laugh.

A wavy red lock from my messy low bun fell over my eyes and I briskly brushed it away. My frown was hard to keep at bay with each second passing.

Was he stuck in traffic? Maybe he was still choosing which shirt to wear with his suit. I wouldn't put it past him to look his best on the night of his ultimate triumph. But he wasn't that careless to miss half of this mess! What the heck was he doing? God...

I couldn't stand it anymore. I found the nearest chair and plopped down, sighing under my breath in relief before crossing my legs. The slit on my left thigh parted with the motion as I folded my hands and pretended to be engrossed in whatever bullshit Devon was spewing.

Another clap thundered around the room and I pursed my lips, checking the time on my phone.

Forty-five minutes past his due arrival.

"Sawyer... Please, come. Don't keep me stranded." I gritted under my breath, my expression was carefully neutral.

"Thank you so much once again for sticking with me. Now, I won't keep you from that delicious-smelling dinner any longer folks. Just bear with me a little while longer as I have another exciting announcement to make. It is about an esteemed employee of our Trexon family."

My head snapped toward Devon.

Esteemed employee? Who? Was it about Sawyer? Was it me? Did he... Did he find out?

I gulped as the crowd clapped once more, the sound resembling a pounding headache in my head.

Devon's gaze roamed around the room and paused when they met mine. His sudden smirk had my heart jump.

This was not good.

"She's the one who helped me uncover an astounding mystery about the former CEO of Trexon Empire, Sawyer Ronnes. Apparently, Mr. Ronnes has been hiding a grave past."

My breathing stopped.

"His mother died in a car accident and his father is hanging between life and death in a comatose state. Or this was what we knew. But the truth is, Sawyer's mother didn't die natural. She was murdered. By her vengeful husband at that. And Mr. Ronnes knew this."

My fists clenched tight.

"That's why he overdosed his father and put him in a coma. Sawyer Ronnes is a cold-blooded criminal."

My whole body felt hot.

"You may think it is an exaggeration of a claim. Well,  see the proof for yourself. Change the screen, please!"

This couldn't be happening. No way.

But the second the welcome screen blanked and showed a new slide, I couldn't deny the inevitable.

The first photo was of a medical report.

"Here, we can see the medical statement of Benjamin Ronnes who had a medicinal overdose which is the primary reason for his coma."

The next was a video of an older nurse sitting on a white desk.

The video played and her voice boomed throughout the room—well, her and Devon's who was behind the camera.

"How was Mr. Ronnes senior's condition?" Devon's voice was muffled in the video.

"Very serious. He was already stressed with the company situation as far as I know. Even his relationship with his son was strained." The nurse clasped her hands over the table.

"Strained? How?"

"Well, they argued. Almost always whenever Ronnes junior visited. I don't know for sure, but most of the time it was about their company if not his mother."

"His mother? What about her?"

The nurse fidgeted a little. "Well, that's a personal matter. I don't think I should discuss any of it on camera."

"Ms. Higgins, this is an important matter. Your statement could save lives, you see. We must uncover the truth. You agreed to cooperate."

I frowned.

Save lives? Uncovered the truth? This didn't seem like a businessman snooping through his rival's dirt. It was almost like a reporter's probing.

Ms. Higgins shifted in her seat. "Well, yeah. But I also must maintain my patient's privacy. Sorry, I can't help much."

"I understand your dilemma. However, we're past the point of keeping secrets, ma'am. You know as well as I do what is at stake. Please let's continue with the interview."

What was at stake for him?

After a long moment of squirming, the nurse nodded.

"Okay. But please know that I can't reveal any intimate details regarding the matter. I can only say that Mr. Ronnes and his son had arguments beyond the matter of his treatment."

Devon hummed. "Were they tend to get... heated?"

Ms. Higgins paused.

"Yes."

"Did they involve Mr. Ronnes wife's death?"

The nurse stiffened, pursing her lips tight.

"Ms. Higgins."

"Sometimes."

"Okay... Good. Thank you, Ms. Higgins. I really appreciate your help."

She offered a vague nod. Her mind was clearly elsewhere.

The video ended there.

The next few slides were even more dangerous. They showed Benjamin Ronnes handing money to someone in an alley close to the building of a hospital.

The camera angle was far from its target, showing it was not a candid but a deliberate spy shot.

"That is Benjamin Ronnes, ladies and gentlemen, with Silas Wilson, the head of the forensic department. They are caught in a shady transaction happening right after the death of his wife. This leaves a lot to speculate, doesn't it?"

Devon smirked and I dug my nails hard into my palms, a sorry effort to keep them from scratching that ugly face.

What the hell did I ever even see in him?

A sour taste filled my tongue as I loathed my filthy choice in men.

"And now, let us bring this home, people."

The next slide showed and my breathing stopped. My body felt numb when I saw Sawyer on the screen. And he wasn't alone.

Sawyer was scowling at Devon, holding his suit collar in a fist, while Devon showed him something on his phone.

"This is the picture of a few weeks earlier. You guys must be wondering what did I show him that resulted in such visceral reaction," Devon said, "Well, your answer is in the next slide."

My gown crumpled beneath my fists as the next and the final bomb dropped just as unexpectedly.

It was a video.

The sound of wild traffic was rough on the left of the sidewalk—from which angel this video was taken, most probably from the inside of a car. And even in that chaos, we could hear Sawyer scream.

"Yeah, what will you do?" Sawyer pushed Devon back. "What the fuck will you do, huh!"

"Admit it, Sawyer!" Devon shouted back. "You did this!"

"The heck I did!" Sawyer grabbed Devon's blue collar. "What proof do you have?"

"You mean this is a lie?" Devon shoved his phone in Sawyer's face.

And Sawyer froze.

He mumbled something. Then screamed. "Where did you get this! You fucker!"

And then Sawyer punched Devon.

The crowd in the ballroom gasped while my heart pounded hard.

Devon was provoking him. I didn't know if anyone could see this or not but Devon was poking Sawyer in the worst way possible. And Sawyer only reacted.

But would these people believe?

I had no chance to explore because the next part of the video had my insides freeze.

"It doesn't matter!" Devon shouted, angling his body in a way that showed the camera what was in his phone—it was a photo of Sawyer handing a bundle of banknotes to a man in gray suit. "It's you in it. You're the one bribing shareholders! You are set on ruining this company! Your father's company! Just like you ruined him!"

Sawyer growled and spit on the side. "Fuck it. It was me! Yes! I did this! I ruined him! And I will destroy you too, bastard!"

Sawyer punched Devon once again and the cameraman 'oofed' in response. He shut off the video but not before muttering a vague "Barbarian."

Something nagged in me at that voice but I couldn't bear to ponder much. I was too busy watching the proverbial blackhole swallowing our entire plan whole and spit it back out in a murky, gooey mess.

The crowd muttered around me. Devon spat out some more shit. But I couldn't focus anymore. They all turned a bee's buzz when my eyes caught the open glass doors afar.

Sawyer's cold eyes were frozen on the now black screen.

"Again, I couldn't have done any of this without the help of our most devoted employee," Devon smiled at the mike, his eyes finding me. "Thank you very much, Mirasol Hayes, for your tireless service in exposing the truth. You have done enough to prove that you care about Trexon and how wrong I had been to demote you. Please come to the office next Monday to receive your promotion letter. Oh, there's the great Sawyer Ronnes! Please come in. You'd love to know that I've taken the liberty to call the cops. They'll be here any minute to receive you. Have a nice night everyone. Devon Harlington is officially off your back."

Well... That was unexpected wasn't it? Devon, evil reincarnate! What will happen to our Sawyer now?

Let's see what happens in the next week, yeah?

Till then, take care of your mind, body, and soul.

Love,
Sabrina ❤️