“Dad, I just wanted to teach Rachel a lesson! She was trying to steal Jasper from me, and I finally got him back…” she said through gritted teeth.
“Teach her a lesson?!” Sharpson slammed the table so hard the teacups rattled. “Do you have any idea who Cassian Rhodes is?! He could bankrupt Campbell Corporation with a phone call! And you had the balls to pull this shit right under his nose?!”
Valeria flinched but kept her chin up defiantly. “Cassian would never actually care about someone like Rachel.”
What was there to be afraid of? What a bunch of cowards.
“You still don’t get it! If your little scheme had worked quietly, fine. But you got caught and now they’re fighting back. If they keep digging, our whole family could go down. You’re absolutely fucking useless.”
Whitney quickly grabbed her daughter’s arm. “Valeria, apologize to your father right now!”
Whitney knew Sharpson well enough to know he wouldn’t tolerate any pushback.
Valeria bit her lip hard before finally forcing out, “…Sorry.”
Sharpson took a deep breath, trying to control his rage. “Keep a low profile for a while. Don’t draw any attention to yourself. I’ve already got people handling damage control, hopefully we can come out of this clean.”
He needed to be extra careful since he was trying to build relationships with Rhodes Global.
Valeria reluctantly muttered, “Fine.”
After work, Rachel packed up and headed out of the office.
Her phone started ringing, and thinking it was Cassian, she answered with a bright smile.
But it was Jasper’s voice that came through.
Rachel immediately moved to hang up, but Jasper seemed to anticipate this.
“Rachel, don’t hang up. I need to say something.”
Rachel frowned, her tone turning cold. “What?”
“Are you okay? I saw those photos online. I’m sorry–I didn’t mean to cause you trouble,” Jasper said, actually sounding humble for once.
Rachel pressed her lips together. So he didn’t know who was behind this?
What would happen if Jasper found out his precious girlfriend was the mastermind?
Philips had investigated and found security footage of Valeria photographing them on the balcony. She was the prime suspect.
But when they questioned the scapegoats, they insisted they’d acted alone. The trail went cold there.
Rachel stayed quiet for a few seconds.
“What’s wrong? Were you scared?” came Jasper’s voice again.
Rachel actually laughed. Scared? She hadn’t even started fighting back yet.
“Mr. Hale, if you really don’t want to cause me trouble, just stay the hell away from me,” Rachel said coolly.
“I’m trying to have a serious conversation here,” Jasper said, irritation creeping into his voice.
His tone got darker. Rachel’s attitude toward him had completely changed.
I’m being serious too. Instead of calling me, maybe keep your little side piece in line. If she pisses me off again, she’ll regret it
With that, Rachel hung up.
Jasper was left speechless, hearing only the dial tone.
What did she mean by ‘side piece“?
Was this connected to Valeria somehow?
Jasper’s frown deepened.
