"Don't forget to report this to Vincent! I'm sure he will be happy to know that he's going to go bankrupt soon!" Diamond yelled and then laughed, full of mockery.
Maria gritted her teeth. She hastened her steps and entered the elevator with her henchmen, finally admitting defeat.
There was nothing but silence in the elevator as they went down. The two henchmen looked at each other nervously until one of them opened their mouth, "Ma'am, how about our payment?"
Ding!
Maria waited until the elevator door was opened. She looked over her shoulder and replied, "You two are fired. Don't you dare to show your faces in front of me again, or I will make sure to make your life a living hell."
The two henchmen were shocked by the old woman's words but couldn't do anything against her because she had Vincent Gray as backing.
Maria stomped her heels as she walked out of the lobby towards the parking lot. She entered her car and then sat silently, letting everything sink in before she scoffed, full of contempt, "Then, my only bet is to find Chloe forcefully and bring her in front of Vincent. Let him do whatever he wants with that stupid woman until he has returned to his old self, and the company will return to normal. That is my only hope at this point."
Knowing that Vernon or Diamond wasn't her match without proper preparation, Maria decided to focus on her last option. Thus she called the Informant that handled the hospital and CPS and asked.
-
"Did you get any information regarding Chloe Gray's visit to the hospital?" Maria asked.
"Yes," the Informant replied, much to Maria's delight. "I just got a report that there will be a visit to see Judith Carlson's corpse in the morgue, and the visitor's name is Chloe Carlson."
"Good, I will make sure to prepare a trap for her. This is our last hope, don't mess this up," Maria said.
"Understood, Ma'am."
Beep.
—
Maria was relieved that at least something was going in her direction. At least she still had control over the situation.
"The Gray family will never fall as long as I'm around. I will continue supporting Mr. Vaughn Gray and his family for the rest of my life," Maria promised as she had to prepare for the ambush in the hospital.
**
Diamond made sure that Maria and her henchmen already entered the elevator. She then shut her door and locked it before facing her brother again.
Both Derek and Desmond had that questioning face. They were confused by the whole situation.
"What just happened, Diamond?" Desmond asked.
"Yeah, what just happened?" Derek added. "You suddenly called us to visit your apartment this evening for an urgent matter, but you won't tell us the reason."
"Are you in debt?" Desmond asked. "I mean, just by the look of that greedy old woman and her two henchmen, they look like they're searching for you because you've borrowed money from a loan shark."
Derek argued, "Eh, that's impossible, bro. Don't you know that her Boss paid her one million dollars per year for her job? How come she could get herself in debt?"
"ONE MILLION?!" Desmond's eyes widened. "Holy shit, I'd love to get paid that much by being a secretary. Your Boss is so generous, Diamond."
"I know, right, I want to be paid that much too," Derek lamented because his salary as a police officer was barely enough to cover living costs in New York.
"Ugh, can you two shut up? I've just survived a life and death situation!" Diamond yelled frustratedly.
Desmond and Derek looked at each other in confusion, "Life and death situation?"
Diamond rolled her eyes, "That old hag just now is Vincent Gray's secretary, Maria Orien. She is a ruthless old bitch that just cannot die out of a heart attack. She's the one that has been helping Vincent with all of his crazy antics."
"You can say that Maria is even more dangerous than Vincent, because she is far more scheming and has no weakness, unlike Vincent whose weakness is obviously Chloe," Diamond said. "I had a feeling that she would target me today, after I fired her mole that had been spying on the company for a while. That's why I called both of you to come. It seems that my guess is right."
"What will they do if we're not here, Sis?" Derek asked.
Diamond went silent for a while and replied, "I'll be tortured, killed, anything unpleasant you could think of. That woman is evil."
"Then I will try to find a way to persecute her. If she can be that evil to you, then she must've committed other crimes before," Desmond said. "Derek will help to arrest her, right?"
"Yep, I can help with that as long as there is an arrest warrant," Derek added.
"Not now, Vincent and Maria are still too powerful for us to fight, we're still nothing compared to them right now. I will tell you the right moment when we should strike," Diamond said. "It's better for me to inform my boss first, so he will be on guard."
Desmond and Derek nodded, "Then we'll be waiting. Don't worry, we will always help as long as it's for you or Chloe."
Diamond chuckled, "Are you guys still obsessed with my homegirl?"
Derek and Desmond became bashful when they were talking about Chloe. Derek was the first to admit it, "I can't lie. I saw a trending video on twitter. I saw her face. She has gotten healthier, and looks so beautiful. I think I fell in love."
"Same, I saw that video, she looks like a goddess compared to that ugly female joker," Desmond added. "I'd be happy if you could give me her phone number."
"Hahah, I can't," Diamond refused. "I know you like Chloe, but there is a man that deserves her much more than any other man in this world. He devoted his life for her, and honestly, I'm afraid he will kill both of you if you guys dare to make a move on Chloe."
"So, for the good of everyone, let's just watch her happiness from the side."