"Young Miss! Young Miss..!"
Incessant, loud pounding on the door woke the sleepy Liu Li, she stirred uncomfortably on her bed with a mild frown on her clean face that was devoid of makeup.
Irritated, Liu Li turned her back to the door and continued to sleep with her eyes squeezed shut and a small pillow on her head, ignoring the ear-splitting screams.
"Young Miss wake up..!"
However, the booming noise grew louder with each passing second.
Pushing back all the sleepiness, Liu Li was forced to sit up straight and glare daggers at the door as she cursed out loud. Her vexed expression ugly.
"What the hell.."
Dragging her feet, Liu Li reached the door and pulled it open, her eyes red in anger as she was ready to yell at the intruder.
Before Liu Li could give the maid an earful or any words could leave her mouth, the maid hurriedly spoke up, extremely agitated.
"Young Miss.. Mr Liu, he.."
With just a few words from the maid, Liu Li's hazy eyes cleared up, the sleepiness flew out of the window and her gaze was sharply directed at the timid looking woman. Her voice was crisp and demanding.
"What happened? Where's dad.."
The maid had a sorry appearance with her head lowered, she twisted uncomfortably in her place before shoving the newspaper in Liu Li's hand.
"Look at this.."
An ominous feeling engulfed Liu Li as she stared at the folded piece of paper, her heart thumping loudly against her chest and she felt her throat run drier than any desert. It was unsettling.
Unfolding the newspaper with her slightly trembling fingers, Liu Li's eyes popped out of her sockets as she looked at the words imprinted on it. Consumed by nothing but jarring shock and disbelief, she stuttered in a barely audible, hoarse whisper.
"Da.. Dad?"
As Liu Li's eyes scanned through the headlines, a stabbing pain rose in her chest making it difficult for her to breathe. She simply stared at the contents with an open mouth, her eyes filled with tears of resentment and hurt.
Clenching the paper tightly till her knuckles turned pale, reading through her blurry gaze Liu Li stood unmoving. Her eyes grew wide at the familiar words that caught her attention and brought a faint memory of last night's phone call.
'The Exposè!!!'
'Mr Liu Chenmin, the famous businessman was found in a scandal with two under age girls at XY Hotel.. yesterday night'
Yesterday night?
Exposè..!
How?!
Wasn't it supposed to be Seraphina Lu in the headlines?
How did.. This happen?
'NO..'
'Nooo...!'
Shrieking internally like a banshee, Liu Li shook her head as she refused to believe that her schemes failed the aim of her target and instead she shot herself in the foot.
The maid was astounded beyond words to see the rare look of fear, disbelief and hurt and prickling pain plastered on the proud Liu Li. It was a foreign sight.
"Young Miss? This letter, it was left beside the newspaper.."
Averting her gaze away from Liu Li, the maid took out a neat white envelope, it had no creases or stains, it was crisp and pristine. She bent her head and kept it on the table before leaving the room in silence.
As the maid's words fell on her ears, Liu Li had a vast reaction and the newspaper in her hands fell on the floor. She hastened her movements and swooped the letter on the table, roughly tearing apart the seal she opened the letter inside.
An intense fear filled Liu Li, petrified she fell on her knees and her head spun. The glaring words written on the white paper echoed in her ears.
'Touching my people is equal to touching death..'
- - -
At the entrance of the hotel
An exhausted and dead beat Liu Chenmin was blocked by a barrage of reporters, a number of bodyguards were guarding him yet the situation was really chaotic. His head throbbed in pain, his eyes bloodshot and appearance disheveled.
"Mr Liu, Mr Liu what do you have to say about this scandal of yours?"
"Mr Liu, are you really a paedophile? Are you sexually related to the two underaged school girls found in your room?"
"Mr Liu, how do you explain the existence of the two school girls in your hotel room as well as the drugs and alcohol found last night..?"
"Mr Liu? Look here.."
"Mr Liu? Mr Liu please answer.."
The current demeanor of Liu Chenmin was entirely different from his original imposing front, to the point he was unrecognizable.
With great difficulty, the man was finally able to evade the persistent bunch of media and slipped into his car, unharmed. Exhaustion took over Liu Chenmin's entire being, yet his dark eyes were wide open with no sign of sleep in them.