Chapter 133: Fall from Grace

ELIANA

Two months passed, and I witnessed the birth of our business while watching the downfall of an Empire.

Unlike Windham, which would take years to construct even after revolutionary technological advances, our project was pretty much at the turn-over phase.

This was one benefit of constructing separate villas instead of a vertical high-rise, especially when the villas were prefabricated and only had to be assembled on-site.

Or maybe it was the fact that strict contractors directly supervised our project. Technically, we were already ahead of schedule, but Lucian and Idris regularly inspected the site themselves.

And that alone scared the bejesus out of the supervisors and construction workers. Rina’s scowling face probably played a role as well. She’s been going back and forth so much that I had to ask her to just take the chopper, only to get rejected, as if begrudgingly.

After all, Idris drove her almost every time.

So much for being too busy to accept projects!

But to his credit, Rina did say he was really swamped with work. This annoyed her because he kept insisting on acting like her personal chauffeur.

We could probably schedule the opening at the end of this quarter. And if there was anyone who was more excited than us owners, then it would be Alyssa and Ben.

Alyssa was a given, considering her ties to Loretta, but Ben’s excitement stemmed from seeing his work come alive. Our office renovation was a small project that mostly needed furniture, but the Boutique hotel was different. That would mark his first major work, not to mention that both brothers were working on the same project.

Yeah, that’s Sid.

Unlike Ben, his brother wasn’t into construction-related design. He was more into tech and advertising. So, instead of joining their family business, Sid had to open his own firm.

It took a while to convince him, but at Ben’s recommendation, we finally obtained an agency that should be free from the enemy’s manipulation.

Especially now that I have got many vindictive souls lurking around.

While our business was progressing nicely, the Thornhills were on the verge of collapse.

After Alexa stopped working for BCI, well, technically, she went AWOL all of a sudden. We decided to pull out Alyssa and Lara from SCC. While Alyssa went back to work with us, Lara offered to first take a look at what Alexa was doing after she left.

I wasn’t sure about this at first, but she said she’d be more than happy to watch that large threat.

That was how we learned of her forced hours at the Thornhill Headquarters. She was supposedly working there now. However, Lara described her actions as signing without reading.

Then once the loan funds were obtained, Alexa just decided to "fuck it all and leave," as per Lara’s words.

She watched Alexa spend like the capital influx had fixed her problems. I couldn’t help but notice how annoyed Lara was that Alexa was squandering our money (technically) like that.

"She has no self-control. Or she’s really ignorant." Lara gave her opinion about Alexa’s behavior.

"It’s probably a combination of both. Alexa’s used to shopping therapy but was too naive to understand what was happening to their company." I told her, who only nodded earnestly in response.

But that was weeks ago.

Weeks before they finally defaulted.

Lara described Alexa’s frenzied checkout, not to mention her credit cards getting declined as she hurriedly checked out at the front desk.

"She looked flustered and borderline livid. At first, she was planning on screeching at the staff, but after looking at her phone, she rushed to use her debit card instead."

Alexa’s face apparently looked worse than ever as she powered to leave the hotel premises.

Lara showed us a few photos and some clips of her leaving, and I was amazed at how close Lara could get.

"That girl doesn’t care much about her surroundings unless she wants to impress someone deliberately."

No wonder she could get that close without getting discovered.

"What was surprising was how several maids went out with Alexa’s things. Especially the ones she just bought. After having the maids followed, their chatter heavily described how Alexa was slapped senseless after amassing a card bill that they now had no way to pay."

"So, the maids had to return what could still be returned. Unfortunately for them, Alexa wasn’t one to keep receipts, so you could just imagine."

"What was interesting was how her mother reacted. She looked like she was experienced. Readily securing cold cash as well as the valuables."

Hmm.

That’s interesting.

I didn’t take Aunt Ingrid to have that in her system. Frankly, though, I never cared much to check on her or her background. She just popped out suddenly, and I was too young back then to ask sensible questions.

All I could remember was suddenly being introduced to a new cousin who I just had to accommodate.

I kept hearing words like, "The poor child missed out on this and that, so everyone in the family must work hard to make her feel welcome."

It was as if we owed her something.

For some reason, compensation always had to come from me.

Now that I think about it, I wonder why she appeared only at that time and as a fully grown toddler at that.

Maybe I didn’t have the time to think about it, considering the kind of life I had to live back then.

All I remember was how the Chairman’s treatment changed nearly overnight. Suddenly, I was the stepping stone for a kid I barely knew.

Frankly, now that I’m older, I realize how that looked too much like guilt. It was as if he was so guilty about something that he was desperate to try and overcompensate for it.

That would’ve been fine for most people, I guess.

Sadly, Alexa wasn’t normal.

And their negligence allowed for the development and nurturing of one such demon.

Then Lara informed us that the demon had tried contacting Nicholas, insisting on meeting for something very important.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read