CHAPTER 211: CHAPTER 210. RED HANDED

Mari crouched behind the broom cupboard anxiously, holding her breath so that no one could hear her. Not that she had much presence in the first place, but...

Uhh...what should I do? She bit her nails nervously, peeking out to check on the situation. Should she stay? Should she run away? Gripping her phone, she was praying to her light and savior the second young miss, wishing she would arrive quickly.

"Let’s get out of here quickly," the chairman’s brother whispered urgently. "I’ll use the front door and pretend to smoke. You take the back, it should be unlockable from the inside. Tell a staff member to come here--to clean or whatever--so we can shift the blame to that person."

Mari almost gasped--how wicked! If she were still in the main house, it would have been her who received the order; then, she would be blamed for this evil scheme!

"Tsk--I know that already," the third wife grumbled. "What about the CCTVs? You’re sure you’re already shutting them down, right?"

"I told you I did!" the chairman’s brother replied in annoyance. "Hurry up and go!"

The third wife clicked her tongue and turned away. Looking at them, Mari wondered if they were really lovers or just reluctant allies. The third wife almost stomped her way as she went to the back door and--

Ack! Mari grasped her hair in panic. She was following them through the front door earlier, and hid behind the cupboard for cleaning supplies situated right before the back door--because she didn’t think they would use it! After all, they were using the front door earlier!

What to do? What to do? Mari clasped her mouth--there was no way the third wife wouldn’t see if she used the back door. And it was too late for her to use it herself because the third wife would be able to see it.

Pressing her lips tightly, Mari compressed her body as much as possible, gathering her skirt so it wouldn’t peek out of the edge of the cupboard as the madam’s footsteps got closer and closer--

"What are you doing?!" both Mari and the third wife flinched. "What is the meaning of this?!"

The third wife turned her head when she heard Lee Hyun’s voice from the front door. He spoke angrily, intentionally loud as if he wanted to mask any other sounds coming from the house.

"What are you doing here, Sir?" the third wife could hear Chief Security Kim’s voice. "Shouldn’t you be at the party, right now?"

"It’s none of your business," Lee Hyun replied more calmly, although there was a slight tremble in his voice. "This is my father’s house; I can go wherever I want."

"Is that so?" the chief secretary sounded totally unimpressed. "But why are you alone, Sir? Where’s the one who comes with you?"

"What the fuck are you even talking about?"

Ignoring the chairman’s brother, the chief secretary raised his hand as a signal and got the other security personnel behind him. "Go and look for the Madam inside."

Lee Hyun widened his eyes as the guards rushed inside the annex as if they were making a bust. "Now wait a minute--"

"Stay still, Sir, or I will have to contain you," the chief secretary held Lee Hyun’s shoulder before he could even turn around, staring down at the man intimidatingly.

"What even--"

The sound of the guards rushing in snapped the stunned and confused third wife. "Shit!"

She cursed under her breath and hurriedly ran to the back door, trying to unlock it. So focused she was that she didn’t realize a girl was crouching behind the cupboard; the girl who proceeded to grab the hem of her blouse and pull her away from the door.

"You can’t!"

"What is--" Mina gasped as she felt the strong pull, and grabbed the door handle to anchor herself. She looked back and saw a girl she didn’t even remember, wearing the uniform of the house staff. "Why is this bitch here?!"

"Over there!"

Unfortunately for her, the girl’s loud scream called the guards who stormed the annex. "Damn it!" Mina turned around and hit the hand clutching her clothes. "Let me go!"

"No!" the girl glared at her viciously, even though her hands were getting red from the beating. "You’re a wicked woman!"

"I said, let me go!"

Mina snarled and grabbed the girl’s hair with one hand while smacking the girl’s hands with another. At one point, she even used her phone and made the girl scream harder in pain. Still, the girl clutched at her like she was a lifeline.

"You bitch! I told you to--"

"Stop, Madam!" the guards reached them during that time; one of them grabbed Mina’s hands and separated her from the girl. "It’s no use--the chairman had ordered us to detain you."

"W-what?!" Mina widened her eyes as the guards, who were supposed to hold her in high regard, grabbed her arms and actually dragged her toward the living room as if she were a criminal. "What are you talking about? Don’t touch me!" she glared at the guards, bewildered at how one of them helped the girl who was clutching her earlier. "Fuck--leg me go! How dare you touch me?! I’m the Madam! I’m the one who paid you!"

The chief secretary, who was standing between the living room and the foyer to make sure Lee Hyun couldn’t run away, shook his head. "No, you’re not. The chairman paid us, so stay here quietly until he arrives."

"Argh! Let me go!"

"Mina, calm down!" Lee Hyun hissed. The guards actually let her go though, shoving her toward Lee Hyun, who was cornered on the couch. "Chief Kim, what is the meaning of this?"

"There’s no use in pretending anymore, Sir. We know what you two are planning."

Lee Hyun helped Mina sit down on the couch, before looking back at the chief secretary. "What are you talking about?"

Once again, the chief secretary ignored the chairman’s brother and ordered his subordinate. "Search them."

"Chief Kim!" Lee Hyun snapped as the guards came toward him. But it seemed like he knew better than to fight the search, although he was still glaring at the chief security. "You dare?!"

The search continued, no matter how much Lee Hyun was glaring and Mina was protesting. Female security personnel were also called to search the Madam, which was more difficult to handle. But she didn’t wear clothes with pockets and brought no purse, so she was easier to search.

"There’s nothing, Sir."

Unfortunately, the search didn’t yield a significant result. It was this time that a high-pitched voice shouted from the corner of the room. It was the girl who held onto the madam earlier, standing menacingly with messy hair and reddened hands.

"The trash can!" Mari pointed at the kitchen. "They throw something like a bottle into the kitchen’s trash can, the organic one--these anti-environmental people!"

The third wife snapped. "You bitch?!"

"You..." the chief secretary looked at the girl with narrowed eyes.

"Y-yes?"

"Why are you here?"

The girl blinked. "Uhh, that--"

"It’s her!"

And then, suddenly, the madam gasped as if receiving a revelation, pointing at the girl the way the girl pointed at the kitchen.

"W-what?"

"She was the one who sneaked inside this building!" Mina stood up. "We were just following her because she looked suspicious! Whatever you find, it must be hers!"

"E-eeeeh?!"

"What a pathetic attempt, Jeong Mina," a new voice scoffed from the entrance, prompting the others to turn their head toward the door. "Do you think everyone is as stupid as you?"

Mari clasped her mouth because she was almost screaming in relief. Her light and saviour, indeed. She stared at her young miss with glittering eyes that made her look like she was about to cry. Sarah looked at her back, frowning at the red and blue marks on the girl’s hands.

"You--" Mina glared at her stepdaughter and snarled. "Watch your mouth, Lee Seul--"

Slap!

Before she could even finish, Sarah had already crossed the living room and planted her palm on Mina’s cheek. It was hard enough to stun the audience and leave a red mark on the older woman’s cheek.

Almost as red as the marks on Mari’s hands.

"I told you it’s Sarah, you fool," Sarah said coldly at the bewildered woman, before shifting her gaze toward the guards. "You, tell me what you saw when you apprehended her."

The guard flinched. "Uhh...this girl was holding onto the Madam, who was trying to open the back door..."

"How weird," Sarah tilted her head, sneering at the third wife--who was clutching her reddened cheek on the couch--and the chairman’s brother--who was holding her. "If you were only following her, why would you be the one who ran away instead of her? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?"

Mina bit her lips hard before replying angrily. "W-who said I was running away?!"

"What was she doing here, then?" the chairman’s brother asked defensively. "Why is that girl in this place?"

"That’s right--what are you doing here, girl?" Sarah walked to the corner and stroked the messy hair, fixing it slightly. "The chairman would like to know. Right, Chairman?"

"Indeed."

Once again, they all turned toward the door, where the chairman was standing at the door with the chief secretary and the eldest daughter behind him. His eyes, which were rarely warm, were even colder than ever.

Far from being dead, he looked at his brother and wife as if he were going to kill them instead.