CHAPTER FIVE
The atmosphere in the living room was tensed up as Jonathan stood across his wife and Williams, the lawyer. Hazel's appearance had halted the argument. Jonathan looked at his daughter, small and innocent. He knew discussing about divorce in front of his daughter could have an emotional impact on her and hurt her. He was unwilling to do that. So he took a deep breath and reached out to his daughter. He opened his arms, ready to comfort her with a hug but before he could move, she looked at him, then looked at Williams the lawyer and finally her gaze settled on her mother. There was a moment of hesitation on Hazel's face, but then, to Jonathan's surprise, his daughter ran towards the lawyer, wrapping her small arms around his legs. "Daddy!" she cried out, her voice filled with joy. Hazel remembered this uncle who often came to her house, he would buy her many toys and her mother told her to call him "Daddy". She also didn't forget he got her the expensive Barbie doll for her birthday. Jonathan's mind shook. If he clearly didn't understand what was happening, then he was a fool to begin with. It was obvious the lawyer, Williams, was the mother's friend who visited their home, the Rich Daddy that Hazel had talked about. No one could feel how much pain he was in right now. Petrified, Jonathan felt a cold wave of realisation wash over him. The lawyer, standing there with a smug and arrogant expression, was not just a lawyer in profession but he had a profession of stealing people's wives; he was his wife's lover. Anger surged within Jonathan, as he clenched his fists, making crackling noises and was ready to punch him. Williams, sensing his intention, spoke calmly, "You should know, a man with a tendency for violence has no chance of winning custody. So go on, punch me, I will gladly take it." He chuckled at the end of his words . Jonathan was angry but he knew the lawyer was right. Withholding his punch, he turned to face his wife, the anger displayed fully on his face as he said, "Do you really think you deserve to raise her? As a mother, you instil bad ideas in your daughter's head. Your kind of lifestyle is also meant to corrupt her. You don't deserve to be raised, in fact you are unfit to be a mother." His wife, Sarah gave a mocking laugh and said with scorn, "Even if I want to leave her for you, do you think she would choose you? Pathetic!" Jonathan turned to face his daughter, all the anger that was shown on his face disappeared as he looked at his daughter with a soft, tender and hopeful gaze. He gently asked, "Sweetheart, don't you want to live with Daddy? We can go skating and have fun whenever you want." However, the response he received was like a dagger that pierced deep in his heart. Hazel shook her head as she said without any hint of hesitation, "I want to stay with mommy and rich daddy." Her words cut deep into him as it left him shocked and in deep pains. His wife had not only betrayed him but had also turned their daughter against him. Jonathan stared at his daughter, his vision blurring with tears gathering within his tears, however, he did not cry. He felt like the living room was closing in on him, every piece of furniture a witness to his crumbling world. He saw his daughter as the light of his life but at this moment, she was slipping away from him, influenced by the very people he hated. His wife who betrayed him and the smug lawyer. He wanted to reach out, to explain things and make her understand, but the innocence in her eyes had been tainted with confusion and manipulation. He had nothing left again once Hazel was gone. Hazel was his reason to keep living and fighting. The only thoughts that kept flowing through his mind were back when things were different, when everyone was happy. The times where he put his daughter to sleep by reading her bedtime stories, when they danced together, made jokes and laughed together. Those happy memories. Jonatham turned to his daughter, his heart shattering. “Sweetheart, please, don’t you remember all the good times we had? Remember last year when I took you to that park and we played all sorts of games. When we went camping, remember how I taught you to catch fishes and you were so happy catching your first fish. Don’t you want to stay daddy?” His daughter’s eyes, once so full of love and trust, now looked at him with confusion. “Mommy says I have to stay with Rich Daddy,” she said simply, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. There was no resistance or hesitation. Jonathan trembled as he looked at his wife, "Why? Why did you do this? Even as far as turning my daughter against me. Are you this heartless? Sarah didn't care what he said but rather looked at him with a mocking gaze. "So what if I'm heartless, she didn't choose you." Of course, Jonathan knew that but the reason she didn't choose him was because of his wife. "She's my daughter and you know how much I love her. You can live but do you really have to take her away?" Jonathan pleaded, his voice breaking Sarah was not moved but simply said in a dismissive tone, "She’s better off with us, with me and her rich daddy.” Jonathan trembled, despair taking over him. At that moment, the lawyer, Williams stepped forward with documents in his hand, "You need to sign the agreement." He said without any hint of emotion or sympathy. Jonathan, who was mentally breaking down, ignored him. His mind was already shattered. Williams continued, "One thing you should know, the judge is my aunt so whether you sign it or not, it won't matter but in this case, you are bound to be the loser anyway." After pausing for a moment, Williams leaned closer to Jonathan and said in a quiet voice with a mocking tone underneath, "By the way, your daughter that you really love isn't yours. I'm her real and biological father.”
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CHAPTER 40
The gasps and side comments were getting intense and Precious wasn't helping matters as she was mute and also wore a calm expression. “Are you indeed the culprit?” Karlyx asked. He was standing by her side at the moment. “Nope! I want to use the bathroom.” Relieved, Karlyx exhaled as he pushed his head backwards. Crossing his hands, he informed them that she wasn't the culprit and once again there was murmuring in the hall as everyone wanted to speak at the same time. Vina kept sipping from her bottle while Karl clenched and unclenched his fists as his heart rammed against his chest. Solomon did nothing to end the suspense, rather he took the chair next to Jonathan and then plopped on it. With his hands crossed on the table, he asked, “What should I do next?”“We should allow them to confess as planned.” He muttered. Smirking, Solomon leaned in and with a voice barely above a whisper, he said, “You have no idea who you are dealing with.” “They aren't going to say a word as the
CHAPTER 39
Getting to the boardroom, it was already packed to the brim with the staff who were itching to find out what the meeting was all about. Seated on the elevated platform were a handful of board of directors, shareholders and then the managerial team of the mall. Vina kept scrolling through her iPad, trying to take her mind off the handsome young man she had encountered earlier. Deep down, she felt a connection like they had known each other before now but the issue was, she couldn't place the connection. He kept looking strange to her when in the real sense he was familiar. Using the butt of her pencil to scratch the bridge of her nostrils, she raised her head just in time to see Pearl pulling out a seat for him on the table she sat on too. Since she was sitting next to Karl, she held his arm, urging him to look in their direction which he did. “That should be Jonathan Gray.” He mumbled as he peered at them. “No way! What is going on here?” He gulped. It seemed like his senses ha
CHAPTER 38
Jonathan and Pearl exchanged glances before returning their gazes to Vina who was still fuming in anger. Stepping forward, Pearl cooed, “You should get a grip of yourself dear.” She went further to say, “No one here is a petty thief and moreover, you didn't walk past with your car key, you should look around more carefully.” Despite her mild tone, Vina was still furious and wanted to hit her but Jonathan stepped in, suspending her hand mid air. “You shouldn't be acting out of board young lady.” He snapped. “Like she said, no one is a petty thief and you shouldn't go around trying to defame someone.” He pushed her aside, and at once an angry Vina raised her head. For a moment, she kept staring at Jon as anger raked through her. Just when he thought she had finally recognized the man in front of her, he exhaled. “If I don't get to find my keys, both of you will remain in the holding cell until I do.” She huffed and then stormed away in fury. Frustrated, Pearl tossed her head aside
CHAPTER 37
Armed with evidence which was enough to put an end to Vina Leighton and Karl Smith's streak, Jonathan called for a general meeting of all staff in the mall. From the lowly janitor to the manager, they all were to converge at the hall for a brief meeting before the mall would be reopened again. That morning while Jonathan was getting ready for work, Ariel walked up to him, wrapping her hands around his waist with her head placed on his back. “These days you’ve been scarce, is everything alright?” She asked, her tone dripping with sincerity. For the last few days, she had been trying to have a little chit chat with him but before he would return home, she was already in bed and before she woke up the next day, he was off. “Yeah!” Jonathan nodded, taking her hands off his waist gently. Swirling around to face her, he placed his hand on her shoulder, “You shouldn't bother about me, I’m absolutely fine.” “Hazel misses you, you should try to create time for her.” She said as she remov
CHAPTER 36
With an alarmed look on her face, Vina plopped on the couch next to him as she leaned forward. “What are you talking about?” She asked her heart, ramming against her chest as she darted her eyes around, hoping it shouldn't be what she was thinking. “They suddenly barged in, I had no prior information of their presence.” He exhaled as Vina peered at him, waiting for him to spill what she wanted to hear. “You know I trust my instincts so well, I had to send the documents to you this morning. They didn't find anything on me, I'm grateful for that.” He muttered while she sighed in relief. “By the way, I have a bit of explanation concerning the content of those documents.” When she didn't respond, he asked, “Were they here too?” “Yes.” She nodded, the look on his face going sour. Vina didn't need anyone to tell her Karl was scared, the look on his face was enough and it was as if he was going to pass out the next second. Feigning to have really flopped, she bent her head and then be
CHAPTER 35
The next day, having booked an appointment with Harrison the previous day, Jonathan made his way to his office to meet with him.Before his arrival, Harrison had made sure he informed the protocol at the gate to treat him with respect and that was exactly what they did. Now seated opposite him in his spacious office, Jonathan was swirling the content of his mug with his gaze on Harrison who was itching to hear what he had to say. “About Williams, I’m sorry.” Jonathan kick-started the conversation.“You don't need to apologize. He deserves what came for him and I can attest to the fact that he is still learning his lessons.” Nodding his head in rhythm, Jonathan took a sip from his mug before fixing his gaze on him. “I need your help in getting the prosecution to perform a search and seizure on my shopping mall.” Laughing softly, Harrison titled his head to the side before saying, “I can't believe you booked an appointment just to say this to me when you could easily have said it o
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