Return Of The Discarded

Something Suspicious

Within some minutes, Jessica was seen rolling on her wheelchair as she got closer.

"Stepmom, did you send for me?" she asked, her voice still cracking from the shock of yesterday. She looks so burdened, her face sad as the sorrow of Morgan is still fresh on her mind. 

"Yes, I did," Abigail replied. Her face was so dimmed and darkened, expressing contempt and disdain at the information she had just heard and seen from the barrister who was sent to deliver the information to the Creek family.

"Jessica, I want you to look forward. What do you see?" Abigail demanded, gesturing to Derick, the lawyer who was seated just a few meters away from Jessica.

"Yeah, it's a human," Jessica replied, not yet realizing what was going on.

With a sigh, Abigail shook her head as she saw that Jessica was so clueless about the situation.

"It's a lawyer, you fool!" Abigail cut in. Her voice was so loud that it made Jessica snap; her body slightly moved in fear. She then handed her the letter that had been given to her by the lawyer.

"Read this," Abigail insisted, stretching her hands toward Jessica.

Jessica collected the paper, then fixed her gaze on it as she checked it out.

"What's this? What's happening here? What does this mean?" Jessica asked in a panicked voice. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her company had never been involved in any fraudulent activity that required it to be closed down.

"You keep asking foolish questions, Jessica. I don't understand you. Are you confused about the information there, or do you want me to elaborate it?" Abigail responded, yelling at Jessica for reacting as if she didn't know what was going on or what the information on the paper implied.

"I want you to tell me the truth, Jessica. What have you done? Were you involved in any money laundering or fraudulent activities that might have led to this?" Abigail asked after a gasp.

"Stepmom, what do you mean by that? Why would I do such a thing? The steel manufacturing company has been standing since I was fifteen, before it was handed to me by my father. Since then, nothing like this has ever been recorded that demanded the company to be short down, what proof do they even have to pin on us?" Jessica spoke through gritted teeth, her face fumed in annoyance.

"So, what you're saying now is that the barrister here is actually lying? Is that what you mean?" Abigail spoke in after listening to Jessica’s heartfelt words, which didn’t matter to her.

"Please, I am not here to cause any commotion or anything that could lead to an unresolved riot. I am only here to solve an issue that’s already on the ground. Well, Jessica, I know you may not know me, but I worked for your father as his private lawyer when he was alive and had been there to plan the growth of the steel manufacturing company together with him. When I heard what happened, I decided to deliver the letter to you myself. Not only that, but I am also here to bring a way out of the problem," Derick explained, cutting into Jessica’s panicked heart.

Hearing Derick’s voice, Jessica felt a little relieved, but at the same time, she had doubts and was suspicious about what Derick had said. He was her father’s private lawyer? The same words kept running through her mind. The only lawyer of her father she knew was Thomas, and Thomas had been dead two years ago after transferring half of the family wealth to Abigail, her stepmother.

"But I don’t know you. The only lawyer of my late dad was Thomas, and he has been dead for two years. How did you came into scene all of a sudden" Jessica replied after thousands of thoughts and reasoning ran through her scattered mind.

"Jessica, why are you so dumb? Didn’t you hear what he said? He was a private lawyer to your father. Now, I want you to explain what private means," Abigail yelled, raising a brow at Jessica. " If your dumb brain can't explain it, then let me do the pleasure. Well, private means something personal and secret," Abigail explained after teasing.

Derick sat quietly, looking at Jessica, who was already trembling, her fingers curled into each other, her teeth chattering as if a cold water was poured onto her. 

"Madam, you don’t have to be afraid. As I told you earlier, I am here to save the company from being closed down. I can’t watch something that was built out of hard work just crumble in the blink of an eye. All I want from you is your cooperation, and everything will be fine," Derick asserted with a warm smile.

Abigail stood up from where she was seated, her hands crossed over her chest, her feet tapping on the ground, staring at Jessica with a blaming stare, as if she was the one who had caused everything to go sideways. 

Staring at Derick, Jessica had no choice. If she really wanted this to work out—something she didn’t even know how it started—she had to dance to their tune. Knowing fully well that something was wrong somewhere. 

After a while, Jessica asked. "So, what is the solution you have now?" Gripping the handles of her wheelchair tightly as if she wanted to squeeze them into shreds, the anger and frustration were getting to her too much. She couldn’t control it anymore. Looking for a way to vent, she gripped the chair so tightly that her fingers pressed into her skin.

Hearing Jessica’s words, Derick gasped before continuing.

"Well, the only way we can save this company from shutting down under the probe and investigation that has been held is if you sign this document," Derick said, bringing another set of documents from his bag, accompanied by a pen, as he handed them to Jessica.

This document Derick had passed to Jessica contains an agreement that involves transferring ownership to another person, which is way more suspicious. 

Jessica collected the documents and, looking at the headline she shifted her gaze to Derick.

"But this document is meant for a different thing! It’s a document that involves transferring ownership," Jessica spoke with doubt and disbelief.

"Yes, of course. That’s the only way out of this. You have to transfer it to your stepmother because that is the requirement for clearing your company from the crime scene. After this is all done and everything moves smoothly, the company will be returned to you," Derick explained with a grin.