Chapter Seven

Diana was beyond honoured to receive an invite from Jose Pelen himself. It was stated in the text that Jose had found his lost son and was holding this party so as to introduce him to the world as his heir. Diana knew for sure that her being able to secure an invite had something to do with  their encounter this afternoon. 

"Erica!" she screamed running out of her room.

"What is it mother?" Erica answered from the kitchen with a sandwich stuck in her mouth.

The woman raced down the staircase like a cheetah, in no time she was down the kitchen. "Leave whatever it is you are doing we have a party to prepare for, Jose Pelen himself invited us to his party."

"Really?" Erica asked excitedly, tossing the sandwich aside. For the first time in days, the two spoke to each other in a calm tone.

"They also said to bring Zane along I wonder why." She frowned, not too pleased with this, now that Matthew was out of the picture and Jose had found his lost son Diana thought that it would be nice to have him as a son in law rather than Zane. 

They both got dressed in their finest outfits and departed for Jose Pelen's mansion where the party was to be held. Diana marvelled when they got there, the place was bustling with people in their expensive suits and cars. Jose made sure to invite every influential person on the planet. 

"They make our money look like a joke." She whispered to her daughter who was busy looking around, smiling excitedly.

"Act like you've been here before!" Diana quickly called her to order. 

"You're so fake." Erica hissed walking away.

"Wait for me!"

Erica stood in a corner, casually sipping champagne when she saw someone who resembled her ex-husband laughing in the crowd with a woman by his side. My eyes must be playing a trick on me, she thought, advancing forward to take a closer look.

"Matthew?" She called out unsure and the man's head snapped up to meet her gaze, Erica's mouth fell open. "What are you doing here?" She was unable to contain her shock. He was covered in a fancy suit, the woman next to him was dressed in an equally expensive attire.

Matthew was glad to see her but concealed his happiness for the right moment. "The same thing you are doing here." He replied.

Erica could only arrive at one conclusion, "You have found yourself another rich woman to latch on to haven't you?" To think she felt bad and worried for his safety.

"I told you I did not, he is just a pretender." Diana said coming from behind, her voice was loud enough to gather attention. "The divorce has not even been finalised yet and he has already found another target to suck dry." Whispers erupted from the many people around, they all sided with Diana unaware of Matthew's identity. 

Annoyed, Irene stepped forward to speak up but was pulled back by Matthew. "Not yet."

"If you know what is good for you madam you will stay away from him, do not be fooled by his looks. He has nothing to offer, ask my daughter he can't even perform well in bed. I wonder what you keep him around for." Diana said to Irene and she burst out laughing. "That one is a lie."

"You cheater." Anger rose in Erica's eyes.

"It's okay my love." Zane snuck up from behind pulling her into his chest which she did not resist. He planted a soft kiss on her forehead then looked up.

"Who exactly is the cheater?" Matthew shouted, gaining attention. "The divorce has not even been finalized." All he did was link arms with Irene meanwhile Erica and Zane were openly flaunting their affair. 

The crowd soon changed stances, referring to Erica as a wicked woman and this pleased Matthew.

"You have no right to be here, someone to call security." Diana suddenly yelled, as if on cue two security men trailed in, grabbed Matthew's arms and started pulling him out while he did not fight back, it was all part of his big plan.

"Stop." Irene faked tears running after them while Erica and her gang rejoiced. 

Soon they were out of sight and the party resumed.

"It's a fine night isn't it." 

A voice spoke up stealing everyone's attention, standing on the stage was Jose covered in a red suit with a mic in his hand. "I want to thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedule to make it to my party. I will be introducing my heir to you all tonight but before that I would like for us to play a game."

Silence danced in the air as the people stared fully anticipating his next words. 

"To begin, you are to line up in the order of the car you came with, starting from the cheapest to the most expensive." 

"What car did you drive here?" Diana turned to Zane, he looked away too embarrassed to even mention it. 

"Are you sure we are not the cheapest mom?" Erica asked, looking around nervously. By then people had already started forming a queue, they were asked to show their car keys as proof. 

"This is ridiculous!" Diana stomped her foot on the ground.

"We are waiting for you to begin." Jose said from the stage at the trio who were busy panicking in a corner instead of getting into line. 

Diana flipped her purse open and flung out her car keys, trailing forward with pride while she trembled inside. She presented the keys to a tall woman and she led her to the very start of the line, her vision was soon blocked by Zane who took the lead. 

Jose smiled satisfied, "we are ready to commence now. The first three people will be required to step on to the stage, since they have the cheapest cars. I would like to give them a chance."

"I will ask three of you a question each, if you get it right you win a million dollars but if you lose my son will be the one to decide your punishment."