The small table in Mia’s kitchen had never seen so much tension before.
Ansel sat in the chair, looking completely out of place. Leo was standing beside him. Across from them, Savannah and Mia sat both with their arms crossed.
"Victor’s offshore transfer initiates at exactly eight o’clock. Leo, confirm the window," Ansel began.
"I have a three minute window, sir," Leo said, pushing his glasses up. "At exactly eight, Victor’s system will ping the Locke reserves. I have a backdoor script ready. The moment he starts the transfer, I will freeze the master accounts from the inside. But... we need to make sure he doesn’t get a warning. If he sees a warning notification on his phone, he can use his backup terminal to override the freeze."
Ansel nodded and looked at Mia.
"What about the legal filing?"
"Ready to go," Mia said and pushed a blue folder across the table. "The second Leo freezes the accounts, I’ll submit the emergency injunction to the federal commerce court. Victor’s shell company will be legally locked down before he even realizes what happened."
"What do I do?" Savannah asked, looking at Ansel.
"At seven fifty, my grandmother will take the stage to give her birthday speech," Ansel explained. "Victor will be sitting at the head table. He will be watching his phone. I need him distracted."
"Distraction?"
"Your job is simple, Savannah. At seven fifty five, you will walk to the center of that ballroom, take the microphone and apologize."
Mia scoffed.
"You want to use her as bait?"
"More like a shield," Ansel answered. "Victor would love to see Savannah being humiliated. If she apologizes to me in front of everyone, Victor won’t look at his phone. He will be watching Savannah. Savannah will have to keep every eye in that room on her until eight."
Savannah clenched her fists in anger but her face remained calm. This humiliation was nothing compared to what she had endured in her past life.
"Five minutes of humiliation," Savannah smiled. "Fine. I’ll give you your spectacle, Ansel. Just make sure you don’t miss your window."
While the four of them planned inside Mia’s apartment, the Quinn family was busy creating a spectacle of their own.
The steps of the Grandview Temple were crowded with reporters and curious visitors. Richard and Victor had arranged a PR stunt for Celeste.
With the banquet only hours away, they wanted everyone to see Celeste as the perfect Locke bride.
Celeste stepped out of the luxury car wearing a simple but designer white dress. Diane and Richard stood beside her, smiling proudly as the reporters came to them.
"Celeste! How does it feel to be the city’s lucky girl?" a reporter shouted.
Celeste lowered her eyes and smiled shyly.
"I’m just grateful for the blessings my family has received," she said softly. "I came here today to pray for peace and good fortune for everyone."
The cameras clicked her pictures nonstop. After the photography session, Richard called the bodyguards and they climbed the temple stairs. The head monk greeted them at the main door and led Celeste in front of a large incense burner.
"Such a pure heart," someone murmured.
Celeste took a long and premium incense stick from Diane. Then she bowed her head and carefully lit it from the sacred candle. Smoke slowly curled into the air.
Celeste smiled and bent forward for a traditional bow.
SNAP.
The sharp sound echoed through the suddenly quiet courtyard. Celeste gasped and opened her eyes. The incense stick had broken in half between her hands. The burning half fell on the floor, scattering ash all around.
Everyone fell silent. A few people gasped. In traditional culture, a broken incense stick during a blessing was considered as a bad omen. It was considered as a sign of rejected prayers and bad luck.
The head monk looked at the broken incense and frowned. Then he looked at Celeste but didn’t say anything. But his silence and expression were enough.
"Oh... it just slipped," Celeste stammered as she tried to pick up the burning half.
But the damage was done. The cameras had already captured everything. And within minutes, the video of the lucky girl receiving a terrible omen went viral all over the social media.
Far away from the temple, Victor Locke stood inside a dark underground parking garage. A gray haired man in an expensive suit walked out of the shadows. He was Arthur Vance, one of the senior members of the Locke Group’s board of directors.
"Victor," Vance said, glancing around the empty garage. "I don’t like meeting like this."
"Relax, Arthur," Victor smiled and took out a sealed envelope from his coat pocket. "Just a small token of my appreciation for your years of loyal service to the board."
Arthur took the envelope but looked a little scared.
"Ansel is smart, Victor. If he suspects we’re moving against him..."
"Ansel is just a boy playing a man’s game," Victor didn’t let him finish. "But I don’t leave things to chance. If anything goes wrong at the banquet...if my nephew decides to do something...you know what to do."
Arthur nodded.
"The contingency."
"Exactly," Victor said smiling coldly. "If Ansel becomes difficult, you will immediately call for an emergency vote on the floor. Cite his recent public instability. His reckless behavior with the Quinn girl, and his inability to secure the inheritance. The board will vote him out of the chairman’s seat before he can even blink."
When Savannah reached the Quinn Mansion after a long and tired day, it was already night. She opened the door and found the house strangely quiet.
Richard and Diane were in their room dealing with the negative press from the temple disaster. Cooper was playing video games in his room and Celeste was trying on dresses for the banquet.
Savannah walked to her room and opened the closet. She needed to find matching shoes with her dress for the banquet. It was old but she had never worn it. Moreover, she didn’t want to waste the little money she had on buying an expensive dress.
She opened the zipper of the bag and froze. The dress was ruined. It had been cut from the neckline all the way down to the hem.
She touched the torn dress and a small piece of fabric fell on her palm. She could smell a familiar scent from the dress. She knew that scent. It was Celeste’s signature floral perfume.
Celeste!!!