Chapter 1. Are you okay, Señorita?

Sixty-seven days before the wedding

"Such an asshole!"

A woman crumpled a piece of paper in her hand. Her knuckles turned white from the tightness of her fist. She stared intently at the other papers lined up on the desk.

"How on earth can all this not be revealed?" 

"He's very wealthy." A man replied in a black suit who stood towering over her. They were separated by a desk. "And quite powerful."

"Motherfucker!" cursed the woman again as she pounded on the table. "Money, huh? Let's see how much money he has."

"A lot, Señorita," he said. He was trying to warn his boss not to underestimate the wealth and power of the man who from now on was her mortal enemy. 

The woman named Clarice Wright growled in annoyance. Her gray eyes glared at the assistant. "Are you trying to say that my money is outnumbered by his?"

"He's one of LS Group's main heirs," he replied, implicitly acknowledging Clarice's question about being outnumbered.

"LS Group?" Clarice thought for a moment, Hunter nodded. "LS...? Lewis Sullivan...? Damn, you're right, Hunter. That's a lot of money."

Hunter gave her a kingly smile.

"How did Jane get involved with someone from the Lewis Sullivan family?" she murmured in surprise, but Hunter couldn't answer her. The woman looked up, staring at the assistant. "Do you know anyone who might be involved?"

Hunter moved, opening his tablet and approaching Clarice from the side. He showed her a photo of a man with brown hair and sideburns wearing a dark blue suit. "Shawn Sullivan, 34 years old, our prime suspect. Husband of Jane Sullivan. Second grandson of Anthony Sullivan, current President Director of LS Group. He has two rivals, an older sister named Felicia Sullivan and a male cousin named Justin Sullivan."

Hunter shifted the photo to a large-eyed woman who seemed to be staring at Clarice from behind a screen. Her smile looked cheerful and pleasant, and there was a small hollow near the edge of her lips. "And Summer McAuley, 27, his girlfriend. She's a fairly well-known children's book author. She often holds autograph events at elementary schools and orphanages. I believe they've been having an affair since Jane Sullivan was alive.

"I'm still investigating whether anyone else might be involved, but so far it's just the two of them." Hunter pulled his tablet back, while Clarice swiveled her chair around to face him.

"Is it possible they did it alone?"

"My guess is that there's someone else. There's no way someone like them would just get their hands dirty. Moreover, both of them really seem to be trying hard to maintain their respective reputations. Shawn to be the heir, while Summer for popularity."

Clarice nodded. "You're right. Our duty is to find out who that person is." Clarice turned her chair back to face the table as before. "You can step out now."

The man with black hair nodded, took two steps back, and then turned to leave Clarice's office. After the sound of the door closing, the woman let out a frustrated sigh.

"What exactly happened to you, Jane?"

Clarice had no idea. The Jane she knew would usually have nothing to do with wealthy people. The Jane she knew would try very hard to live a peaceful life and throw away any notion that could ruin that peace. The Jane she knew .... Wait, does she really know Jane that well?

Before her marriage to Shawn Sullivan, her name was Jane Miller. Back then, she was one of the bright teenagers who received a scholarship from the foundation headed by Clarice's father, Dane Wright. Jane served the foundation with the knowledge she gained during her education. In fact, Dane Wright made her a teacher and older sister to Clarice.

From there, Clarice and Jane had a very close relationship. Moreover, when Clarice's parents divorced when she was only fourteen years old, Jane was the only person she could rely on. Clarice had come to consider her an older sister, a teacher, and a parent. She was the only person who really cared about her when Clarice's mother and father were living separate lives.

However, after making sure Clarice was an adult who could take care of herself—and had even started her own business—Jane let go of that responsibility, just as Clarice wanted to fly free to pursue her passions. Jane also disassociated herself from the Wright family. She wanted to live a quiet and simple life without anyone knowing her background. Jane wanted people to approach her purely because she was Jane Miller, not as the adopted daughter of the tycoon Dane Wright.

Even at Jane and Shawn's wedding three years ago, Clarice came "unseen". She just sat and pretended to be Jane's friend, equally unwilling to expose herself and respectful of Jane's decisions. She didn't even realize that Jane's husband was part of the LS Group, as their wedding ceremony was simple and traditional. However, after the party, the two of them meet and express their longing for each other. They talk about a lot of things; about work, about how busy things have been lately, about whether Clarice has found a partner and why she's not interested, and more. Most of them were memories of their past that were slowly peeled away and were so much fun.

But now those things are out of the way for Clarice. She had lost Jane in her life: her sister, her best friend, her teacher, her parent. Clarice had lost it all. For eternity.

"Señorita, your dad is calling," Hunter said two years ago, looking hurried. It was his first year as executive assistant to Clarice.

"Dad?" Clarice asked sanctionedly, but took Hunter's cell phone anyway. She pressed it to her left ear, still wondering what he was going to say. "Hello?"

"Clarice, I'm sorry I have to say this …." There was a nervous gasp from the other side, making her only daughter fidget and grow impatient.

"What's wrong?" Unexpectedly, her voice sounded a little snappy.

"Be brave … Jane is gone."

There was a moment of silence. Clarice was unable to think. Every nerve in her body seemed unable to work.

"Cla—"

"Dad, are you lying to me?"

"Clarice, please …."

"How …?" Clarice's voice caught in her throat. "How?"

"Calm down and go home. We'll talk here."

Clarice lost her balance and almost fell backwards after the phone line was disconnected. Luckily, Hunter quickly grabbed her. "Are you okay, Señorita?" The man quickly fetched some water after sitting Clarice down on the sofa. He knelt down in front of her. "Please, have a drink first."

Clarice took a sip of water to wet her suddenly parched throat. This was all the more agonizing because Clarice couldn't cry out, couldn't release the rage in her chest.

"Is there a problem, Señorita?" Hunter asked reverently. "Is there anything you need?"

Clarice didn't answer right away. She tightened her ivory white blazer, then rose to her feet and reached for her bag and coat.

"Cancel all my meetings for the next three days and reschedule if they still want to meet. Find the fastest flight to LA and get ready. We'll be there today."

Without question, Hunter immediately carried out the order. He also hurriedly followed Clarice behind. The bystanders saluted Clarice, but she had no time to respond. They also saw the look of anxiety on Clarice's face.  

Jane, I hope this is all a lie and a plot by Dad to get me to come home.

***

GOSH, I'm finally writing a new book again! Revenge in Red is the second book in the Revenge Series with very different characters. If you read the first book (Revenge in Silk), it mentions that River Lynch went to Spain for business. Well, Clarice is that business partner! And maybe you didn't realize that Hunter visited River's house one morning, did you?

Of course, "Revenge in Silk" and "Revenge in Red" can each be read stand-alone or out of order, but I would still recommend you to read them in order because it will be more enjoyable XD

That's all! Happy reading!

020424, Anne Joyce