Echoes of Vengeance: The Sweet Wife's Perfect Revenge-Chapter 114: Terms of War

[Victor Hale has been arrested. If you’re playing behind the scenes and my name comes up, you’re next, Damien.] Simon’s voice echoed in Damien’s mind.

Why would he risk himself to bring Simon down?

Why would he jeopardize everything when things were slowly getting back into place?

"Leave." He ordered Scarlett.

Scarlett walked out. The door had yet to close when Damien growled into the phone, "Instead of calling me like a headless fool, find out who is playing behind the scenes. I’m sane-minded enough to know I shouldn’t throw a stone into muddy water. Get your act together and find the truth instead of sitting in your fancy office."

He ended the call with that, his breathing ragged. Though he was irritated at being blamed, he was also clueless about who could have pulled the strings. And what Simon would do. Even his empire was at stake.

He rushed out of the office, but the sight of Clara reprimanding Scarlett soothed him. "Ms. Fournier, follow me." He would find several situations to fit her troubles. freёweɓnovel_com

Scarlett released her clenched teeth, but she wasn’t glad to escape Clara when she had to follow Damien. "Why?" she asked bluntly.

Clara reprimanded again, "Is that the way to speak with your boss? Where are your manners?"

Scarlett glanced at Clara and barely resisted rolling her eyes. She was well aware of how Aveline manipulated Clara, why Clara was picking on her, and also why Damien acquired the firm.

Was she supposed to serve them despite knowing everything?

"Lawyers are supposed to be blunt, no?" Scarlett sneered, despite knowing that every word and every action would put her in trouble.

Damien didn’t have time to hear their catfight. So he hissed, "That’s enough."

Scarlett cursed her fate and followed Damien. However, she refused to take his car and followed him in hers to the police station.

Then she had to speak with an officer to learn why a man named Victor Hale had been arrested.

When she returned to Damien, he asked, "What’s happening? Could we meet him?"

Scarlett had learned a few minutes back that Victor Hale was the chief security officer from Ashford Holdings. And Damien’s actions meant he was involved with Victor at some level.

Though she wasn’t sure who was behind Victor’s arrest, she responded, "He is stuck big time." She almost laughed when Damien’s expression changed.

However, suddenly she realized—why was Damien suddenly involving her in his work?

Was he scared she would update Aveline?

"What are the charges?" Damien asked.

Scarlett snapped out of her thoughts as she responded flatly, "Unauthorized Arms Trafficking, War crimes, and treason by proxy."

Damien understood it was nothing related to him, but he didn’t understand other than knowing those were criminal activities. "Explain."

Scarlett plastered a forced smile. "First Crime: Illegally selling military-grade weapons to local criminals. There is proof of intercepted communications and bank transfers linked to Victor, plus a whistleblower statement from a criminal who is behind bars."

She took a breath and continued, "Second crime: Ordered civilian casualties as a cover-up to secure resource control. It was exposed by drone footage and ex-military personnel’s confessions."

She paused, carefully noting Damien’s expression. If she wasn’t wrong, Damien didn’t seem to know about Victor’s past crimes. "Third crime: Sold intelligence to private corporations during his service. An undercover sting operation revealed communication trails and asset exchanges."

When she paused, there was a strange silence for longer than needed. She carefully continued, "There is no plaintiff. The team received an anonymous package."

Damien again remained silent. As she was preparing to leave, Damien spoke, "Take his case."

Scarlett looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "No." She flatly refused.

Before Damien could pressure her as her boss, she continued, "One: I know for a fact that he is a criminal who couldn’t be saved by anybody. Two: The military would be involved in this. Three: I’m a junior, not experienced enough to handle this case. Four: I’m not obliged to take every case."

She didn’t give a chance for Damien to butt in or use any words to pressure her. She put on her sunglasses and walked away.

....

Scarlett drove straight to another law firm. The sleek ten-story glass tower rose before her like a monument to legal excellence, its reflective surface capturing the afternoon sun in brilliant fragments.

She spoke to the receptionist and rushed upstairs to the office, standing at the see-through door.

The man in thin gold-rimmed glasses softly tilted his head, shifting his attention from the assistant. His glasses failed to hide his handsome face, but the eyes were sharp and serious.

Gabriel Fournier, a partner at Giselle and Associates.

Scarlett’s elder brother.

He signaled his assistant to leave and beckoned his sister. Scarlett didn’t care about anything and begged, "Bro, you have to help. I tried to be calm and think it through, but I don’t know what to do. Help me this once, please..."

However, Gabriel didn’t melt for it. He asked flatly, "A case?"

Scarlett had the independence to choose and study whatever she wanted. Yet, she chose to be a lawyer and even passed the Bar right after completing law school.

However, her family refused to help her with her cases. In short, they didn’t want her to rely on them to build her career.

In a year of internship and work as a junior associate, Scarlett never met them for help. So he asked for clarity.

Scarlett shook her head, "No, no. It’s about Damien Ashford."

She quickly pulled herself a chair and apologized to Aveline as though Aveline was right there. "I’m sorry, Linnie, don’t get angry." Then she began explaining from the beginning about Aveline’s situation, and how Aveline was always suspicious of Damien hurting her.

Now he had not only acquired Prestige Law firm but also planned to push her into taking Victor Hale’s case.

"I thought I should stay and watch what he plans. But now, I’m not sure if I should resign or stay. What if he plans to use me against Linnie? She shouldn’t go back to that hell hole."

Then she held her breath and waited for her brother to help her make that decision.

Aveline wasn’t new to Gabriel, and Aveline was a top-tier client of Giselle & Associates. So he thought of possibilities to protect his sister.

"Get me the documents of all the cases you have worked on so far and you are working on right now." He instructed.

Scarlett agreed, "I’ll bring them to your place tonight."

"No, come to the family house."

Scarlett immediately refused, "No, no, no... what if mom asks me to avoid Linnie or leave working?"

Whereas Gabriel snickered, "Damien Ashford should know he is messing with the Fournier family."

Scarlett: "..."

Her brother was taking it to heart. She smiled awkwardly without knowing how to face Aveline when she learned they weren’t staying out of Damien’s radar but messing with him.

"Couldn’t we keep it simple?"

"You wouldn’t have come here if it was simple." Gabriel flipped the file open, meaning he was done talking about it.

Scarlett agreed with Gabriel’s point and left the office to get on with work.

....

At Prestige Associates,

Scarlett stepped into the archive room, the scent of paper and steel filing greeting her like old law school libraries. But her focus was razor-sharp.

She went straight to her section.

Nothing.

Row after row, drawer after drawer.

Not a single file she had worked on. Not the offshore contract dispute, not even the pro bono community case she had closed last month.

Whereas the other associates’ files were all in place, neatly stacked, and chronologically sorted.

Scarlett’s brows furrowed. "The files don’t just vanish," she muttered under her breath. "Not unless someone wanted them to."

She turned to the archive clerk, a young woman sipping her coffee in the afternoon.

"Was someone here yesterday? In my section?" Scarlett asked casually.

The clerk blinked. "Yeah... uh, someone from upper management. Ms. Reeve, I think. Said it was an executive request. Logged under Director Ashford’s authorization code."

Scarlett’s jaw didn’t move. Her expression didn’t twitch. She couldn’t believe Damien took action right after they acquired the firm. "Did she say why?"

"She didn’t have to. I mean, if the Director wants access, who’s going to stop her?" The clerk shrugged.

Scarlett nodded like it made perfect sense. "Right. Thanks."

She waited until the clerk turned away before checking the internal access log herself on the terminal.

The digital record was clean, too clean. Her files were either marked "in review" under a vague case code... or reassigned to a different associate entirely. Like she had never touched them.

They were rewriting her.

Her internal voice dropped cold. ’This isn’t negligence. This is deliberate.’

She took a slow breath, stepped away from the screen, and smoothed the sleeves of her blazer. She didn’t report it. Didn’t confront anyone. She walked out as if nothing had happened.

But the air outside the archive room felt heavier, colder.

Scarlett’s gaze flicked up just in time to see Clara Reeve watching her from the end of the hall.

Her arms were folded, and her expression was unreadable.

Scarlett didn’t blink. They watched each other, waiting to see who would move first.

Scarlett turned away, heels sharp against the tile, but her thoughts were already racing ahead.

’If I told Gabriel now, he would burn the firm to the ground. I need more than suspicion. I need something solid.’

Because this wasn’t just office politics anymore. It was a war. And she refused to be the first casualty.

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