The Ex-Wife's Revenge: Rise of the Real Heiress.-Chapter 206: News released

Beatrice stood before the Maiden’s textile industry with her uncle, watching the once-blooming company that ensured 60% of their profits were burnt to ashes.

Now that she knew she was a real Maiden, and she had the rights to the family’s property and estates, she felt the loss deep in her bones.

Her gaze shifted to Thames, who was barking at the employees who left the company in the last shift.

The fact that no one was present in the company at the time of the incident was alarming in itself.

Whoever the person was wanted to destroy the company without harming innocents, which also meant they harboured deep resentment towards them, but we’re good. That was all that Beatrice would speculate from what she saw so far.

"Uncle, will everything be alright?" Beatrice walked to Thames, who turned around with a murderous glare when he heard her voice.

"What the fuck are you doing here? Who told you to come to this place?" Thames asked.

Beatrice narrowed her brows.

"Uncle, I have taken your attitude for quite a long time, but just because I do everything you tell me to, doesn’t mean I am your slave. I am your niece, and it would be better if you start treating me like one," Beatrice said, displeased.

Thames raised his brows at her newfound confidence.

"Do you want me to ban you from nesting with your mother?" Thames threatened her, and Beatrice narrowed her brows again.

She knew her uncle would come with something like this again, and that’s why she came prepared this time.

She pulled out a document from her handbag and handed it to Thames.

"There’s only a little you can threaten me with, uncle. From today onward, I am working with you, not for you. That’s all because I am a Maiden myself and want to avenge what our family suffered through," Beatrice said.

Thames looked at the document and paused. There was no way Beatrice produced it in one day.

It only meant she had been preparing for it for a long time.

She had done a DNA test with her mother and submitted the results to the court. Using her influence, she managed to get the guardianship of her mother in her hands and even banned him from meeting her, along with changing her hospital.

"What the hell are you pulling here, Beatrice?" Thames asked, feeling cornered suddenly, his gaze unpredictable and dark, like a snake that was devising his next move already.

Beatrice shook her head.

"Nothing, uncle. I want you to know I am not like Elara, or any other such woman, easy to push around. I am Beatrice, and I know my worth very well," Beatrice said before she looked at the employees.

"It’s a clear case of foul play. Let me hire someone to look into it," Beatrice said.

Seeing the girl’s confident expression, the man looked a bit troubled for a few seconds before he nodded at her.

"Go ahead, but rest assured, if you failed to bring the perpetrator to me, you are not getting any share of the textile company. I already lost most of it," Thames said.

Beatrice nodded. "Deal."

With that, Beatrice turned and headed straight to the production office for her next movie, in which she was starring as an absurd mistress. It was a peculiar role, but she knew she could ace it easily.

At the same time, Elara sat behind the chair listening to the director’s words about their next collaboration and her role as the female lead, but her attention was somewhere else.

Justin had yet to report to her on the thing she had asked him to do.

"Miss Elara?" Her manager called out.

"Yes, Toby?" She asked.

"The director is asking if you want to negotiate the payment, or if it’s alright?" Toby repeated the director’s question.

Elara looked at the man before nodding.

"Give me some time to think about it," Elara said.

The meeting was adjourned shortly, and Elara walked out of the building in a daze.

"If you are tired, let’s take a short break," Antonio suggested when he noticed how distracted she was.

Elara looked at him before shaking her head.

"I am waiting for someone’s call."

"Our boss’s call?" Toby asked with sparkling eyes, and Elara smiled immediately.

Why was everyone around Daniel so excited about their boss’s romance? She wondered before she shook her head, dimming the man’s excitement.

"A friend," she said.

Justin had gathered most of the information already on the matter, and the results weren’t so surprising to her. She expected to see something like that, too.

She was waiting for the perfect time to release the news.

She checked her phone multiple times, and Antonio pressed his lips into a thin line, contemplating what to do to make her relax. After all, it was his job to keep her comfortable.

As the car stopped at the traffic lights, Elara looked at the bulletin board, the same one where she had seen that image of Andrew carrying Beatrice to the hospital, the same board that shattered her illusion of a happy and peaceful married life with the man who didn’t deserve any of it.

She was both resentful and grateful to this board. Grateful because it made her decide she needed to leave, and resentful because it also became a part of the reason why she lost her child.

A rogue tear slipped from Elara’s eyes as she thought about her child.

She was looking at the board when the news suddenly changed.

The board now displayed photos of Andrew with Beatrice on various occasions, all on a single line.

CEO Andrew Lloyd secretly tied the knot with Actress Beatrice Maiden, also his former secretary.

Antonio looked at Elara from the rearview mirror and, seeing the tear on her cheeks, he followed her gaze and looked at the board.

As he read it, he wondered whether it was a tear of happiness or sadness, since she had planned a major part of the announcement.

Elara leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes.

At Lloyd’s, the PR department was in chaos as various news outlets tried to reach them to confirm the rumors and verify whether the bulletin-board messages were true.

The news blew up like wildfire, spreading across the entire nation. After all, Andrew’s absence from the engagement had drawn quite a large amount of attention. The news, though suppressed by the PR team because of William’s orders, was now out again because of a new addition to the thread.

"We look forward to further collaboration," Andrew said as he signed the deal with the Matthews in the presence of his grandfather, who nodded in relief once the contract was signed.

"Likewise, Mr. Lloyd," Fredrick Matthew said before shaking Andrew’s hand and then moving to shake Williams’ hand.

Andrew and Williams returned to his office after their meeting and saw off the Matthews when Jason burst into his office.

"You handle the rest. I am going to meet Heather," Williams said before he left the office with his secretary.

Jason waited for the elder Lloyd to leave before he turned to his boss.

"Sir, the news of your marriage is out. The entire nation is talking about it," Jason said, and Andrew, who was about to relax in his seat, stood.

"What?" He asked, surprised.

"It’s all over the news, sir. We don’t know who tipped them. They even have your marriage photos," Jason said.

The only people who knew about the marriage and were present at the venue were his family and Beatrice herself.

His family, both Sophia and Carla, wouldn’t think of something like this when his father was fighting for his life. They had nothing to gain from it. No matter how greedy his mother and sister were, they deeply loved his father.

Then the only remaining person who could have had a hand in this matter was...

Beatrice.

Was she retaliating because he burnt her clothes, forbade her from entering his room, or giving her the wife’s rights? She already took so much from him. What else did she want? Andrew gritted his teeth.

He was about to call Beatrice to clarify what the hell she was thinking when his phone vibrated with an incoming call from the girl.

"Andrew, why did you release this news? I know you hate me for what happened, but how could you do this? I was about to sign a movie deal today, but now that they know I am married, they won’t sign me because it will affect my popularity. You were the one who slept with me, yet I am the only one suffering again and again. Why?" Beatrice asked.

Even though Andrew was starting to hate her, after loving her once and knowing her for so long, he knew she was crying while speaking all this.

The thought alone confused him.

It was true. Beatrice’s career was starting to blow up. When he had asked to keep the marriage a secret, she had been eager to after some thinking, so why would she release that kind of news?

But if not her, then who? He wondered.

Without saying a word, he ended the call.

"Jason, you need to check the source of this news and how it got leaked on that bulletin board first. After that..." Andrew couldn’t complete his sentence when his phone rang, and he groaned.

However, as soon as he saw the number, his expression sombered.

"Hello?" He immediately picked up.

"Do you know Thames Maiden?" The lady asked.

Andrew paused. How could he not know the man who has been stealing their projects with Beatrice’s help?

"Yes," he said.

"He is the one. Your father can’t speak. Why don’t you ask Timothy about their history? But wait, he has been missing after the accident, something that you should’ve looked into, but you are incapable of doing so. That’s why I am sending you an address. You will get your answers there," the lady said.

Andrew was about to ask more when the call ended, and he couldn’t help but look at the phone with multiple thoughts running in his head.

The lady was right. Timothy was not in the car with his father. He had reported the accident, but no one saw him after that. And they never wondered why.

It looks like there was a bit more going on in his family than he knew about.