"You mean, it was Joel who sent someone to blackmail Vernon into taking the blame?"
Rufus asked with his back turned to Victor. His words did not give away any of his thoughts. Standing in front of the huge window of his personal office, he projected a very dangerous vibe.
"Yes. Also, he is Ivy's brother,"
Victor replied calmly. His face showed no emotion.
"Right, then. Find a way to come up with evidence that Joel was the one who stole Cassandra's works, and do it fast,"
Rufus ordered as he turned to face Victor. His eyes were stone cold and menacing.
Victor nodded obediently and quickly left the room. Now alone, Rufus threw a hard punch on his heavy wooden desk.
He was frustrated with himself. Why didn't he act on this sooner? He turned a blind eye the first time Joel set Cassandra up. He did not expect it to happen again. Now, Joel was back causing them even more trouble. He should have ended it the first time, and he regretted now that he did not.
He must get rid of Joel. This man was too dangerous with his vile ideas. He almost killed Vernon with his stint.
Finding proof of his plagiarism would be a good leverage to get rid of him once and for all. Then, all this would end.
Rufus swore that he would make him pay for hurting Cassandra, and he was determined to get it done no matter what it took.
"Mom, I need your bank account number so I can transfer Cloris's tuition fee to you,"
Cassandra said. Even she scolded Cloris, she was still her sister, after all. Cassandra was determined to help her out in spite of anything.
"What? Cloris told me that she already got the money. Was that not from you?"
Edith asked, surprised. When Cloris told her that her tuition fee was covered, she assumed that the money was from Cassandra. Now that Cassandra was requesting for her account number, she realized that she was wrong.
"She already got it? How is that possible? I borrowed money from my friend just now!"
Cassandra was confused. She borrowed money from her friend, Stella. She also sold her car to come up with Cloris's tuition fee, even if it meant that she would need to go to work using the Tang family's car or taking a cab.
"I got a scholarship so I don't need her money anymore,"
Cloris, who had her face covered with a face mask, told her mother after overhearing the conversation. She looked at Edith with a trace of smugness in her eyes.
"Oh, Cloris said that she managed to get a scholarship so she doesn't need your money now,"
Edith relayed the message to Cassandra joyfully. She was very proud that Cloris was resourceful enough to solve her own problem. She had always been very proud of her daughters. They always had good grades and were growing up to be very responsible and independent young ladies.
Cassandra acknowledged the update and hung up the call. A proud smile spread on her face. It also made her proud to see that her sister was becoming more independent.
Meanwhile, Cloris, who just finished applying face mask, proceeded to do her make up and change her clothes. When she came out of her room, Edith looked at her with surprise.
"Cloris, are you going out? It's already late,"
she said, worried. Cloris was a girl, it was dangerous to go out so late at night.
"It's going to be okay, mom. I'm hanging out with some classmates. We'll just be out for a karaoke session. You know we're about to graduate so we just want to spend as much time as we could with each other before it all comes to an end,"
Cloris explained casually. Then, she walked out of the house with her limited edition bag at hand.
A slick Porsche was already parked outside. Behind the steering wheel was Arthur. He looked very handsome.
"Where are we going, Arthur?"
Cloris asked happily as she hopped in. She gave him a very sweet smile.
"It's a surprise. You will know when we get there,"
Arthur replied in a cryptic tone. He gently smiled back at her.
They arrived at a high-end club. Arthur got off the car and opened the door for Cloris. Then, they walked inside, arm-in-arm.
A group of guys walked up to them when they arrived. They all seemed surprised that Arthur brought a girl with him.
"Since when did you have a beautiful girlfriend, Arthur? How come you never told us? You are quite good at keeping secrets, aren't you? Haha!"
one of them teased Arthur with a glint of envy on his face. Throughout the night, he could not help stealing glances at Cloris, who, in turn, pretended to be oblivious. In reality, it flattered her that she could still catch another man's eye.
"Where are we, Arthur?"
Cloris asked, batting her eyelashes.
The place was beautifully decorated, stylish and modern. It had hints of both eastern and western influences. One could easily tell that it was just as expensive as it looked.
"It's just where my friends and I like to hang out in the North District. I come here all the time. Let's go inside,"
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