Chapter 5
I typed: [Make sure this video gets "accidentally" leaked to a few media outlets
[And don't forget to blur those men's faces. No one should be able to recognize them.
[I want everyone to believe Sandra has a scandalous private life, and now her enemies are coming after her.]
After I finished everything, I deleted all the evidence.
Now, all I had to do was wait. for the rumors to spread, and for the Campbell and Turner families to get caught up in the chaos.
As for me, I would simply sit back and watch them tear each other apart.
But plans never went the way one wanted them to.
That afternoon, someone I never expected showed up at the Turner family's home.
It was Judd Parker.
He was Martin's uncle, and the man currently running the Parker family.
He was also the only one, in my previous life, who arranged a burial for me.
He wore a sharply tailored black suit, standing tall with a stern, unreadable face.
His eyes were deep and dark, like a bottomless well, and impossible to read.
He wasn't here for Rodrick, and he wasn't here for Martin.
He was here for me.
"Ms. Hall," he called out to me in the living room, right in front of all the servants. "Let's talk."
My heart skipped a beat.
Why was he here?
And why did he want to talk to me specifically?
In my previous life, the only time I ever saw him was at Martin's wedding, and it was a distant glimpse of him.
He was on a pedestal, someone everyone admired from a distance.
And I was insignificant, like dirt on the ground.
We were worlds apart.
Everything had taken a different turn in this life.
Sandra had been kidnapped by the "Parker family", and now the Parker family's head was right here in front of me.
Was this a coincidence?
Or... did he find out something?
My mind was racing, but on the surface, I stayed calm.
"Mr. Parker, is there something you wanted to talk about?" I asked.
I pretended we were strangers, my tone deliberately distant and formal.
Judd's gaze lingered on my face for a few seconds.
His eyes were so sharp, it felt like he could see straight through every layer of pretense I had.
"This isn't a good place to talk," he said.
He glanced at the servants, who were all eavesdropping, and spoke in a cool, detached voice.
"My car's outside," he added.
His attitude made it clear there was no saying no.
I had no reason to refuse.
With everyone watching, I followed Judd out the front door.
A black Rolls-Royce Phantom was parked quietly at the entrance.
The license plate read 88888.
It was the only one in all of Anbutin City.
The driver opened the door for us, and I got in.
The interior was spacious, filled with a subtle cedar scent. The same fragrance clung to Judd.
It was crisp, yet somehow reassuring.
The car slowly pulled away, merging into the traffic.
The silence inside the car was thick.
I had no idea where he was taking me, or what he wanted from me.
Not knowing what was coming made me uneasy.
But I knew I couldn't let myself panic.
In moments like this, I had to stay calm.
"Mr. Parker, where exactly are we going?" I asked, breaking the silence.
Judd didn't look at me. He stared out the window, watching the city go by.
"Somewhere we can talk plainly," he replied.
His voice was deep and magnetic.
*****
Half an hour later, the car stopped outside a private club.
Judd took me into a private suite.
The private suite was lit only by a single dim floor lamp, filling the room with a moody, shadowy glow.
Judd slipped off his suit jacket and draped it over the sofa, then walked to the wine cabinet and poured two glasses of red wine.
He handed one to me.
"Try it," Judd said.
I took the glass, but didn't drink.
"Mr. Parker, why don't you get to the point?" I said. "I don't usually drink with people I barely know."
Judd let out a soft laugh at my words.
His laugh was so light, it sent a shiver through me, like a feather teasing my nerves.
"People you barely know?" he repeated.
He leaned in slightly, closing the distance between us.
A wave of intense pressure washed over me, making it hard to breathe.
Judd said, his voice calm and steady, "Maya Hall, 22 years old, only daughter of the former chairman of Hall Group.
"Three months ago, Hall Group went under, and your family sent you to the Turner family as Sandra's substitute for the marriage.
"Am I right?"
My heart sank.
He'd dug up every last detail about me.
"You've been investigating me?" I asked, my voice icy.
"It's not exactly an investigation," Judd said, straightening up and taking a sip of his wine. "I was just curious about Martin's newlywed bride, that's all."
He paused, then with a sharp shift in tone, locked his gaze on me.
"Especially since you, the newlywed bride, orchestrated a kidnapping on your wedding night, and tried to frame the my family for it," Judd said.
His voice was steady, but his words exploded in my mind like a bomb.
My grip on the wine glass tightened instantly.
My knuckles turned white from the force.
He knew everything.