Chapter 12

Bella glanced at Steven. Steven understood and walked over to open the door. “Ms. Thompson!” The vice president of the hotel, Michael Gordon, who was responsible for the mistakes yesterday, barged in. He was so quick that Steven could not stop him. Bella frowned and watched as Michael rushed over to her desk. “Mr. Gordon, why are you still here? I’ve approved your resignation, so you may find another job.” “Ms. Thompson, you can’t do this to me! I have worked for this hotel for almost 20 years! I worked so hard for the hotel that I developed many illnesses due to exhaustion. Even your father wouldn’t fire me. How could you just fire me like this?!” Michael was sweating profusely as he yelled at Bella. “I’ve read the details of all the hotel’s top executives. Your illness includes fatty liver and gallbladder polyps. It looks like you’ve got quite a big appetite.” Bella sneered. Michael heard the sarcasm in her words and shuddered in fear. “I really didn’t know that Alia Furniture has been selling poor-quality bedding to our hotel! Alia Furniture has been cooperating with us for the past three years, and they quoted us a reasonable price. They are also a well-known brand in Savrow, so I…” Before he finished speaking, Bella flicked her hand and threw a document at his feet. “This is a detailed account of all the transactions between the hotel and Alia Furniture in the past three years. Can’t you see that the financial report is full of loopholes when you’re in charge of the finance department?” Michael picked up the document apprehensively and looked through it. The pages felt like red-hot coals in his hands. “I also received an anonymous report.” Bella picked up the coffee mug and casually took a sip. Her eyes shone coldly. “Someone reported you, saying that you’ve had close contact with Alia Furniture and received a huge bribe from them to purchase Alia’s second-rate bedding in bulk.” Michael was so frightened that his teeth chattered, and he almost lost his balance. “I won’t fire anyone for no reason if I don’t have evidence. But I have the evidence, so I won’t show any mercy. Mr. Gordon, if you still have any objections, we will resolve the matter through legal means.” “Ms. Thompson, I’m sorry! I was blinded by the benefits and made the wrong decision. Please spare me! If this gets out, I won’t be able to find a job again in Savrow.” Michael was so frightened that he almost begged her on his knees. “Alia Furniture approached me first, saying that they would make me a fortune! Mr. Gold came up with this idea. I thought that all mattresses were pretty much the same, so I didn’t think much about it and fell for his tricks.” Bella laughed. A vice president who had been in the hotel industry for 20 years started to act dumb in order to protect himself. “That’s enough, Mr. Gordon. You know what you’ve done. Rather than wasting your time with me, it will be more practical if you go back and submit a few more resumes. Mr. Lovett will see you off!” Michael’s face was filled with despair as he was driven out of the office like an unwanted dog. Outside the office, Michael immediately changed his expression and took a deep breath. “That bitch! I’ll teach her a lesson!” Bella resented seeing the hotel’s executives fill their own pockets while disregarding the hotel’s interests. “Michael Gordon must have a bad reputation among the staff to have a whistleblower stand out as soon as you investigate him.” Steven looked excited, like he had gotten his revenge. “No one reported him.” “What?! Were you just bluffing?” “Yup.” Bella responded nonchalantly and started to play video games. Her way of de-stressing was to vent her anger by killing zombies. “Even if I was bluffing, he wouldn’t have admitted his fault if he was innocent.” Steven could not help but applaud this move. Bella was certainly a risk-taker. He said, “Michael and Alia Furniture have been working together for three years. It looks like he’s taken quite a big cut. We should sue him and make him spit out everything.” “We should leave some room for maneuver, just in case. If I press on too hard, the other hotel executives may form a coup! Also, Wyatt was the one who promoted Michael back then, so I should show my father some respect.” Bella said nonchalantly while chasing some zombies in the game with a big axe, “During this period, get someone to keep an eye on Michael. If he contacts Rosalind’s brother again, report it to me immediately.” “Yes, Miss!” At this moment, Bella’s phone kept beeping with messages from a group chat. “Steve, I’m not free now. Will you help me check who’s messaging me?” Bella concentrated on her game. Steven hurriedly came over to take Bella’s phone. “Oh, it’s a group chat called ‘The Thompson Family Secret Bureau’. Your brothers are messaging you.” Axel was the one who created this group chat, with members including Bella and her four brothers. The reason it was called the Secret Bureau was because her marriage to Justin must be kept secret from everyone else. Bella was so shocked that she could not care less about the game and hurriedly grabbed her phone. After all, Steven was not aware of her marriage and divorce yet. The fewer people who knew about it, the better. Otherwise, she would be in big trouble if this news reached Wyatt. [Axel (Bella’s second brother): I can’t stand it anymore! Justin Salvador is a complete asshole!] [Declan (Bella’s third brother): I’ll check if Salvador Corporation has any illegal dealings and will try to make them bankrupt within a month!] [Drew (Bella’s fourth brother): I will try to break Justin’s bones within a week.] [Asher (Bella’s eldest brother): Amen.] [Bella: Stop! Someone tell me what’s going on!] A few seconds later, Axel sent her a link. [Axel: That jerkface has already announced his new marriage. Not only that, some anonymous people commented that you were the homewrecker who stole someone’s love and forced that jerk’s hand in marriage. That was the reason they separated in the first place.] [Drew: Oh? Separated, huh? I’ll show them what real separation is…] [Asher: Drew, fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.] [Asher: Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.] [Axel: Ash, please stop talking. You’ll grow a halo soon if you continue.] [Drew: Bella, I will take down all negative news about you in half an hour and remove news of Justin’s remarriage from trending topics.] [Bella: Drew, don’t.] [Bella: Let the storm come.] Axel sent a confused emoji. [Bella: Because this has nothing to do with me! Justin’s ex-wife is Anna Brown, and I am Bella Thompson, heiress of KS Group.] [Axel: Right! You’ve never made a public appearance with Justin in the past three years, and no outsider has ever seen you. It’s unlikely that anyone will find out your true identity, so this news doesn’t affect you at all!] [Bella: But a certain ungrateful bitch is going to have a headache because of this.] She curled her red lips smugly. Bella thought, ‘Justin, I’ve given you a chance to be with your childhood sweetheart. But that woman is ungrateful, so don’t blame me for retaliating.’ * Everyone at Salvador Corporation was caught off guard by the sudden news of the CEO’s marriage. The public relations department and Ian’s phones were bombarded by the media. This news also shocked Savrow and the whole country. Justin Salvador was getting married, again! Before the media could ask about his first marriage, he had already gotten divorced. Was it a secret marriage? “Savrow Daily was the first to release this news. I heard that Ms. Gold personally went to the director of the news channel before the news was released.” Ian stared at his phone intently. “Now, this article has exceeded one million retweets, but the number one trending hashtag is #whoIsJustinSalvadorsExWife. The netizens are also criticizing the young madam.” “Sue them!” Justin’s handsome face was as cold as an ice sculpture. His eyes were so dark that they looked bottomless. Savrow Daily was under Salvador Corporation. This media channel had been advocating for them. “Who do you want to sue?” “Everyone who is involved in spreading this news!” “Yes, sir. But what about the public opinion? I’m afraid I can’t control it…” Ian could not help but worry. “Sigh… I wonder what the young madam thinks when she sees this. She must be very sad.” Justin’s eyes suddenly darkened. He immediately picked up his phone and called Asher. Damn it! Justin was calling Asher so often that people might think he had a crush on him. Justin hesitated. Then he saw Rosalind’s name on the caller ID. He frowned and had an inexplicable feeling.