Chapter 41
Chapter 41
Jacob and Andy had been out of town on business, so they missed the drama when Cherise and Jeffrey ended their
engagement.
Now, when Jacob was back home at the main house of the Leac Manor, he lieard Mandy and Shirley spin the tale and his anger flared.
“Cherise is so classless and so greedy, Jacob growled, his face flushed with rage. “The Leach family is one of the top four in Betrico-we can’t support a girl from a backwater town?”
“And she hurt Shirley. People will think I’m a terrible father, I swear I’ll break her legs!” Jacob slammed his fist on the table for emphasis.
“Get me the surveillance footage.” Jacob barked, his eyes narrowing. “I want to see who this shady character she’s been with
is,
Mandy and Shirley stood by, smirking at the situation.
Soon, Luke, the security guard, returned, shaking his head. “Mr. Leach, the footage shows that Shirley fell. No Rolls-Royce in sight.”
He went on, “The surveillance room was unmanned yesterday. Only the gardener saw Cherise go in, but she was out in less than two minutes. Could it be that Cherise…
No way. Cherise was such a handful back in Yasvissa’s small town that the teachers didn’t even want to deal with her. This takes serious hacking skills, and it’s not her, Shirley said, her voice firm with disbelief.
“You’re right, Shirley, Jacob agreed, nodding. I checked. Even though her grandmother Amelia was a teacher, Cherise didn’t even last two years in school. She’s basically functionally illiterate. It must have been a surveillance glitch.”
“But,” Luke tried to interject, but Mandy cut him off.
“Enough, Mandy said, waving him away. “That’s all for now,”
With a sigh, Luke left, thinking to himself, T’m just a grunt. If the boss doesn’t want to hear it, I guess I keep my mouth shut Actually, Zach, a former hacker who worked in the surveillance room now, told Luke that the footage looked tampered with. He saw the word “idiot” flash on the screen when Shirley fell, edited flawlessly-definitely a pro’s work.
As soon as Luke was gone, Jacob let out a relieved sigh. “Thank God we called off Cherise’s engagement. If not, we would have ticked off the Chambers family for sure. Well, Shirley’s such a safe bet.”
Meanwhile, the news of Cherise and Jeffrey’s broken engagement, posted by Shirley on social media yesterday, was going viral among Betrico’s elite.
Jeffrey, the superstar Melissa’s brother, and Shirley, who had a bit of fame in Betrico, had piqued the interest of many fans
and netizens.
Netizen 1: [Didni Jeffrey used to be engaged to the brilliant Shirley from Betrico University? Who’s this Cherise? I can’t keep up with the rich folks’ drama.]
Netizen 2: [I heard Cherise just got back after living in a small town for over ten years. Jeffrey’s from the big Chambers family. He wouldn’t ditch a brilliant woman from Betrico University for a small-town girl.] Netizen 3: [Look at the document! It’s clear Cherise was the one who broke off the engagement. She and Jeffrey were
promised to each other after birth Shirley’s the interloper here, realing her sister’s fancé.)
Netizen 4: You’ve hit the nail on the head. The phrase “Play Cuperd” at the end of the document says it all.
Netizen 3 II heard Cherise is the real young lady of the Leach family, and Shirley carne in later with her mom’s m but her mom’s family is loaded, moo I
marriage.
Netizen 6. [If it were me, I would marry a woman with connections and clout-it could save me decades of hustle. Marrying a small-town girl with no class or background? That’d mess up the next generation.] Netizen 7: [1 heard Cherise got kicked out of school after a few years and is all about chasing older men ]
Netizen 8: Netizen 7 Really? No wonder the Chambers family wants out. She sounds like trouble. I don’t know what she looks like, but she’s probably as unsophisticated as she comes from a small town. Netizen 9. [This isn’t my circus, not my monkeys. I’ve got work to do…]
Meanwhile, Melissa tweeted. [True love always finds its way. Congrats to my bro and to Shirley, the sister-in-law I approve of Can’t wait for your engagement party!] Below was a selfie of her beaming smile. The internet exploded, social media ablaze with trending topics like. [Superstar Melissa blesses her brother with a selfie). [Melissa’s brother ditches a small-town girl], [Small-town girl too dramatic for Chambers family]. [Jeffrey and Betrico University’s brain set to get engaged], and [Cherise, the gold-digger.]
Cherise was clueless about the online frenzy. She’d just hung up with Trent, who wanted her to perform at the upcoming Betrico University anniversary. She had flatly refused.
After the call, she tossed her phone onto the couch, grabbed the newly arrived herbs, and headed to the kitchen to whip up some medicine for Oliver, the folks in Saphira, and Morris’s grandmother-to keep them strong and healthy.
Xenia, witnessing the online chaos, paced anxiously. She tried calling Cherise, but Cherise was always on another call Now that she was not, she was not picking up at all.
Xenia thought, Is she too devastated? No way. Cherise is stunning; she’s too good for Jeffrey. It’s these netizens calling her a hick. I can’t take it. I’ve got to call Truman and tell him to rein in Melissa in his company.”