VENGEANCE

"Who is my mom?" Mike asked as he slid out from under the kitchen sink. Isabel had called him to help her fix her sink as Ryan wasn't home. He had decided to use the opportunity to ask her about his mother since he didn't want to ask Joanna directly.

"Strange question. Your mom is Joanna Martinez. Who else could it be?" Isabel raised her brow as she gave him a glass of water.

"I don't know. Jennifer Reyes, maybe?" Mike said indifferently and drank his water.

"How do you know that name?" Isabel asked in surprise.

"She's my biological mother, isn't she?" Mike asked and hopped onto the counter.

"She may have given birth to you but Joanna adopted you. She raised you. She is your mother." Isabel stated. The look of indifference in his face annoyed her because it made her unsure why he was asking. The worst part of it was that he could be angry, doubtful or surprised but she wouldn't know.

"She killed my mother." Mike said as he studied Isabel's face.

Isabel frowned as she anxiously thought of what to say. "No, that is a big misunderstanding. Jennifer died during childbirth."

Mike scoffed. "Really? So you mean to tell me mom never pushed a pregnant woman down the stairs. That pregnant woman didn't go into early labor. She didn't have to choose between her life and her son's life. That's it, right?"

Isabel mentally rejoiced because Mike had changed his expression. Even though it showed he was doubtful, it gave her a headway. "It wasn't intentional, I promise. When Joanna found out that her husband was cheating on her with her best friend, she was enraged. Like any woman would. They had an argument and Joanna accidentally pushed her. It was a mistake." Isabel defended. She noticed the displeased look on his face and apologised. He was surely hurt. "I'm sorry."

"Jeez. Evie was right." Mike exclaimed in disappointment.

"Evie told you?" Isabel was alarmed. Mike finding it out was bad enough but if Evie was orchestrating it, then it was disastrous.

"I didn't believe her. Or my findings. I really hoped you would say it wasn't true. I'm so disappointed in Mom."

"That was a long time ago. She reformed her life after Jennifer died. Mike, it was an accident and she's paid for it." Isabel pleaded in a convincing tone.

"How? By lying to me for the twenty five years of my life." Mike was dejected and angry. Everyone else knew about him except him.

"She was wrong to have lied to you. But you shouldn't hold it against her." Isabel said and went on explaining how Joanna regretted her actions and tried her best to give him the love Jennifer would have. She explained to him that Evie wanted him to hate Joanna and that he shouldn't let her win.

Mike saw sense in what she was saying. If he hated his mother for this then it would be Evie's victory. He couldn't let her win. And then again, Joanna had taken care of him all his life. He may have been her husband's illegitimate son but she loved him and cared for him as her own. And it would be foolish of him to lose his mother because of a woman that died years ago. A woman that even he contributed in her death.

"Don't let her know we had this conversation. I don't want her walking on eggshells around me."

***** ***** *****

"Coming right up."

Evie's voice resounded from inside the house and Mike's heartbeat increased. He ran a hand across his hair as he anxiously waited for her to open the door. It had been a week since their encounter at the bar. He was feeling guilty about calling her dad that night as it resulted in her moving out.

He heard the sound of shuffling feet and wore a wide smile as he held the bouquet of roses in front of him. The door opened and revealed Evie standing beside it. She was wearing a white shirt over a pair of blue shorts. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun and she had a confused look on her makeup free face. Mike was enthralled as he looked at her. In his eyes, she looked exactly the same way he saw her years ago - as the most beautiful woman in the world. He imagined waking up every morning to see her that way.

"Mr Michael Martinez, to what do I owe the honor of your visit?" Evie asked curtly as she stared warily at the man in front of her.

"Hi, Evie. You look great this morning." He complimented as he offered her the roses. She gave him a puzzled look before accepting the roses. "Can I come in?"

"Are you sure you want to come in?" Evie said as she opened the door wider. "It's not the mansion you're used to. It's small."

"It's beautiful." He said as he entered the house. Evie had a great knowledge of design and she put it into use. Especially on the outside. "How you decorated the porch with plants, it's great."

Evie smiled. "That was actually Tori's handiwork."

"I know. You hate worms. But it was your idea. You love plants."

"Well, it seems that you know a lot about me. That's great but why are you really here?"

"I came to apologise. I'm sorry. I never meant to put you in trouble. Forgive me."

Evie shrugged. She was also at fault. "I never held it against you in the first place. Besides I started it. I apologise. I shouldn't have interfered in your family matter."

"I'm sorry once again for reacting that way. Can we go back to how we used to be? Can we be friends again?" Mike said and made a puppy face. "Please?"

"Friends?" Evie scoffed. They were bound to fight against each other eventually. "What's the use?"

"Maybe because friends will always be there for you even when family leaves. And because they won't judge you or hate you because you made a mistake." Mike restated the words Evie had told him years ago. He stretched out his hand toward her.

"I said that to you before." Evie drew her brows together as she recalled the time when she had told him those words. Then, he didn't feel any need to be friends - just like her now. But he agreed. And life got a little bit better.

"And I kept it in my mind ever since."

Evie shook his hand. They never actually stopped being friends. They only drifted away. "Friendship it is, then. So what can I get you? Tea, coffee, juice or smoothie?"

"Definitely not smoothie. I love my taste buds." Mike joked. Ever since that incident, he never trusted her with making smoothies.

"I make good smoothies. Okay?" Evie rolled her eyes at him. "That was a one time fail."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Mike responded indifferently.

***** ***** *****

"I really hope you'd think about it." Evie said convincingly to the man in front of her. He looked deep in thought as he contemplated her offer to switch companies. He was an investor in Martinez group and she wanted to win him out of Joanna's side.

"That's a really tempting offer, Miss Rivera. But you're also a shareholder in Martinez Group, aren't you? So why does it seem like you're working towards its downfall?" The elderly man said thoughtfully as he watched her.

"Sir, you are a smart person and I believe that you understand that Martinez Group is regressing. It is for both our benefits that I have come to you. You invest in Rivera Inc, I gain and you gain." Evie said automatically. She had said these words so often that she didn't even need to think.

"I'll think about it. Nice meeting you, Miss Rivera." He stood up and stretched out his hand to Evie

"Nice meeting you too, Mr Delgado." Evie smiled as she shook his hand. She walked him to the door and watched as he drove off in his car. When he was out of sight, her smile disappeared and she waved down a taxi.

She sighed with relief as she got into the taxi and it drove off. She brought out a book in which she had written down some names and canceled one name. She still had a long road ahead of her. Martinez Group had a lot of investors and she had to take them out. But she couldn't get them to withdraw their investments unless they had a better option. Rivera Inc was the option she gave them.

But not all of her investors would fall for that. She had another plan. In fact, she had lots of them.

Her phone beeped and she took a look at it. Tori had sent her a link to a news site. She clicked on it and her lips curled up into a satisfied smile. The headline of the article was simple yet eye-catching. It read:

"THE DOWNFALL OF AN EMPIRE: MARTINEZ GROUP IN PERIL."

She didn't bother to read through the article as she already knew what it was about. She had gotten one victory but she hadn't even started yet.