Book 2: Chapter 25

I turned away from Sean before he could start making up lies to appease me. I no longer want to soften up and got deceived. Those few months I spent with him would have been enough for me to see everything that I blamed myself for being so stupid and blinded. Too blinded because I did not see him through the lamb's cloak that he was wearing all along.

He could have won an Oscar award for being so good at acting. Who would have thought that behind his gentle eyes, the real orbs of a wolf were lurking? And because I was too naive, I had become an easy prey.

Hazel and Philip followed me to the car. I locked the door to the passenger's side, thinking that Sean might follow and beg for forgiveness. To my relief, he did not. I saw him standing beside his mother, who was too innocent of his wickedness. She waved her hand at us, even if I didn't take a look at her before I left.

Fixing my eyes at him through the side mirror, I.watched him hugging his mom from behind. And at that moment, I had somehow admired him for his sweetness toward his mother. He seemed like the good husband he had shown me, just as a sweet son, he was portraying.

"Where are we going next, doc?" Philip's voice disentangled me from the web of my thoughts.

"I want to see the company lawyer as soon as possible."

Philip did not respond, but he pulled to the side of the road and picked up his phone from the stand. Soon, I heard a male's voice from the other line.

"Atty. Evarez, Dr. Grey wants to see you. Are you available?"

"I am. See you at the main office."

I noticed that the lawyer did not even ask who I was. And it looked like he was expecting this call. So, I presumed that he must have set the minds of his subordinates that one day, he would be marrying the biological granddaughter of Thomas Grey. All because he didn't wish to part himself from the wealth that he had successfully coveted from my family.

I got so lost in my thoughts that I could not remember how we walked through the lobbies of Thomas and Grey's main company. We then entered an office, and having seen the glass paperweight with the name of the lawyer; I understood where we were.

"Good noon, Dr. Grey!" That voice I heard speaking through the phone was then addressing me with the last name I wasn't comfortable yet.

"Good noon, Atty. Evarez." I felt guilty that I did not realize it was already past lunchtime, and that Philip and Hazel might be hungry already.

"How can I help you, Dr. Grey?"

I held his gaze to pose an intimidating look. I had no experience in business, so I might as well conceal my low self-esteem this way to earn respect.

"Without sugarcoat, I want to take everything Sean owned."

The lawyer glanced past me, so I followed his eyes.

"May we have a moment, please?"

Philip stood up right away and walked towards the door, followed by Hazel.

"Philip, please stay."

I turned to the lawyer, and my gaze was enough to tell him I trusted Philip. Now that he had quit from his job as Sean's executive assistant, it would be a good idea to hire him. He knew everything, even Sean's personal matters, so I thought he would be the key to maintain the status of the business.

"To proceed, Dr. Grey, what exactly do you want?"

"I am the biological daughter of Albert Grey, the only son of Thomas Grey. So, I want to take back everything they own as their legal heir."

The lawyer cleared his throat and started speaking so slowly, perhaps, trying to put everything into the right words I could understand.

"Dr. Grey, Mr. Sean Mark Grey, is legally adopted by Mr. Thomas Grey, so he is also entitled to the inheritance."

"But Mr. Grey adopted him only because her mother seduced him."

"Atty. Evarez shook his head, and I saw contempt in his eyes. "That could be a baseless accusation--"

"Maybe, but that's something I believe, and that matters most."

The lawyer chuckled and glanced at Philip, sitting at the couch across the lawyer's desk.

"What are your plans, then, Dr. Grey? Thomas and Albert Group of Companies have garnered exponential growth the moment Mr. Sean takes over. I just want you to think about this over."

"Do you mean I am incapable of running these companies, Atty. Evarez?"

"I did not say that. What I only new is that you study and practice medicine, and its something unrelated to business management."

I scoffed, although he was right. "Atty. Evarez, you're absolutely right. I am incapable of running the business, but I can hire people to do the task for me. I will retain all the personnel from the management down to utilities. I just want Sean out."

Atty. Evarez nodded and glued his eyes at me; probably, measuring me up, and the truth of what I said. And I could tell he was despising me and maybe cursing me for being so stupid to put these flourishing companies into inexperienced hands.

"Atty. Evarez, I can tell what's in your mind, but you can't blame me if you were in my place. Don't worry, if Sean is the great mind behind all these, I'll sure to find someone to take his place until I am able to learn it myself."

"Dr. Grey, the Grey Heritage had its great momentum when your great grandmother ran it several years ago, but the glory it once had, dissolved in the hands of those successors who enjoyed the glamour it brought, rather then preserving and multiplying it. Somehow, your grandfather Sir Thomas was able to redeem a dying piece of the inheritance. When your father disappeared, he thought this had-earned wealth would also go down in his grave. Fortunately, he found a gem in Mr. Sean, and as what everyone can see, it's now flourishing well in different parts of the world."

I stared at him, waiting for him to spell out everything he wanted to point out.

"I just hope, Dr. Grey, that you won't regret your decision when you see these companies crumbling into the ground."

Just then, the door opened, and Sean's voice resonated throughout the walls of the office.

"Atty. Evarez, let her be. Please give her everything she needs. Gather everyone, and please tell them to give her the same amount of loyalty you all have dedicated to me."

"Mr. Grey, how about fifty/fifty? You worked hard for these companies."

"Do not change everything you already have sealed and notarized."