Chapter 433: Revenge

While Mina had thought she hit it big in earning hundreds of thousands after selling off her investments, her real joy was in seeing the millions that President Lee had lost. She was absolutely tickled that her parting gift to the man would be an added deficit. Satisfied, Mina tossed the tablet into Zane's lap, taking her time to catch her breath before she returned her neutral expression. Suddenly nothing else mattered except how good she felt knowing that she would leave on the high of revenge.

"What does that have to do with me?" Mina asked, only to be stared at by both men. Her reaction was not just unexpected, but also troublesome. "Someone should have been managing that account better."

"Secretary Kim manages that account," President Lee added. He had hoped that the mention of the woman would soften Mina's heart. "She has been thorough, but this happened while she was at a prenatal exam." Mina nodded, but she did not care.

"Extend my congratulations to her." After speaking, Mina shifted uncomfortably in her seat, feeling a slight stinging from her wound.

"Mina, don't play dumb." She snorted at the comment.

"I have never played dumb my entire life." Ian was beginning to lose his temper, but he was the reason she was being cold in the first place.

"So, you are trying to tell me that you are not Mr. Arlo Nimwa?"

"Is it not obvious?" Mina asked, not giving a clear answer to the man. Zane did not like Mina's tone. She was not being combative in a way that was intended to irritate Ian, she was trying to provoke him.

"Stop it," President Lee warned. Mina rolled her eyes and shifted again.

"Is it your arm?" Zane questioned, making Mina chuckle.

"Does it matter?" She turned to face the man with an expression so cold that he was not sure he was talking to the same woman he had met months ago. "What do you want?" Mina asked, finally feeling like she had enough of the looks that were being cast in her direction.

"Mr. Arlo Nimwa is going to make an investment into the company that I tell him to." Mina scoffed at the statement.

"I believe that is a form of insider trading and it is highly illegal."

"You will do as I ask."

"Me?" Mina asked, pretending not to know what president Lee was talking about. "Finance the venture and I would be glad to make the investment." Ian took a deep breath because Mina making an investment would mean nothing; Arlo Nimwa on the other hand had sway.

President Lee stood up threateningly, but Mina did not budge. She locked eyes with the man, almost daring him to touch her, and because he did not know what else she had access to or knew, Ian was forced to calm himself.

"Mina, if Mr. Nimwa uses the money he made from selling his investments and puts them where I ask, there will be rewards on both ends." Mina shrugged.

"I'm not sure how that is any of my business or concern." Mina was still staring at the man, feeling completely at ease with her decision to remain firm. At that moment, no one mattered except her. She felt as if she was finally getting revenge and it was entirely by accident.

"It is your concern because if my family gets involved, yours will surely follow." Mina's eyes narrowed, and she stood up quickly. She shrugged off her jacket not wanting to give the man the added benefit of loose-fitting fabric at which he could grab.

"Are you threatening me?" she asked, almost as if she would retaliate, and in truth Ian was afraid. He did not know how much she knew, or what else she may have waiting for him.

"Mina, what happened to you?" Zane suddenly shouted after seeing a small hole and dark red stain on her grey blouse. Mina did not speak, the injury was just enough to draw blood, but it was not deep and would heal without help.

Ian followed Zane's eyes and literally lifted Mina's shirt revealing a small wound that looked to be a paper cut but was obviously not. Using her good arm Mina pushed President Lee's hand, moving her body away from the man at the same time.

"Now you don't play dumb. I asked you a question," she said, and Zane finally interrupted the conversation, seeing that leaving Mina and Ian to negotiate was going to go nowhere.

"Mina let's put it this way. Ian has been losing the Lee Group a lot of money in the last few weeks. The investments he made were to help offset his losses so that the company's board would not report to his father, who is still the major shareholder. Without your help, Ian's father will return, and when he does, you will be the first person he visits." Mina giggled cynically.

"Again, I don't see how your problem has anything to do with me." Zane looked at Ian, unsure how to continue. He had tried the diplomatic approach, but Mina was unyielding.

"How about this? If Mr. Nimwa agrees to help, I will fully fund the retirement account you set up for your parents."

"And pay me, $500,000 in cash."

"Done." Ian said. Giving Mina cash meant nothing to him, because he could take that amount from his personal account. He saw no reason to be suspicious about it either, because he knew Mina was planning to buy the house her parents lived in.

"Also, I cannot make any guarantees. Arlo will make the investment, but if you choose a poor one, I will not be made responsible." Ian was slightly confused with how Mina switched between speaking about herself and Arlo Nimwa as if he were an actual person, but he assumed she was trying to distance herself from the legal repercussions that might follow.

"When can I expect that to happen?" Ian asked.

"Well, you have broken my device, so I have no way to contact the man." Ian glared at Mina, knowing that she was Arlo, and she could literally make the investment without delay using her laptop.

"Fine. Now what happened to your stomach."

"You mean you don't know?" Mina asked, a little less aggressively than she had spoken earlier.

"If I knew I wouldn't have asked." Mina nodded, suddenly feeling like the cut on her side was burning more intensely. She had stepped into the knife thinking that President Lee had set her up to be killed in an accident, but maybe the person who came after her was just a standard holiday thief that she almost made a murderer.

Mina thought back to the man's rebuke and started to laugh. His expression of fear made sense to her now. He was probably shocked by her reaction, and Mina wondered if that approach would always work. She held her amusement before explaining what happened.

----

Mina found herself sitting in a hospital room with Zane staring at her as if she were an alien. He kept asking her if something was wrong, but there was nothing. In fact, everything was going perfectly. Before she agreed to have her 'injuries' treated, she made sure that President Lee transferred the money to fund her parents' retirement well past their natural lifespan.

Whatever money remaining would be donated to the orphanage where her parents were raised, and unlike people who gave vague descriptions of what the money could and should be used for, Mina was extremely specific. She wanted to make sure the money would help the children, not the person running the institution at the time.

When Dr. Juan came into the room, he looked at Mina as if he were tired of seeing her, and in truth, she did not want to be seen by him. As she already knew, her wound was shallow; a little worse than a scratch, and after being cleaned, all it needed was a self-adhesive bandage. Her shoulder, on the other hand, was visibly swollen and Dr. Juan fitted her with an immobilizer that he said would aid in its recovery.