Even a mad person wouldn't want you then!

" I think we'll reschedule the meeting. You've once again managed to Surprise us Mrs Steele. You'll hear from us soon." One of the men said and got up on his feet. The others followed, obviously reading the room.

" Thank you so much Mr Rafael. I look forward to good news." She replied with a blinding smile, ending the six hour meeting and walking them out of the conference hall.

In a matter of minutes, she returned. This time around with rage clouding her face while she took purposeful steps towards Emma and forcibly turned her around.

Slap!

" How dare you?" She bellowed at a stunned Emma. " What possessed you into walking into my office and disrupting my meeting, you harlot! "

Emma couldn't believe her ears. She actually hit her. She hit her after what she just caught her doing? It was about time she defended herself. She refused to let herself be humiliated every single time!

" How dare I? Are you sick or something? Do you know I could sue you for this? How dare you?!" Emma retorted with an equally raised voice.

Mrs Steele walked with predator steps, encircling an enraged Emma. She maintained a silence that was with an intent to intimidate but Emma was past that. All she could see was red. She couldn't see past the total infringement of her rights and intellectual property!

This was her masterpiece, brought to live without her consent. How did it even get into their hands?

" You must have had a great night to have the audacity to raise your voice at me. Tell me? Did it feel good? I never pinned you for one who enjoyed being with a mad person. I guess I forgot your whorish personality. I bet you'd sleep with anything, just like your mother."

Mrs Steele mused, gunning for the part she knew would hurt the most. One of the bizarre things about her was her ability to go to the extreme in hurting and disarming people with carefully sort out words.

" Don't you ever! Ever! Make mention of my mother's name! " Emma headed toward the designs sampled on the desk, her designs. " What is this? These are mine! You had no right! No right whatsoever to take them! " She said, throwing them to the ground with every sentence.

" Don't be silly. We already have a routine. You create the designs for Talia, She pushes it out and gives you your cut. No questions asked." She said with a huff.

" Exactly! I already gave out the designs for her supposed new collection and these aren't it. What? You've been tailing me all these while?"

" Ha ha! That isn't funny. I have better things to do. These were given by my son in law. Ring a bell? " Mrs Steele informed her with a mocking voice. " You know, you could have been civil, stuck to the plan and everything would be alright. But you thought you could outsmart me? " She tutted. " You should know by now that everything in that damned head of yours belongs to Steele Shoes and under the name of Talia Steele."

Emma was bruised. These people wanted everything she had!

" Including Colton? Including my boyfriend? Tell me, what haven't you stolen from me? My father? my home? my inheritance? All gone! And I let you. I let it go. But don't be mistaken to think I'll take this lying down. This cannot go on Talia's collection." She said resolutely.

" And if it does? "

" I will expose myself. I will tell the world everything that needs to be known. "

Mrs Steele let out a humourless laugh. " Are you threatening me?"

" It's not a threat. It's a promise."

Emma made to leave but was stopped by the click of the locks. They were locked in.

" I never pinned you as one who had such audacity. You even tried walking out on me? Haha! You must have thought you had the trump card." Mrs Steele said as she closed the blinds for the floor to ceiling glass walls. " You see my dear, be it a promise or a threat, you shouldn't have done that."

" What are you trying to do? " Emma asked, trying to hide the fear in her voice. Her step mother was a cruel and heartless woman. She couldn't put it past her to do terrible things to her in this place.

" Don't be afraid darling, you just need to see something. It's very much private and I promise you wouldn't want an audience behind us."

The directors room was covered and Emma watched how the projector screen came alive again. She felt a sense of foreboding as she watched her step mother operate the laptop with a face void of emotions.

" Just one second… oh yeah! There it is." Mrs Steele said, drawing back the attention of Emma. " Take a look darling. Come on, don't be shy now." She urged with a tone that dripped with sarcasm.

Emma beheld the screen and the photo she saw took breath out of her lungs. She stilled to a shock and her eyes widened.

' How could this be?! ' She thought, confusion written all over her face.

" No..no… that isn't –"

" Isn't you? Why? You don't remember this?" Mrs Steele interrupted and broke out into a mocking laugh. " You didn't know when you were busy with three fully fledged men? You suddenly forgot your wild days?"

Emma was dumbfounded. She struggled to breath as she took in the scandalous photo before her. It was a picture of her. Totally naked with three equally naked men.

The worst part of this was that her face and sex were the main focus of the photo. The other three participants were anonymous as the photo captured only their lower male organs, naked and erect.

Emma was at the verge of puking. The sight of an unknown person's junk so dangerously close to her mouth made her feel all shades of disgust. She wasn't even conscious!

" T-t-this! You did this! " Emma managed to say while pointing an accusing finger. She visibly shook and chills covered her skin. " Why would you do this? " From her voice, it was clear that she felt defeated. Exactly what gave her step mother a satisfactory smile.

" Listen to me. Never you ever forget your place, Emma. Because the very moment you do, it marks the beginning of your end. This isn't a promise. It's a warning. Matter of fact, it's your second strike and you're on a lifeline right now." She announced without an ounce of remorse. " If you try anything funny, anything at all, these pictures will surface."

Emma couldn't say a thing. Not only was she robbed of her designs, but she was betrayed by her one true love and threatened. She was in the middle of a rock and hard place.

Where does she go from here?

" Also, you would no longer be given a ratio for the designs. We are family and family help each other out, that would be your way of contributing to the growth of Steele Shoes." She added for good measure. No doubt with intent to punish.

Emma couldn't take it anymore.

" Why? What did I ever do to you?!"

" I warned you. Raise your voice one more time and you'll be tonight's news. Let's see how far you can go without the backing of the Steele family and a ruined image. trust me, even a mad person wouldn't want you then! " Mrs Steele said in anger.

At that point, three knocks sounded at the doors, alerting them of an intruder.

" Get out! " Mrs Steele bellowed, not in the mood to entertain anyone.

" Mom? What's going on?"

Upon hearing the voice of her child, Mrs Steele became calm. She clicked open the locks and immediately, a concerned Talia sauntered into the office, closing the door behind.

It took a moment before she registered the presence of Emma in the office and drew back in poorly hidden surprise.

" Don't tell me she's the reason for your distress, mother." Talia spoke, ready to pounce.

" She couldn't. Even if she tried. I was only reminding Emma here to always do the right thing. Isn't that right?" She said flippantly, looking at the picture which was still on full display.

" Oh! They had it sent already?" Talia said, taking a short look at the scandalous picture. She wasn't the least bit surprised. She had taken the picture herself and made sure to get the correct angles. " I'm such a talented photographer! It turned out just right. Don't you think, Emma? "

It was obvious they were making a joke of her. At that moment, Emma felt like the dirt under their feet. She couldn't say a word.

" What? You don't like it? Apparently, you don't like my new designs too, seeing they have been thrown haphazardly on the floors." Talia's voice was dangerously low. One could tell she was getting angry.

" Your designs? Your designs? Hahaha! You don't even have one! I fucking made you and all you did was steal from me? " She said, deeply hurt.

" Not me, idiot. My fiance." She said, flickering her fingers for good measure.

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Emma didn't reply but instead walked out of the room with a pricking heart, headed towards where she should have gone a long time ago.

Colton's.