After renting the 200 square feet office, the next thing Brucille had to do was to find a reliable interior design company to design and renovate the space. Brucille already had a detailed plan in mind for the renovation.
In the later stages, he might need several experienced traders, a few pretty girls to be receptionists, and some finance staff to help him deal with the monetary side of the business.
After sending Tommy away, he contacted the design company to come up with a design plan on the spot.
Just as he was leaving Lucky Plaza, he received a call from Silvia. This time, they decided to meet at a cafe.
Silvia looked more tired and pallid compared to the last time they met. Brucille placed a large bag of Chinese medicine on the table.
“These will cure your mother’s illness. I had someone check your mother’s hospital records, all the money you stole from the company was used for her bills, right?” Brucille asked.
Silvia, who was sitting in front of him, wondered about his true identity.
But in the end, she didn’t raise her question. She gave her email address to Brucille.
“This is my email account, which contains all the information you want. I’ll send you the password as well. If this gets disclosed and I get caught, I will make sure that you suffer the consequences as well.” she said.
However, Brucille replied, “Miss Lim, you’ve overestimated yourself. You are the only one who has been doing this for the whole time, I have nothing to do with it. Technically speaking, I am actually helping you. No one will notice your previous wrongdoings after the company’s catastrophe. You should thank me.”
Silvia opened the bag in front of her, which contained many packs of Chinese medicine. She asked curiously, “How do you know what disease my mother is suffering from? Will these traditional medicines be useful?”
“It’s hard to say whether it’ll work or not now, but one thing’s for sure – if your mother doesn’t take this medicine, she won’t last more than three months.” Brucille answered.
Brucille’s words were indisputable. Silvia was like a toy that he could play with any way he wanted to, and she had no right to speak in front of him.
She raised her eyes and took a close look at the unfamiliar face. After thinking for a while, she asked, “If the Sky Tech Company really goes to ruins, how can I protect myself?”
“Resign right away, that’s the best way.” Brucille said.
After saying that last sentence, Brucille left.
Silvia looked at the cup of cafe latte in front of her. Perhaps it was because the Romans loved milk; that was why fresh and creamy milk was always added into cafe lattes.
Staring at the cup of cafe latte, she thought. She used to have a heart as white and pure as milk, but fate was cruel to her, and everything went against her wishes. She became a cup of latte, hidden below the creamy white milk was dark and bitter coffee.
Just like her heart.
She swirled the coffee in the cup, opened up her mouth, and gulped it down her throat. A slight, bitter taste was left on the tip of her tongue, and crystal clear tears flowed down from the corner of her eyes.
Picking up the bag of Chinese medicine that Brucille had given her, she took a taxi and went back to the wonton shop.
It was late at night and her mother was already sleeping, but she remained in the kitchen, carefully simmering the herbs. She did not know how Brucille picked these herbs, she only knew that Brucille said that if her mother did not take the herbs, she would not last more than three months.
She had no other way to get money, and the hospitals had no better solutions for her mother’s condition either.
Whether the medication was useful or poisonous, she did not have a choice. This was her fate.
Within the 60 minutes of simmering the herbs, every minute was torturous. The greasy extractor fan could not filter out the strong smell of the Chinese medicine at all. Finally, the liquid of four bowls was simmered into a concentrated bowl.
She drank half of the bowl of medicine and sent the other half up to her mother’s bed. She spotted a lot of blood and sputum in the trashcan next to her mother’s bed.
“Mom, are you coughing out blood again?” she asked.
The old lady’s expression turned glum when she saw her daughter.
“Silvia, it’s fine. I’m going to close the wonton shop and go back to my hometown. I’m old, and I miss home.” her mother said sadly.
“Mom, drink the medicine.” Silvia said.
Silvia felt very sorrowful. She had no other way. She had even embarked on a crime-committing path, illegally pocketing more than 300, 000 yuan from her company to pay for her mother’s treatment.
But fate was so unfair. Even after spending all the money she had, her mother’s illness still couldn’t be cured.
Her mother sat up with great difficulty and drank the bitter and tart medicine.
“Why am I taking Chinese medicine again? Which doctor prescribed this?” she asked.
“Oh, it was introduced by a friend. Give it a try.” Silvia replied.
After drinking half of the bowl of medicine, Silvia didn’t feel any discomfort, except that she could still taste the bitterness on her tongue. Surprisingly, her mother stopped coughing after finishing the medicine.
However, it was a torturous night for Silvia. If this medicine were poisonous, then they would never see the light of the following day again.
Fortunately, the next day, she could feel the shining sun and fresh air on her face. She could hear the sounds of car engines and the noises of sharpening knives and scissors coming from the alley. It felt good.
Her mother no longer felt stuffy in the chest. She said, “Silvia, I slept very well last night. Let’s pack up and go home.”
Silvia was puzzled. “Mom, didn’t you get good sleep? Why do you still want to go back to our hometown? Doesn’t this mean that the medicine is working?”
The old lady smiled sadly and said, “Silly child, don’t you know that people get slightly better before they die? I don’t have much time left. There are still some home affairs that I need to explain to you. Let’s go.”
Seeing that her mother insisted on leaving, Silvia said, “Mom, I need to make a trip to the office to deal with some matters first. My boss will fire me if I leave like this.”
She remembered that Brucille had told her that resigning was the only way. Since her mother refused to stay here, she resigned with the excuse that she had to take care of her terminally ill mother.
The human resource department only spent one day to calculate all her wages. After receiving her wages and two months’ of compensation, she left with her mother.
Brucille did not rest at all. The information that he had prepared was enough to put the company through a major crisis. However, he still lacked a partaker who would be able to prove how Maxwell squandered the company’s money by narrating it through their own mouth.
Silvia couldn’t do that, Gabriel wasn’t qualified. Elaine Tse, Maxwell’s lover, was probably a good choice.
Brucille packed up and took a shower, then shaved the beard on his face. By the time he went out, it was already past eight o’clock in the evening.
Elaine lived in a luxurious villa in a high-class residential area. This house was bought a year and a half ago, around the time Brucille got married. However, Maxwell hid his mistress very well, so no one knew of Elaine’s existence.
Brucille had already received a lot of intimate photos and information about the two of them. Ever since Maxwell ordered Morgan to come for Brucille, the game had started, and it couldn’t be stopped.
That night, Maxwell was with his wife, Queenie Ho. Brucille guessed that they would be discussing travelling around the world after their company gets listed on the market.
Brucille rang the doorbell a few times. The door didn’t open, but a voice sounded from the speaker at the door.
“Who are you? Why are you ringing the doorbell?” Elaine asked.
“Miss Tse, I have something very important to share with you. It’s about Maxwell. I’m sure that you’ll be very interested, unless you want to perish with him.” Brucille said.