Chapter 2: The Legacy
1406 Words
Ava's POV
Time bled into days. Yet, my father's words from the other night seized my leisure time, replaying in my head like a broken record.
“Get out of my house, Ava!”
Something he had never said to me, no matter how cold and aloof he had become over the years.
All thanks to that b***h, Fiona.
I’m glad I didn’t answer him that night. Heaven knows I would’ve caught a cold outside if I hadn’t just left them and locked myself in another vacant room.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed in my handbag and I fumbled for it.
I arched a brow when I saw the caller ID: Avlyn Accountant?
I answered. “Hey, you know I’m at work. You can’t just call me anyhow. What if I was in a meeting? There’s a reason I hired you and the manager to handle things there for me in my absence.”
“Ma, I…” he tried to say something, but I wasn’t done.
“That’s why I’ve always told you to text me. And if it’s that urgent, I’ll call you back. Now what’s so important? And it better be very important.”
“Ma’am, I’m so sorry,” he began. “I need to tell you this. The senior madam came around yesterday evening before we closed and withdrew a very huge amount of money.”
My pupils dilated. “Withdrew what? And you gave it to her?”
“Ma, I had no choice,” he replied nervously. “She threatened to lay me off if I didn’t comply.”
“Wait—who hired you?” I asked, already clenching my jaw.
“You, ma. I was just scared to lose my job. I tried to reach you several times last night, but your line wasn’t connecting.”
Oh, s**t. I just remembered—I had turned on airplane mode last night for concentration while reading a book and had fallen asleep.
“Ma, the bigger problem right now is that the company is in serious debt.”
Those words felt like a dagger to my heart. I stumbled backward until I hit the wall.
“No. No. No…” I clutched my chest like it would help calm my racing heart.
“Ma’am, are you there? Can you hear me?” His voice boomed so loudly over the phone it almost sounded like I had put him on speaker.
Only then did I realize I had taken the phone away from my ear, and it was shaking in my hand.
Despite the tremor, I forced it back to my ear. “Speak. I’m listening,” I said, trying my best to sound composed despite the beads of perspiration gathering across my face in the air-conditioned elevator.
“You know I told you it happened when we had already closed,” he continued. “I’m just now finding out how bad it is while trying to balance the accounts.”
The elevator dinged open and I wobbled out, barely feeling my legs.
With trembling hands, I managed to keep the phone glued to my ear. “How bad is it?” I asked.
Suddenly, I saw the culprit ambling toward me like she hadn’t just ruined everything I had worked so hard to rebuild, after even my father had mismanaged it.
Whether it was me who ended the call or the accountant, I didn’t know.
All I knew was that the weakness in my legs vanished the moment I saw Fiona, and I stormed toward her.
I didn’t wait for her to speak before shackling her wrist with my hand and dragging her toward my office.
“What’s this all about? Leave my hand!” she protested, her voice a little too loud as if trying to create a scene.
Luckily, there was no one around at the moment.
“Just come with me. Are you scared now?” I snapped.
She went quiet, trying to prove a point—that she was ready for anything I came up with.
After a few more strides, we reached my personal office and I shut the door behind us.
“Fiona, what the hell did you use the company’s money for?” I barked.
“Company’s money?” she echoed, feigning innocence like she had no idea what I was talking about.
“Don’t lie to my face. The money you withdrew from my mother’s company yesterday—what did you use it for?”
“Oh, that!” she exclaimed, flipping her hair. “Well, I used it for some personal things.”
“And those things don’t have names?” I fumed.
She scoffed. “Like I told you, Ava, it’s confidential. Besides, I inherited that company as your father’s wife. So I can do whatever I want with the funds—and you don’t get to question me about it.”
“And you don’t get to spend the money I pump into that company with my sweat and hard work,” I retorted. “Do you even realize what you’ve done? The company is in massive debt because of you.”
“And so?” she said, folding her arms. “What’s so bad if it shuts down and you focus on something else instead of wasting your time?”
My hands itched so badly. It didn’t take long to realize why. I hadn’t slapped anyone in years, and right now, It took everything in me to restrain myself.
“Avlyn Couture is what my mother left behind for me,” I growled. “And I won’t watch her legacy go to s**t because of you. That company is my life. Get that into your skull. Now go and return the money you withdrew.”
She shrugged, eyes cold and mouth curling. “Well, you should brace yourself, because that life is coming to an end. And I’m not returning s**t. So do your worst.”
“What did you just say, Fiona?” I took a threatening step closer.
A click came at the door, and we both turned.
Suddenly, the door was thrown open by the general manager.
“Hurry up, you two! The meeting starts now!”
~•~
An annoying laughter coming from Fiona and my father hit my ears as I approached their door en route to the kitchen.
“b***h,” I scoffed under my breath, uninterested, and kept walking.
I had only taken a few more strides when Fiona's next words made me halt.
“You’re so bad at guessing, Robert. It’s about Ava,” Fiona said with amusement.
“Oh, Ava? What about her?” my father asked.
“I was promoted to be Ava’s manager today at Blake & Co,” Fiona announced proudly.
I rolled my eyes. A promotion I knew too well the general manager only gave her to get back at me for refusing to date him.
“Oh, that’s great news!” my father exclaimed. “So she reports directly to you now?”
“Exactly,” Fiona replied smugly.
“Not bad. You’re her boss at home too, after all,” he added with a laugh. “Maybe she’ll learn some manners.”
My chest rose and fell erratically. It took a lot of self-control not to twist the doorknob and barge in.
“And to think the promotion came right after she embarrassed me in her office,” Fiona went on.
“Really?” my father sounded intrigued.
“Yes. You know I always have a bigger comeback,” she replied with a wicked laugh. “I humiliated her in front of the staff after I became her boss.”
My father chuckled. “I thought you two were really best friends though.”
“Oh please!” she scoffed. “We both knew inwardly that we were nothing but rivals.”
“Umm, one more thing I need to tell you, Robert,” she added playfully.
“Babe, you know I have an appointment this evening,” he said. “Can it wait till tonight when I get back? Promise I won’t stay long.”
“Okay, fine,” Fiona said in a teasing tone. “But here’s a hint—I’m selling off the fashion house to a billionaire!”
I gasped. My mother’s legacy?
My eyes dilated in utter shock as those words knocked the air from my lungs.
- Writer
