C127 The Hidden Agreement

Mary brought us each a cup of warm tea before sitting beside my father. She looked at me with a gentle smile. "So..." "You said Alicia might become more than your girlfriend." Quinton nodded. "Son, explain yourself."

I took a deep breath. "There are a lot of things you don't know." They both listened attentively. I looked down at my phone before opening one of the pictures that had been circulating online. I handed it to them. "This is why I said that." Both of them looked at the screen. It was Laura Tryon's engagement ceremony. Standing beside her was Bright Gomez. My close colleague. My friend.

Mary covered her mouth. "They're really engaged..." Quinton sighed heavily. "When did this happen?" "This evening." They looked at me with concern. Mary carefully asked, "Son... why him?" I shrugged weakly. "I honestly don't know." "He works with me." "We've been colleagues for a long time." Quinton frowned. "Did Laura agree willingly?"

I thought back to everything Peter had told me. "From what I know..." "She agreed." Mary's eyes became slightly red. "You must be hurting." I forced a smile. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't." Quinton leaned forward. "Do you still love her?" I remained silent for several seconds before answering honestly. "I probably always will." "But..." I smiled bitterly. "Some people are simply not meant to stay together."

Neither of them knew what to say. Eventually my father patted my shoulder. "You'll find your happiness one day." I looked at both of them. "Actually..." "That's the second thing I wanted to tell you." They exchanged confused glances.

I slowly began explaining. "Yesterday..." "Peter Mooney came to visit me in prison." "I know," my father replied. "He helped get you released." I nodded. "Not for free." Both of them frowned. "He came with a condition." I told them everything. How Peter had explained Lucia Goods. How the Mooney family had spent 1.2 billion dollars acquiring eighty percent of the company.

How Alicia kept refusing to become the Managing Director. How he wanted someone beside her whom she trusted. My father nodded thoughtfully. "So..." "He wants you to work there?" "Yes." "Initially, the agreement mentioned a permanent executive position at Lucia Goods." I continued, "My responsibility would be helping Alicia adapt to her new position as Managing Director."

Mary looked impressed. "That actually sounds like a wonderful opportunity." Quinton nodded. "It does." "But..." I hesitated. "That wasn't the real condition." The room became quiet once again. I slowly continued. "After explaining everything..." "Grandpa Peter told me something." "He asked me to protect Alicia." "He said in return I will also be protected."

My mother smiled. "That's understandable." I shook my head. "No." "He didn't just ask me to protect her." "He asked me to protect her..." "...forever." Both of them looked confused. "Forever?" my father repeated. "What exactly does that mean?" I slowly inhaled. "It means..." "The Mooney family wants Alicia and me to get married." Silence. Absolute silence.

My parents stared at me as if they had forgotten how to blink. Finally... Mary spoke. "...Married?" I nodded slowly. "I already signed the agreement." "The marriage contract was the main condition for my release." "I couldn't refuse." "If I stayed in prison..." "You'd both remain unemployed." "Our lives would continue falling apart." "So..." "I accepted."

Quinton leaned back against the sofa. He looked completely stunned. Meanwhile... Mary suddenly clapped her hands together. "Good!" "Very good!" "Excellent!" Both my father and I looked at her in surprise. "What?" She smiled brightly. "Alicia is beautiful." "She's respectful." "She can cook well." "And she genuinely cares about you." "What more could a mother ask for?"

I couldn't help laughing. "Mom..." She ignored me completely. "When are they planning the wedding?" "I don't know." "Did Peter mention anything?" "No." "Did he say where you'll live?" "No." She kept asking question after question until my father finally interrupted. "Wife..." "Slow down."

Mary laughed sheepishly. Then her expression suddenly became serious. She looked directly into my eyes. "Son..." "What if Alicia doesn't agree?" The smile disappeared from my face. She continued, "If she refuses..." "Will they send you back to prison?"

Before I could answer... My phone suddenly vibrated. Incoming Video Call. Alicia. The three of us looked at the screen. Before I could even react, my mother quickly picked up the phone. "Mom!" She smiled mischievously before answering. Alicia immediately appeared on the screen. She looked flustered.

Before she could greet me, Mary spoke first. "Alicia, my child..." "Did you hear about the conditions?" Alicia froze. For several seconds she simply stared at the screen. Then she slowly lifted a document into view. "I'm..." "I'm reading it right now." It was the marriage agreement. She looked overwhelmed. "I wanted to ask Mike..." "Why did he hide something this important from me?"

Mary smiled gently. "My child..." "Before I hand the phone to Mike..." "I only want to ask you one question." Alicia nodded. "You won't judge our family because of our status... right?" "Whatever decision you make..." "I hope it'll come from your own heart."

Alicia looked at Mary with sincere eyes. "Aunt Mary..." "I've never cared about money." "I've never cared about status." "I'll make my own decision." Mary smiled with satisfaction before finally handing me the phone. I looked at Alicia. For a moment... Neither of us knew what to say.

At the same time... The atmosphere inside the Wood residence couldn't have been more different. Dinner had been prepared. Yet nobody had much of an appetite. Every bite felt like chewing mud. Ben silently ate while avoiding everyone's eyes. Sarah finally placed her chopsticks down. "Brother." Ben looked up. "What?" "You once promised me." He frowned. "Promised what?" "You said after apologizing to me..." "You'd let go of your hatred towards mike."

She stared directly at him. "What happened?" Ben remained silent. Sarah continued. "Are your personal interests really more important than this family?" No answer. She took a deep breath. "Did you poison Dad?" Ben's eyes widened. "What nonsense..." "And then fire Uncle Quinton and Aunt Mary to make them take the blame?"

Tracy quietly listened without interrupting. Every question Sarah asked... was exactly what had been troubling her heart. Sarah continued, "People have been saying you've become very close to Josh Tryon lately." "Is that why Mike was arrested?" Ben quickly replied, "No." But as he continued trying to defend himself... His own words began exposing contradictions. "I wasn't even..." "You just said you spoke with Josh that afternoon." "I..." "You also said you weren't involved in firing Uncle Quinton." "But yesterday you were giving the orders, right infront of us."

Ben suddenly realized something. The more he lied... The more suspicious he sounded. His face darkened. Finally... He slammed both hands onto the dining table. "I've had enough!" Without another word, he stormed upstairs. His bedroom door slammed shut. Silence returned. Only Tracy, Sarah and Samantha remained at the table.

Samantha looked at Sarah. A faint smile crossed her face. "Now you understand..." "...why I transferred my four percent shares to you." Tracy immediately looked toward her. "What do you mean?" Samantha paused. Realizing she had already revealed too much... She decided there was no point hiding it anymore. "This morning..." "Ben called an emergency meeting." "He proposed dismissing Mike and Alicia from their positions."

Sarah looked shocked. "He actually did that?" Samantha nodded. "He also suggested appointing an Interim Director immediately." She paused before continuing. "And this afternoon..." "The company suddenly lost another five percent of its market value." She looked at Tracy. "I don't think that's a coincidence." "I believe it's directly connected to Minister Mark Mooney."

She slowly added, "Remember what happened after Ben made that picture of Mike and Alicia trend online?" "The company immediately lost three percent." The dining room became completely silent. Sarah slowly raised her head. "Wait..." "If we've now lost another five percent because of the Police Minister..." "Doesn't that mean..." "...he investigated everything..." "...and found something?"

No one answered. No one could. The atmosphere became unbearably heavy. Each woman quietly stared at the table, lost in her own thoughts. Outside, the night grew darker. Doubt had finally taken root. And once doubt entered a family... It rarely left.