Chapter 128: Revelations
"Isn’t it such a lucky coincidence that CCTV cameras are always around anywhere I’m in danger?" Ephyra chuckled darkly, her eyes gleaming with malice. "Perhaps the universe has a strange way of looking after the weak and wronged. Or perhaps..." She let the sentence hang in the air, her smile adding to the crowd’s unease.
On the screen, the footage continued, showing Ephyra moving with a precision and ruthlessness that left no doubt she was far from the weak girl her stepfamily had disregarded. One by one, Rico’s men fell, their jeers replaced with cries of pain as Ephyra dispatched them with ease.
The audience stared in stunned silence, the footage playing out like a scene from an action movie. When it ended, the screen turned black.
"At first, I didn’t know who sent these men because they didn’t tell me anything before they were taken care of by the man who I told you saved me that day. You are probably wondering how I got to know, right? Well, I’m sure I told you the individual was rather powerful and he had helped me investigate and I found out you were the one who ordered my death." she turned to Eliot with a warm smile. "Are you surprised father? No? Shocked perhaps? You shouldn’t be, after all, I just unwrapped the secrets surrounding your wife and we’ve only loosened the ribbon. Right, Marianna?"
Marianna stumbled back, her carefully composed mask shattering. "You—you have no proof!" she shrieked, her voice rising to a desperate pitch. "You think you can just accuse me and get away with it? You’re nothing but a spiteful, delusional child!"
Ephyra tilted her head, her smile sharp enough to cut glass. "Proof, you say? Oh, Marianna, I would never make such accusations without evidence." She gestured to the screen, and the projector whirred to life once more. This time, it wasn’t a video that played on the screen, instead it was a clear voice recording.
"Who is this?" A gruff male voice answered, rough and cold.
"It’s Mari," another voice that everyone in the hall definitely recognized as Marianna, said softly but with an edge. "You remember me, right, Rico?"
There was a pause, followed by a low chuckle. "Mari... Marianna Vargas. I didn’t expect to hear from you after all these years." His voice dripped with amusement.
"Times change," she replied, her tone sharper now. "I wanna collect my debt, Rico."
"Collect, huh?" He sounded intrigued, almost entertained. "After all these years? What do you want, Mari? You need a bodyguard? A scare tactic?"