Burning The House Of Cards: taking revenge on my billionaire family
Chapter 51 - 50. Tickling Some Feathers

Chapter 51: Chapter 50. Tickling Some Feathers

"Is this your doing?"

Mason narrowed his eyes while showing the articles to Sarah, observing the girl’s expression. Without taking the tablet, Sarah moved her eyes to quickly read the articles and her face shifted to a plethora of expressions over three minutes: intrigued, surprised, and finally...amusement.

All of them talked about the same thing--at least at first: that three young men from a prominent background were involved in a DUI case. No one had died, but one sustained a heavy injury to their spine, one to their leg, and another one on their head.

It wasn’t anything special at first glance, but if one were to think about it deeper, it was weird that people like them had no driver--designated or not--and instead drove by themselves.

The articles that came later, however, revealed that there was not only alcohol in their system, but also illegal substances. A leak from the police department also showed that those substances were found in the wrecked car, so people were speculating that those men moved without any driver or attendant because they wanted to have a drug party or something.

All of that in less than twelve hours? Sarah widened her eyes.

The ’accident’ happened before dawn, and they were brought to Yonghwa’s hospital, coincidentally. The medical personnel there had no business currying favor with the wealthy, so there was no covering for lawbreakers. Sarah had no idea why the police became so honest all of a sudden, but the one publishing the story first was a media outlet under Mirae Group, which also wouldn’t be swayed by the parents of those three men.

Naturally, other media platforms had a field day. It wasn’t lunch yet, but the news about those men’s deeds--which would normally never come to light--was already spread all over the country. It would not only damage the three people but also their respective families.

"Huh..."

Seeing the genuine surprise in Sarah’s face, Mason arched his brow. "It’s not?"

Then...was it Daniel? Did he send it to all members of the Circle as a warning?

Frowning, Mason thought about how much it would affect his endeavor to trap his sweet little Seul-ah. If it was only a warning about giving drugs to a non-consenting person, then it was whatever. The man wouldn’t be able to prove that Axton and Jasper were involved, since Mason was sure those two foolish brothers of his wouldn’t have that kind of stuff on them.

Even if there were suspicions, all Mason needed to do was punish them--which he already planned to do anyway--and his image wouldn’t get tarnished.

On the other hand, if Daniel did it to warn people about making a move on Sarah...that would be problematic. It would mean Daniel did have something going on with her and thinking about that made his stomach churn.

Moreover...

"It’s not me, but..." Sarah smiled sweetly after she finished reading the articles. "I want to reward whoever did it."

Mason stared at the bright smile that lit up that pretty face, the one he had always wanted to own and display for him to see whenever he wanted. His throat bobbed at the thought of what those lips could do--of what he could make them do.

"If...I take care of Axton and Jasper, will you reward me too?"

Sarah raised her brow, before letting out an adorable giggle. She did not answer, but the twinkling in those black eyes was enough to feed Mason’s delusion.

"Seul-ah," Mason paused as the curled eyes turned into a glare and corrected himself. "Sarah, let’s have a meal sometime. We rarely spend time together these days."

"That’s because you’re so busy, Oppa," Sarah giggled again while standing up. "But sure, sometimes. I need to go for now, though--see you later, okay?"

She wiggled her hand and walked away, filling Mason with disappointment and annoyance. But it was fine--there were too many eyes in the office, so he should control himself or he might look like he was desiring her too much.

If only that bodyguard wasn’t there...

Mason clicked his tongue as he watched Sarah walk toward her bodyguard through the transparent section of his office wall. His watchful eyes turned into a vicious scowl when Sarah grabbed the bodyguard’s lapel and pulled him down to kiss his lips.

"Your breakfast journey is satisfactory," Sarah whispered as their lips parted, before letting go of the man and walking away.

"...hah!"

It took a few seconds for Hajin to wake up from his stun and hurriedly followed his master while hiding his chuckle behind his hand, realizing that Sarah had found out what he had done this morning.

The kiss was neither affectionate nor lustful. Strangely enough, it also didn’t feel like a fake one used for their act. It was like...

It was like a reward.

Hajin snickered--what should he feel about this? Should he feel happy that, at the very least, she no longer looked numb and cold?

He wasn’t wrong about it; the kiss was indeed a reward. At least, she knew now that Hajin wasn’t just leaving her for a useless endeavor, and it soothed her a bit that the perpetrator instantly got taken care of.

But while she didn’t do it as provocation, she also knew that doing it in Mason’s office lobby had provoked the man properly, and she felt she should crank it even more.

"We need to appear even more intimate, especially in front of the family," Sarah said once they were in the car.

"...why?"

"Just."

Sarah shrugged; for some reason, it was rather hard for her to talk about what Mason did to her in her previous life. From what Hajin told her, it didn’t seem like she blurted it out during her drunken stupor either.

But of course, Hajin couldn’t just accept that. He stared hard at Sarah through the rear-view mirror, and perhaps because she did have something to hide, she felt rather guilty.

"Daniel..." she said after a while, while Hajin took their car out of the company’s basement parking lot. "He was doing something unnecessary."

Well...unnecessary for her, although it might be important to him.

"What do you mean?" Hajin narrowed his eyes.

"He sent the links to those articles to every member of the Circle."

Hajin arched his brow. "Why?"

He was the one to orchestrate the accident and the whole drug thing, and Daniel was the one moving the media under Mirae Group. So he knew there were articles about it, but...why bother sending links? It was bound to circulate without him doing so.

"Perhaps as a warning," Sarah rubbed the window panel while musing. "He will be the head of the group that owns Imperial Hotel, after all."

And with Daniel...he had a complex too. He was supposed to follow the footsteps of his uncle, who used to be the king of the Circle. But he had been away for too long due to his studies, and when he returned, the Circle had developed new cliques and cultures outside of his influence.

It might look like child’s play for the adults, but one’s position in the Circle shaped the influence they had once they stepped up to replace their predecessor for real. Daniel needed to reclaim his power in the Circle if he wanted his red carpet to be laid with roses rather than blood.

Thus, Sarah understood why he did it, but at the same time, it complicated her situation.

"Is it a bad thing?" Hajin tilted his head.

"By this point, people would have already heard about me and Daniel going to a private room," Sarah replied, which got the fingers on the steering wheel gripping tighter. "Once the family knows about it, they will no longer see me as hopeless and useless."

"...you mean they’ll try to ’sell’ you to Mirae?" the grey eyes narrowed.

Sarah snickered. "Who doesn’t want to sell their daughters to Mirae? They are still trying to pitch their twenty-something daughters to Kang Jun."

Even conglomerates had tiers, and Mirae stood at the top. HS Group, meanwhile, could be considered low-tier for conglomerate standard--powerful enough to stomp even the wealthy, but not enough to influence the government.

Of course, her father and the executives would be elated to push Sarah to Daniel. They probably already meant to marry her off to a politician or lawyer anyway, so the future chairman of Mirae Group would be a very much welcomed alternative.

"The moment they think I’m useful, the others will be more cautious about me," Sarah continued. "That wouldn’t be good, so I need to show that I’m far from eligible."

"By...showing more intimacy?"

"They should think I’m crazy about you," Sarah smirked. "’Why would Kang Daniel want anything to do with her?’ is what we’re aiming for."

Hajin sighed. "I see..."

Sarah looked at the man dryly. "What are you disappointed about?"

A subtle smile played on Hajin’s lips. "You’re a cruel woman, Master."

"It’s good that you know," Sarah said coldly, turning her gaze back to the scenery outside as the car was finally out of the basement.

Hajin chuckled bitterly and decided to just accept his predicament. "So, what are we going to do now?"

"What else?" Sarah leaned back and closed her eyes, groaning inwardly. "We still have homework to do."

Namely, the ledger and the breadcrumb contained inside.

And if she disappeared from the mansion for a while, the family wouldn’t be able to ask her about what happened after Mason made a move and punished the brothers.

Which, fortunately for her, Mason had become very serious about doing. Especially after seeing those lips kissing the damn bodyguard. A fucking reward. A reward that should belong to him.

But before that...

Mason took out his phone while observing Sarah’s car leaving the company’s grounds from his office window. With cold eyes, she spoke to his phone.

"Auntie, shall we have a meal and talk?"