Burning The House Of Cards: taking revenge on my billionaire family
Chapter 64 - 63. Behind The Curtain

Chapter 64: Chapter 63. Behind The Curtain

After Sarah left the company, Chief Secretary Park immediately called a member of the strategic planning team while heading to the chairman’s office. It was a member tasked with watching over what the second daughter had been doing after returning from abroad, including the establishment she visited and her spending.

Hearing about the children’s bad conduct was just a normal occurrence at this point, but the newest report still made him stop in his tracks and look at the employee incredulously.

"They kissed?" the old man almost glared, wishing that his hearing had gone bad instead. "In the office?"

"Yes, Sir--" the employee from the strategic office pulled up a screen capture on a tablet. "Someone from the security pulled up CCTV footage. It’s blurry, but..."

The footage was captured from a CCTV located near a smoking area, but the camera was on the other side of the corridor, so it wasn’t very clear. There was no mistake, however, that the two were standing very close to each other, heads practically pressing.

On the zoomed version, they could see the second daughter pull her bodyguard to a wall, and the man caged her before leaning down. They did it for a while too, around two or three minutes.

Chief Secretary Park sighed exasperatedly; even an old man like him could imagine what they were doing. He thought back to the phone call with the scandalous conversation he had heard firsthand, as well as the report about her expenses and hotel visit.

All for a bodyguard with no education or parents...

"Very well," Park returned the tablet to the employee. "Tell the people in that company to report to us periodically."

"Yes, Sir."

With another heavy sigh, Chief Secretary Park headed to the chairman’s office. Unlike usual, he stayed at the office, as if hoping someone would visit him. Perhaps because his second daughter always did whenever she came to the company before, even if all she received was a simple ’hmm’ before she was sent away.

All of that was only in the past, however. It was rather too late to care about it at this point.

"Sir," Park bowed at the door before walking toward the chairman.

Lifting his head from his phone, Lee Hyuk stared at him silently for a few seconds, perhaps waiting for someone else to follow. When there was no one, he replied dryly. "You’re back? How was she?"

Honestly, Chief Executive Park felt it was rather refreshing seeing him disappointed because of his child, since the man seemed like he didn’t even realize he had children most of the time.

"Young Miss said she’ll work," Park replied succinctly. He paused for two seconds before continuing in a lower tone. "But I do have something to report regarding--"

Before he could finish his words, the door of the chairman’s office opened harshly, and the receptionist’s panicking voice entered the room before the person behind the aggressive gesture.

"Ma’am, you can’t just--"

"Shut up! How dare you keep me from going to my husband’s office?!"

The third wife yelled while slamming the door shut, prompting both the chairman and the chief secretary to raise their brows.

"What’s this again?" the chairman tilted his head.

"Hyuk-ssi--" Mina walked toward the desk while taking a deep breath. When she arrived behind the chair, her agitated voice had dispersed, and, after clearing her throat once, she continued calmly. "I need to talk to you about something."

The chairman leaned back on his chair while crossing his arms. "Is it so important that you have to barge into my office like that?"

"Why? I am still your wife, am I not?" Mina replied sharply. "Or, are you afraid I’ll find you here with your mistress?"

The Chairman laughed in response, sneering mockingly. "Have I ever?"

Mina clenched her jaw in annoyance, but she held back promptly. "Haa...I’m not here for this," she shook her head in exasperation. And yes, I think this is important."

"What? Do you need more allowance? Or did your son mess up again?"

"He is your son, too...Chairman," Mina had to stop herself from hissing.

"I suppose so," the man replied with a flat, bored tone. "So, what’s this about?"

She exhaled heavily, pushing away all of her heart’s grievances while taking a seat in front of the desk. "It’s about that girl..."

"Who?" Lee Hyuk looked at Mina’s disdainful expression and smirked. "Ah...Sarah?"

"Sarah..." Mina frowned as she realized the chairman followed the girl’s request to call her by that name. "Yes, I suppose that’s her name."

Haa...no wonder Sarah didn’t like this woman. The Chairman scoffed and asked nonchalantly, wondering what Mina was scheming against his second daughter. "What about her?"

"Don’t you know she’s been going around tarnishing the family’s name?" Mina started right away.

Lee Hyuk arched his brow, and Mina did not waste time to elaborate.

"People already talked about how she was sleeping around while she was abroad, but we can still say it’s a rumor," she continued. "But this time, we can’t just say it’s a rumor when there are a lot of eyewitnesses seeing how often she spends her time in a hotel with that glorified gigolo she hired, or how she acted in the Circle."

The Chairman tilted his head and asked with a sneer. "You mean how your son tricked her?"

"He did not! That was all Axton!" Mina snapped before taking a deep breath and calming herself down--again. This wasn’t the time to argue. "What I’m saying is, something needs to be done."

"She’s young, let her have fun," the chairman scoffed before looking at the chief secretary. "Besides, didn’t you say she hung out with that boy Daniel?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Just that one time! But have they been meeting again since then? Not at all!" Mina smacked the desk lightly once. "He must have heard how primuscuos that girl is and decided to step back."

Lee Hyuk didn’t look concerned about it at all. "Is that so?"

"Unfortunately, I think the Madam is right, Chairman," to Mina’s surprise, the stiff old man actually supported her opinion. "Personally, I do think the Young Miss has been playing around a bit too much--especially with her bodyguard."

"Hmm..."

"It’s fine if she’s a man, but..."

"But she’s a woman! She can’t just play around like that!" Mina smacked the desk again, as if she weren’t someone who played around with someone else’s husband in the past. "Who would want to take a girl who’s already damaged goods?"

The chief secretary cleared his throat. "Rather than that, we should prevent another male Cinderella story, Sir."

The chairman narrowed his eyes. "You mean like what happened to Ilsung?"

One of Ilsung Group’s daughters married her employee against all odds. People thought it was a story of true love until it was leaked that the man had scammed her for money.

Certainly, Lee Hyuk didn’t want his money to be snatched by a boy from nowhere.

"I see..." the chairman nodded, shifting his gaze back to his third wife. "So, what are you going to do about it?"

"Isn’t it obvious?" Mina’s voice was calmer now, since things turned out favorably. "We need to fix her up with someone before nobody is willing to be with her anymore."

The chairman arched his brow.

"Surely, you don’t want her to end up with that plaything of hers--a gold digger?"

Lee Hyuk almost laughed, since ’gold digger’ was exactly what Mina was. But, damn...she was indeed as pretty and alluring as a mythical fox--at least in the past.

Lee Hyuk himself didn’t care about having relationships with gold diggers--he could throw money at them while playing around with many people at once. But, yeah...while a man doing that was whatever, it couldn’t be the same with a woman.

He tapped the armrest and smirked. "I guess you already have a candidate in mind?"

"You won’t be too disappointed," Mina said, taking out a folder from her bag, placing it on the desk. "He’s not as rich as us, of course, but it’s not bad."

Look at her using ’us’ so easily--the Chief Secretary scoffed inwardly while taking the folder and perusing its content.

"What do you think?" the chairman asked.

"Not excellent, but it won’t hurt the group’s reputation," Park replied dryly.

"I told you so."

The chairman sneered at Mina’s haughty expression. "If you’re already prepared it, why don’t you just set up a date and tell her to come?"

Mina pressed her lips tightly, and the corner of her eyes twitched. "Do you think she’ll listen to me?"

The chairman laughed. "Heh--you think she’ll listen to me?"

"Well...she should, shouldn’t she?" Mina arched her brow, as if challenging the man about his authority.

As expected, Lee Hyuk narrowed his eyes in response. "Hmm...I suppose so. But..." he tilted his head, looking at Mina with a cold and mocking gaze.

"W-what?"

"I don’t particularly see the need to do this," he shrugged, as if all the ’agreement’ he showed before was nothing but a jest. "I mean...my first daughter also doesn’t have anyone currently. Shouldn’t people be the ones knocking on our door?"

He glanced at the chief secretary, and of course, Park replied tacitly. "Indeed, Sir. It’s not like the old days, so people won’t mind much if a woman marries a bit late."

"What he said," the chairman smirked.

Mina narrowed her eyes. "What are you saying now?"

"I’m saying this is all your ruse, so..." the chairman curled his lips. "There should be a price if you want me to cooperate."

Mina clutched her bag tightly under the desk; trying hard to maintain her expression and making sure her voice was steady. "What do you want?"

The chairman leaned his head back on the chair, his voice light and unfeeling. "I’m not going to bring you to Mirae’s event with me."

"...What?!"

"I’m not saying you can’t come," he smirked, enjoying every second he saw the expression crumble on his wife’s face. "I’m just saying I won’t use my invitation for you."

Mina gritted her teeth, no longer able to hide how much he abhored the man who was supposed to be her husband. That being said, preventing Sarah’s advancement came first.

She stood up, gathering the dignity she had left as the current legal wife. "Fine!"

Lee Hyuk chuckled amusedly as Mina stomped her way out of his office. "Tell Sarah to meet me tomorrow."

"Understood."

* * *

Chief Secretary Park wasn’t the only one who received a report about Sarah’s activity.

Mason stared at the screen capture of a security footage and Sarah’s car entering the same hotel several times. Photographs of her buying stuff for the bodyguard, caressing his chest and arms, as well as sniffing his neck, filled the screen, which cracked not long after.

Throwing the cracked tablet to his pale secretary, Mason took out his phone and called a number aggressively.

"Aunt, when will you be returning?" he tried to make his voice less impatient, despite the bulging vein on his neck. "You should make a move soon."