4

Regina was shocked. She hadn't seen this coming at all. Her cheek was on fire from Damian’s slap. She staggered backwards holding her face. “You hit me!” she yelled.

Damian ignored her. She wasn't worth his attention. Instead, be crouched down, picking up both pieces of the necklace. They laid in his palm. He seriously hoped that it was repairable.

People were still staring and none of them had the mind to step in. This was a Calloway matter and they didn't dare interefere. Even the security guards that were supposed to through him out were confused on what to do next. Passerbys were beginning to film and record what was happening. The situation was becoming worse.

“How dare you! You’re nothing, nothing!” She yelled, pointing her finger at him, “All you are is a worthless man who got kicked out of the Calloway family. How could you think of laying your hands on me? You’ll pay for this!”

She kept going off, letting her anger get the best of her. “I'll make you rue this day, you bastard. You will regret laying a finger on me.”

Regina glanced at the guards. “Why are you just standing there? Are you scared?” She asked, “Arrest him. Make him regret ever laying a finger on me!”

The guards jumped to action. They immediately circled Damian, ready to pounce at him. Damian stood his ground.

As the guard grabbed him and Damian freed himself easily. More guards tried to catch him but Damian was evading them perfectly.

Regina watched. “What are you all doing?” she asked. “You're so incompetent. He's one man. Get him!”

Before anyone could do anything, a voice spoke up,  “Enough!”

All eyes turned in the direction. Standing at the entrance was a tall and elegant woman. She was surrounded on both sides by men dressed in black suits. She commanded attention and respect. Her dark eyes were cold as she looked at what wasn't happening.

Regina turned to look at her. “And who the hell are you?” she asked. 

But the woman barely looked at her. Instead, she walked towards Damian. “Damian,” she said. “Are you hurt?”

He frowned. Why was this woman concerned about him? He had never seen her befor. But she came to him in a way that felt as if they knew each other. “Who are you?” he asked.

The woman smiled. “My name is Eleanor, I am the CEO of Everest Corporations,” she replied. It seemed that people recognised the name because murmurs flowed through the crowd.

Damian himself knew Everest Corporations. It was a name that held huge power in the business world. Everest Corporation was a big giant. They handled lots of products and they controlled so much power in government that it was rumoured that they controlled the country.

And here the CEO was, speaking to him like he was her superior.

She continued, “I’ve been wanting to visit you so I came to visit your wife. I couldn't meet you before but now, but…” she paused, glancing around at the scene, “...it seems I’ve come at quite an interesting moment.”

Damian was very confused. Regina didn't expeft anyone to stand for Damian. It made her really angry. “I don’t care who you are. This man assaulted me, he should be arrested.”

Eleanor finally looked at Regina. The temperature in the room seemed to drop as Eleanor spoke. “And you are?”

Regina was taken aback by the question. “Regina Calloway, of course. You should know who I am.”

Eleanor let out a short chuckle. “I don’t make it a habit of mine to know irrelevant people.” She replied.

Regina's jaw dropped. “You—”

“I wasn’t speaking to you,” Eleanor cut her off again. “I was speaking to Damian. You have no right to interfere in a conversation between us. You may leave.”

Eleanor's dismissal of Regina shocked everyone, including the security guards.  Regina waa so angry that people could see it . The Everest CEO’s bodyguards, took a few steps forward. It was enough to scare people.

Damian was equally taken aback but he remained silent. He wasn’t used to anyone stepping in for him, much less someone as powerful as Eleanor. He wanted to see where this was going to go.

“So, you think you can just walk in here and tell me what to do? You have no idea who you’re dealing with!”

The look on Eleanor's didn’t change. “I guess, you’re right. I don’t. And honestly, I don’t care.”

“I’ll have you thrown out now. I’ll have you both arrested!”

Eleanor raised an eyebrow. "You could try. But I suggest you think very carefully before making threats you can’t back up. You're a child in this game."

The security guards took a step forward, following Regina's instruction.

One look from Eleanor caused them to freeze "I would advise you all to step back." Her voice was calm but powerful. The guards stopped, exchanging looks.

“This man stole from my sister, assaulted me—" Regina began to say

Eleanor cut her off. "You’ve done enough talking. And from what I can see, you’re not exactly innocent here. Is she lying?"

The last question was for Damian. He hadn't expected her to stand for him in this way.

“She’s trying to frame me. She tol something valuable from me—my family’s necklace." He didn’t raise his voice and it was enought to tell Eleanor everything she needed to know.

Without wasting a second, Eleanor turned back to Regina. "Return it. Now.”

The necklace belongs to my sister. He’s the thief!” Regina said. “And besides, I've given it back to him.”

“You broke it,” Damian said calmly.

“Interesting. I thought you weren't entitled to anything that belonged to your sister as well." Eleanor replied.

Regina glared. "You’re nobody. You have no right to interfere in this!"

Eleanor stopped smiling. She took a step closer to Regina, her aura so deadly. “Nobody?" She asked. But her voice lowered into a whisper. "I could crush your entire family’s little empire like a bug. All I have to do is make one phone call. You may think you have power but compared to me, you are nothing but dust.”

Regina froze.