Triumph Of The Belittled Son-in-law

CHAPTER 8

Back at the Winston family, they were all shocked to hear that Paul Leonard was rescued from the prisoner transport van. 

They inquired angrily about who rescued him and how it happened but the police were even more shocked at how swiftly they were robbed of their man. 

The authorities were unable to give definitive answers leaving the Winstons on the lookout for him. They were determined that he was going to answer for the stunt he pulled.

But they had bigger problems.

The Bournemouth family, who are allied to the Winstons, had a fallout. The Winstons had an agreement with the Bournmouths for the completion of a building project worth 700 million dollars but the Winstons stopped halfway because they lacked the resources to complete the project, leading to threats of being sued.

The Winstons had just escaped a Ponzi Scheme allegation by the skin of their teeth and a court matter would put a suspicious eye on them so they applied for a partnership deal with another company, Rochester Corporations.

Jude Bournemouth didn't share the sentiments of his family members because Sarah Winston was now his wife after divorcing Paul. He was determined to help the Winstons secure the partnership with Rochester Corporations 

“Don't worry babe, we will get this partnership deal struck,” Jude assured Sarah, grasping her hand tightly as they were directed to the office of the Chief Operating Officer.

Rochester Corporations happened to be one of the companies under the Imperial Society Syndicate - the same company Paul had appointed the former housekeeper, Zendaya Miriam, to take charge as the Chief Operating Officer.

Miriam was looking elegant, her dress made of a rich fabric hugging her curves smoothly, its hue a scarlet red and feminine shade.

“Have a seat sir, and ma,” Miriam said as Jude and Sarah both took their seats, their eyes expectant and nervous.

A lot depended on the partnership deal going through. On Jude's part, he had annoyed his immediate family members by sticking with Sarah despite the fallout between the two families. He knew that the Bournemouths were eager to see him fail.

Before Jude and Sarah could think of what to say next, Miriam caught their attention with something quite bizarre.

Miriam’s face was contorted with an evil smile as she grabbed the stack of papers containing the financial papers, cover letters, and proposal letter that Jude had earlier submitted for review.

In the twinkle of an eye, she ripped the pages into shreds, the crisp sound of tearing paper filling the air.

“What?! How dare you?” Jude's eyes flashed in anger and his gestures were sharp while Sarah just sat there, frozen to the spot.

“Are you playing a prank on us?”

Miriam’s eyelids were half closed as if she was uninterested before sipping a cup of coffee. 

“Mr. Bournemouth, this is not a prank. You have stepped on toes you shouldn't have stepped on.”

Miriam then turned to Sarah. “As for you, I am truly ashamed on your behalf. You must be a dog to prefer bones to real meat because that is what you have done.”

“Shut up!” Jude blurted out, his veins popping almost out of his skin as his eyes were red with fury. “How dare you insult my wife. Do you think I would just sit back and watch you ridicule us? Never!”

An evil smile played out from the corner of Miriam's lips. “Well….Mr. Bournemouth, I think you might want to sit back and watch this.”

Miriam calmly brought out her device and showed him footage of Bournemouth Corporations being swarmed with financial crime agents moving uniformly with guns in their hands, flashing a fluorescent light into different corners. 

The faces of the agents were serious and intense as they made their way through every single office room, seizing hard drives, flash drives, papers from desks, stacks of files, phones, and other devices - each item was kept inside a large grey bag. 

Each employee was frozen in terror as if they had seen a ghost while some other employees were arrested and cuffed.

Jude Bournemouth’s fingers were trembling as he watched the live footage, his heart pounding in his chest. It was as if a dark cloud was in front of him because he barely blinked his eyes, being entirely rooted to the spot.

Sarah Winston also had a jaw-dropping moment as she struggled to comprehend what was happening to Bournemouth Corporation.

“Hahahaha! Now that is a fucking surprise, isn't it? Just look at his face,” Miriam let out a low chuckle that soon advanced into a high-pitched scornful laughter. 

She was clearly enjoying ridiculing Mr. Bournemouth.

“Madam, look at your husband, the once looking high and mighty Mr. Bournemouth can't even lift a finger,” she continued her mockery, hitting her feet to the ground repeatedly in laughter. 

“To cut a long story short, your company is in shambles due to tax evasion scandals but it's just one of the things that could happen when you mess with the big boys.”

Miriam then stroked her forehead abruptly. “Oh! Before I forget, the Winstons are next and they should prepare… hahaha,” she scorned.

Mr. Bournemouth’s lips wavered as he had a difficult time composing himself. “Please don't do this to us. Tell us what we can do to appease you. We don't deserve this. You are setting me and my family on a journey of public mockery and financial starvation.”

“Now, that’s a good question,” Miriam said, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips as he pointed towards Mr. Bournemouth. “Well, as for the answer, the both of you should kneel for a start.”

“What?!” Mr. Bournemouth exclaimed. “How can you tell us to do such a disgraceful thing just to appease your female ego?”

“My ego?” Miriam asked. “You aren't doing any of these to please me or to appease my ego.”

“Then who are we doing it for? Who have we offended?” Sarah Winston asked curiously, already taken to her knees in surrender.

Miriam ignored her question and turned to Mr. Bournemouth. “Do the right thing, Mr. Bournemouth…Your fucking knees to the ground,” she screamed on top of her voice authoritatively.

Mr. Bournemouth’s face seemed smaller. He knew that he had been pushed to the wall but this time he had no surprise of his. He thought of the Winstons and remembered that his family was at loggerheads with them so they wouldn't help him. This was his final stop.

With his whole body conveying a sense of total defeat, he angled one of his knees to the bare ground before the other followed.

Miriam’s face lit up with a smile of contentment and pleasure. 

“Now, to answer your very intelligent question, Mrs. Winston, here is the person you are kneeling to because you are both at his mercy,” she smirked, pointing to the door flung open.

And oh goodness! Jude and Sarah couldn't believe who was walking in so majestically with his chest puffed out.