Chapter 2 Visit To The City Hall

• “Winona, I gave you a job out of pity!” The lobby manager, Melanie Glover, pointed at Winona's forehead, scolding her harshly, “Yet, all you know is to slack off! How big is the suite that you needed the whole night to clean it? Don't tell me you spent the night sleeping on the king-size bed!”
• Winona kept her head lowered, her behavior meek and submissive.
• She had indeed spent the entire night in the large bed, but she was the one being slept with.
• Rubbing her chest, Melanie snapped, “Enough, you're fired! Take off your uniform and get out!”
• Winona slowly exited the office, whereupon her colleagues expressed their displeasure on her behalf. “Melanie has no consideration for others. That suite on the 18th floor is massive, so she shouldn't have made you clean it all by yourself! And now she's firing you without even settling your wages for the past few days!”
• Winona mustered a forced smile. “Forget it, I don't want to argue with her.”
• Someone else was targeting her, and Melanie was merely carrying out orders.
• She changed out of her hotel uniform in the locker room, not noticing the emerald green pendant that slipped from her clothes and fell into the laundry basket.
• After losing her job at Regal Bay Hotel, Winona had to rush to her next job location. She was headed to a newly opened café in Pinnacle Plaza, where she had to don a mascot costume to attract customers.
• The heat of the midsummer sun was stifling, making it hard for her to breathe. However, thinking of her father, who was about to face the second trial, and her mother at home, who was not in her right mind, she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, gathering strength for herself.
• Winona, you can do it!
• Pinnacle Plaza was bustling with people. Winona was in a mascot costume, and her job was to bounce around cutely, drawing in customers. But as she was seriously lacking oxygen, she felt dizzy after a few jumps and inadvertently stumbled forward.
• The exclamations of her colleagues echoed in Winona's ears. Through the two holes in the mascot costume's eyes, she realized she had knocked someone over. She quickly removed the headgear, struggling to get up. “I'm sorry, sir, it wasn't intentional!” she apologized.
• “Oh?” The man leisurely dusted off his suit, drawling out his words, “If apologies were effective, what would be the need for police?”
• His voice was identical to the man's from last night! Winona was taken aback, lifting her head to look.
• The man was dressed in a tailored navy blue suit, with crisply pressed trousers and a pair of crocodile skin shoes. Underneath his slightly disheveled hair, a result of being knocked to the ground, was a pair of intense eyes that seemed somehow familiar.
• “T-Trevor!”
• Trevor seemed to have not expected it to be her. He abruptly grabbed her hand, his gaze dark and ominous. “Winona!”
• The bodyguards behind him tensed up, immediately surrounding him. However, all he did was point to the café across the street and say nonchalantly, “Smash that café!”
• Winona said in disbelief, “On what grounds!”
• “For him daring to offer you a job!” Trevor gritted his teeth, each word pronounced distinctly. “And also just because I am Trevor Fleming!”
• With a hint of tears in her voice, Winona softly pleaded, “My father couldn't have been the culprit. He was framed, I'm sure of it! Could you please look into it one more time?”
• Trevor answered coldly, “Do you think I haven't investigated? I advise you to stop resisting. If Harold admits his guilt, I might spare you and your mother.” As he spoke, a news segment suddenly started playing on the LED screen in the shopping mall.
• “A few days ago, the Supreme Court had its second hearing concerning the murder case of Stephen Fleming, the chairman of Fleming Group. At that time, individuals from all walks of society...”
• A year ago, Fleming Group and Shawley Group were locked in a fierce competition for a significant bid. The situation was so intense that it seemed irreconcilable. Harold, however, chose to step back. It was March, a time when pufferfish were at their fattest and most delicious. He invited Stephen to a private restaurant for a fish feast, extending an olive branch in the midst of their corporate warfare.
• Before leaving, Stephen joked with his son, “This isn't going to be some kind of ambush, is it?”
• In the end, this turned out to be a one-way trip for Stephen.
• Recalling his last encounter with his father, Trevor was consumed by a surge of anger. In his frustration, he grabbed Winona's hand and led her directly toward the Maybach parked not far away.
• “What are you doing!” Winona hastily pulled her hand away, but Trevor's strength was shockingly great. Without uttering a word, he dragged Winona to the side of the car. He stuffed her into the vehicle, her ridiculous mascot costume and all, before squeezing into the back seat himself.
• After the car door closed, the driver cautiously asked, “Mr. Fleming, where are we heading?”
• “To City Hall!” Trevor said in a deep voice.