***
Leo left the Manoban Mansion with a sullen expression, of course, it was partly to show everyone that he had been mistreated.
Although, he still refused to give an interview, everyone could see that he was mad.
Therefore, the media instantly released another article about how Leo Manoban was mistreated by Lisa and Chaeyoung, as well as the whole Manoban Family.
Because of this, the opinion of the masses became more biased. They started throwing foul-mouthed accusations towards Lisa and Chaeyoung.
"Father just called, asking about our further actions. I told him that we already have a plan." Lisa said before lying beside Chaeyoung.
"I'm planning to meet Minnie." Chaeyoung blurted out while staring at the ceiling. She was currently thinking about the things that had happened.
"Do you want me to accompany you?"
"No. I can do it alone. Minnie hates you and the Manoban Family," she answered before turning towards Lisa, "After this, I want to buy a house, away from the city. Like a fortress, away from all these stressful situations. What do you think?"
"Hmmm... then I'm sure you will like my gift."
"What is it? A house?"
Lisa gave her a cheeky grin, "No, but you will know soon. Let's solve this matter first. I am getting tired of these people, who constantly make troubles for us." Lisa wanted to add how she needed to finish this, so she could delve in information about Chaeyoung's biological father, as well as her grandmother. She didn't want Chaeyoung to know all of this, she just wanted to keep her safe.
Lisa let out a sigh while thinking about how would the truth affect Chaeyoung. Would she be happy that Jacob Park wasn't her real father?
Moreover, Lisa wanted to know why she was unable to find anything about Chaeyoung's background in her previous life. Was it possible that Chaeyoung triggered their interest due to her talents?
How about her biological father? Was he even aware of Chaeyoung's existence?
Lisa still needed to clarify lots of things.
Apparently, it would take a long time before both of them could live peacefully in their own fortress.
...
Meanwhile, Minnie tiptoed towards the door of her mother's room after making sure that her mother was sleeping.
She made sure not to disturb her mother as she closed the door behind her and made her way into her own room.
The moment she entered her own room, her demeanor changed. Her gaze became sharp as she opened her laptop on her bed.
She picked up her phone and dialed a number. "Is everything prepared?"
"Yes." she heard the answer.
"Good. I want you to do this tomorrow. Make sure that he is dead."
"Got it. How about your brother? Is he still alive after drinking the poison?"
"Are you concerned about his well being?" she asked before chuckling. "He is still alive. We can still use him, for now."
"I was asking about the poison. I have made it. I want to know if it worked." the voice reasoned.
"I know... I know... it was perfect."
"Do you think Lisa and Chaeyoung know about you?" the voice asked.
"No. They are suspecting my father." Minnie answered.
"Be careful, that Chaeyoung is smart. She might be even smarter than you."
"Haha... what a joke. That woman is a seductress. She might be a little smart, but that's just it- a little." She answered.
"Don't tell me that you took a liking of her?" the voice giggled. "Do you want me to take care of her? Don't worry, I will let you have a little taste."
"Stupid." Minnie rolled her eyes. "Call me tomorrow after you successfully killed him," she said before dropping the call.
Then, she crossed her arms on her chest. A habit, that she usually did when she was thinking.
She hated the Manoban Family. She hated her mother, father and everyone in the Manoban Family. The only way to satisfy her raging heart was to make them crumble.
Without the Manoban family, she would have been a normal person. She would have been a normal man, running around, courting women and doing what he liked.
However, because of the stupid Family, she had become like this. A puppet. Someone, who was made into something he was not.
Someone, who was controlled and abused.
Minnie took a sharp breath before looking at her soft white hands. This was something that she had never wanted.
Her mother raised her as a little girl. At first, she thought it was normal for her to dress and act like one. However, she realized that she was not meant to be a girl. She was born as a male.
Then, her mother had sent her abroad to hide his teenage, male voice and still flat breasts. Just how cruel was her mother to do that?
Now, that she was already away from the Manoban Family, she thought that she could live as a normal male. Nevertheless, her mother had her undergo lots of procedures, that changed her hormones.
She made her do a surgery, which turned her into a female, at the age of eighteen.
What kind of mother would do that to her own son?
A crazy one! Someone, who had been abused by her husband into believing that she was useless without him. Someone, who believed that she did not have a choice, other than following her own husband's commands.
However, Minnie will have her revenge soon.
The Manoban Family will suffer in her hands. She will trample it to the ground before helping them up.
Then, she will lead them. Declaring that she was a man behind this jade-like complexion.
She will rule them and own them.
Only one thing was for sure...
As long as she was alive, the Manoban Family would never have a good ending.
...
The next day, big news rocked the entire business world.
Leo Manoban's car had exploded while he was on his way to his office. His body was burnt to such an extent that no one could recognize it.
"It's her. Now it's confirmed. It's Minnie. Not her mother," Chaeyoung said before taking a sip of the juice that Lisa had made for her. "Her mother is too timid to do this to her own husband. That Minnie is getting more dangerous by the minute."
"Hmmm..."
"If I am right, then she will use this to rally all the investors against you and your father, requesting them to cast their votes for her brother. Additionally, since her brother is still unconscious, she will become his sole representative," Chaeyoung explained. "Smart move."
"Aside from the fact that she did not leave any evidence, she seems to be innocent on the outside. No one will suspect her," she added.
Lisa had been frowning since she received the news of her uncle's death. "She wants to blame her father's death on me and frame me for hurting her brother. Afterwards, she will be the one to reap all the benefits."
"It's amazing how long it must have taken her to plan all of this," Chaeyoung said before smirking. Chaeyoung finally understood why Minnie took actions against them only now. She was merely waiting for her father to embezzle enough money from the Manoban Corp. It would put pressure on the latter to make his son the head of the Manoban Family and to use his daughter to infiltrate the Wang Group through Taehyung. "However, she is not smart enough... not yet."
"Are we going to do what we had planned?" Lisa asked.
"Yes. When she puts the blame on you, I will release it online," she said. Chaeyoung was talking about Leo Manoban's gambling addiction and embezzlement. Her reasoning was simple- why would Lisa kill her own uncle who owed them hundreds of millions? How would he pay back his debt to the Manoban Family if he was already dead?
It would switch the blame towards the people who Leo owed money to through his gambling.
Then Chaeyoung and Lisa would wait for Minnie to gather all the investors against them. Chaeyoung did not have any other proof that could connect Minnie to the attacks, except for what Jimin did. Chaeyoung had found the bank account that was used to transfer money to Jimin and she was able to trace it back to Minnie. Chaeyoung believed that Minnie was using this account for her underhanded transactions.
Moreover, Chaeyoung had found some traces that showed how most of the money that Minnie deposited in this account had coincided with the money that her father had embezzled from the Manoban Company. The only question now was how certain she was that the owner of the bank account was Minnie and not her father.
That was because although the account was not under her name, it was made on her birthday two years ago. Aside from this, Minnie's trip abroad was at the same time as the account opening. Her location was also the same location as the bank.
Sometimes, Chaeyoung would wonder if Minnie had deliberately let Chaeyoung trace it back to her. However, she quickly disposed of the idea as it was unreasonable. There was no reason for Minnie to do that.
Chaeyoung believed that at that time, Minnie did not have the network and knowledge that she had now. That was why she had made a mistake. Of course, she was certain that Minnie had not considered it as a mistake since it was extremely difficult to trace the bank's information.
It took Chaeyoung almost the whole night to track Minnie's activities abroad, including her university days, as well as all of her secret trips and transactions. After all, no one could entirely delete something that was already in the virtual world.
What attracted Chaeyoung's attention most from Minnie's past activities, was the fact that it took a sudden turn two years ago. She appeared normal, boring, and conventional.
But it had all changed two years ago, just around the time that Chaeyoung had left for the Cybercrime organization.
She couldn't help but wonder what had caused these sudden changes in Minnie.
Had someone approached her? To make her change her mind? To stimulate her already angry heart, and convince her to have her revenge?
Chaeyoung stared at Minnie's files again.
Two years ago she had started meeting influential people both in and out of the black market. Chaeyoung guessed that she had been trying to gather allies to help her achieve her goal.
As for her goal, Chaeyoung was still not sure about it. She understood that Minnie must have been angry for being deprived of her own choice. Chaeyoung assumed that Minnie wanted to destroy Lisa and her family because they were the ones who had put pressure on her father and mother.
However, Chaeyoung was still not certain about the extent of Minnie's plans. Was she trying to destroy the entire Manoban Conglomerate before building it back up?
For now, Chaeyoung was only certain about one thing: Minnie was a smart enemy. She was an enemy that would make Chaeyoung stronger and wiser in the near future.
And just like what Chaeyoung anticipated, Minnie showed herself in the media crying about her father's murder and her brother's situation.
She was asking for an explanation from the Manoban Family, telling everyone how her father went home that day angry because of what had happened to her brother. She said that her father wanted to expose this to the media and even some people from the media confirmed this.
Minnie's words drew the attention of the whole society, including the police. Since the Manoban family did not release any response, more and more people believed that they stayed silent because they didn't have anything to defend themselves.
"Some of our business partners was asking me about this." Grandfather Manoban said while leaning at his cane. They were currently in Lisa's room with Marco, Laura, Lisa and Chaeyoung. "Since you two were the ones, who discovered this, then I would not involve myself in this problem.
Chaeyoung and Lisa just told them about Minnie and her mother. Both Marco and Laura couldn't hide their the surprise. In fact, they were speechless.
"That Leo was really ruthless to abuse his wife like that," Old Man added, "I have always known that there is something wrong with that man, yet I was not able to prove it. Jiwon is so timidly and silent all the time. No matter how much I ask her about my suspicions, she would just deny and lower her head."
"Leo has always wanted a daughter." Marco said. "I believe that his constant pressure caused his wife to lie about Minnie's gender."
"I know I should have done something when I sensed that something was wrong with Leo and his wife. Yet, I turned a blind eye. I am partly responsible for all of this." Old Man said.
"I don't think you are responsible, Grandfather. It was Jiwon's choice. I know the pressure from her husband's ambition to rule the Manoban Conglomerate must have taken its toll on her, yet it was her decision, not anyone else's. No one has been pointing a gun at her head when she did that to her own daughter." Lisa explained.
"Lisa is right, Father. You should not blame yourself for other people's choices." Laura said while shaking her head. "Still, I cannot imagine what Minnie went through. Poor child."
"Hmmm..You are right. I can't imagine growing up as a girl." her husband affirmed before looking at Lisa and Chaeyoung. "So what are you planning to do?"
"In a while, we will release a statement that will condemn the culprit and provide some evidence, proving that Lisa did not have the motive to do that." Chaeyoung answered, her voice laced with confidence.
Her words and confidence instantly made everyone stare at her.
Chaeyoung was smart,there were no questions about that. She was also a part of the Manoban Family now. Everyone wanted to know how she would deal with Minnie. After all, her confidence must have come from something that she was holding against their enemy, right?
In fact, Chaeyoung's confidence did come from something. But it was not anything that will incriminate Minnie. If someone asked her how she would deal with Minnie, all she could answer was: to wait. Wait for her to make a mistake.
"Since little Chae seems so confident then we will let you two handle this. This issue had some effects on our branches abroad, as some of our foreign investors are starting to talk behind our backs. I believe that someone is secretly talking to them. This is something of major importance. So I and Laura will deal with them." Marco said. Although they had already found out that Minnie was responsible for all this, something was still nagging his mind.
It was telling him that something else was wrong. That there was still someone else behind this. Someone manipulating everything. That's why he and his wife needed to stay abroad to sort everything out and investigate this.
In response, everyone in the room nodded.
However, this was just the calmness before the storm. Soon enough... the whole Manoban Family would face someone greater than Minnie Manoban. Someone smarter, more capable and more dangerous.
Someone, that would test both Chaeyoung and Lisa's abilities.
After the long meeting, the Manoban Family decided to give Chaeyoung and Lisa the total control of this situation while Marco and Laura would deal with the things, happening abroad.
Since Chaeyoung and Lisa already got the whole families permission, then they could now do whatever they can, to solve the current issue.
And that issue was Minnie Manoban.
.....