Chapter 76: Bitch, Go Die
When Sean Yates drove Ruth Hughes to Aevon, it was during the lunch break. The weather was lovely today; after two gloomy days, the sun had suddenly broken through the clouds, its rays feeling wonderfully warm.
Leah Sinclair, Zion Sawyer, and Todd Coleman were downstairs enjoying the sun. She had just recovered from a cold over the past two days and squinted her eyes, feeling incredibly comfortable.
Sitting in the car, Ruth Hughes looked out from a distance and asked Sean Yates, "Which one? Which one is she? There are two girls over there."
"The one in the gray sweater," Sean Yates replied after a glance.
"I can’t see clearly. This won’t do. I’m going over to have a look." As she spoke, Ruth Hughes started to get out of the car.
"Ma’am, ma’am! If you go over there like this, Asher will be upset if he finds out," Sean Yates quickly tried to stop her.
"Do you take me for a fool? I’ll just go ask for directions. What’s there to panic about?" Ruth Hughes shot him a look before pushing the car door open and getting out.
Sean Yates quickly sent a text to Asher Keating. Bringing Ruth Hughes over for a secret peek wasn’t a huge problem, but now she was going to approach Leah Sinclair. If he didn’t tell Asher, he might actually get transferred to a branch office.
"Sir! Help! Your mother went to talk to Leah Sinclair. They’re downstairs."
Asher Keating had just been about to lie down for a bit. Seeing the text, he let out a resigned smile. He’d underestimated just how impatient his mother could be. He stood up, grabbed his jacket, and headed downstairs.
Ruth Hughes straightened her clothes and slowly walked toward Leah Sinclair and her friends. Zion Sawyer and Todd Coleman were bickering, which made Leah laugh. She opened her eyes, just about to chime in.
Ruth Hughes walked up to them and asked, "Excuse me, is this Aevon?"
"Yes, it is. Are you looking for someone, ma’am?" Zion Sawyer replied, looking up at her.
"Oh, I’m looking for, uh... what was his name again?"
Ruth Hughes deliberately pretended she couldn’t recall the name, fiddling with her phone as if searching for it. From behind her sunglasses, however, her eyes were fixed on Leah Sinclair, who was now looking up at her as well.
’Mm, she’s quite pretty,’ Ruth Hughes thought. ’Wow, youth really is something else. Her skin is so smooth.’
"Chester Hughes."
Ruth Hughes recalled a name she had once heard Asher Keating mention while he was talking with Theodore Keating.
"Oh, our director. He’s... hey, is Director Hughes in today?" Zion Sawyer asked, turning to Leah Sinclair and Todd Coleman.
"I think he was heading out as we came downstairs," Leah Sinclair replied. She recalled seeing Chester Hughes leaving right as they came out.
Ruth Hughes’s gaze never left her. ’Her voice is lovely, too. Not bad at all. But she does look a bit thin.’
"Ma’am, our director has stepped out. If you’re not in a hurry, we can take you upstairs to wait for him," Leah Sinclair offered, getting to her feet.
’Mm, her height is good, too. She and Asher would look great together.’
While thinking this, Ruth Hughes replied aloud, "Oh? Is that so? All right, then."
"In that case, Leah, why don’t you take this lady upstairs? Zion and I are going to grab some coffee; we’re exhausted. You want anything?" Todd Coleman asked her.
"I’m good, I’ve already had two cups this morning."
Leah Sinclair replied with a smile, then turned back to Ruth Hughes. "Ma’am, shall I take you to our director’s office?"
"Okay."
Ruth Hughes smiled, walking beside her. "And what’s your name, dear?"
"My last name is Sinclair. You can call me Leah, ma’am," she replied with a smile.
"Leah? Hmm, that’s a lovely name. How old are you, Leah? Do you have a boyfriend?"
...
Leah Sinclair wondered, ’Who is she to Chester Hughes? She can’t be his wife, can she? I remember Zion Sawyer saying that his wife was a little chubby, but this woman isn’t overweight at all.’
’Even with the sunglasses, I can tell from the lower half of her face that she must be beautiful. Chester Hughes can’t be that lucky, right?’
"Ma’am, I..."
"Leah Sinclair! You bitch, go to hell!"
Before Leah Sinclair could finish her sentence, a figure suddenly charged at them. Leah saw something in his hand and, without a second thought, shoved Ruth Hughes out of the way. A liquid splashed all over her, and the overwhelming stench of gasoline instantly filled the air.
Ruth Hughes fell to the ground before she could even process what was happening. When she looked back, a man had Leah Sinclair in a chokehold, a knife pressed against her throat.
"Leah!" Ruth Hughes screamed.
Hearing the commotion, Todd Coleman and Zion Sawyer immediately ran back. Security guards and a few other people from downstairs rushed out. Seeing that things had gone south, Sean Yates was also running toward the scene.
"Lynn, Lynn, let her go! Mom is begging you!"
Another woman ran over. The moment she saw what the man was doing, she collapsed to the ground, sobbing hysterically as she begged him.
"Who are you?" Leah Sinclair asked, grabbing the man’s arm that was around her as she forced herself to stay calm.
"Who am I? You have the fucking nerve to ask me who I am? If it wasn’t for you, would my dad be in prison?" the man behind her yelled, his voice agitated.
Winston Lawson’s son? Leah Sinclair realized. ’I should have known. This man is heavyset, just like Winston Lawson.’
When Asher Keating got out of the elevator, he saw many people running outside, which struck him as odd. Someone spotted him and yelled, "President Keating, Winston Lawson’s son has taken Leah Sinclair hostage!"
Asher Keating immediately broke into a run. When he burst through the doorway, he saw Leah Sinclair being held hostage. The potent smell of gasoline hit him, and his eyes instantly turned ice-cold.
"Asher," Ruth Hughes called out as soon as she saw him.
Asher Keating steadied her and asked in a low voice, "Mom, are you okay?"
"I’m fine! Don’t worry about me, just save Leah!" Ruth Hughes said, frantic as she looked at the captive Leah Sinclair.
"President Keating, we’ve already called the police," Sean Yates reported quietly from his side.
Asher Keating grunted in acknowledgment, then pushed through the crowd to the front. "Lynn Lawson, drop the knife!"
"Back off! I came here today to die with this woman! HAHAHAHA, good, you’re all here. I want every one of you to see this woman! This woman, Leah Sinclair! She seduced my father, then turned around and falsely accused him of rape! If it wasn’t for her, would my dad be in prison? I’ll show all of you what a bitch she is!" Lynn Lawson screamed maniacally at the crowd, brandishing the knife.
The entire company knew that Winston Lawson had been sent to prison. However, because Asher Keating and Mr. Langdon had done such a good job of keeping it quiet, no one knew that Leah Sinclair was the one who had put him there.
"Lynn, put the knife down! Your father is already in prison, if you go in too... what will I do? Lynn!" Winston Lawson’s wife wailed from the ground where she lay.
Leah Sinclair was speechless. ’Why is it always the woman’s fault in situations like this?’ she thought. ’When a man rapes someone, is it really because he was seduced?’
She tried to turn her head, but Lynn Lawson tightened his arm around her neck. She coughed, then said, "Your father threatened me. He said I wouldn’t be made a permanent employee unless I slept with him, and he even tried to rape me. Was I wrong to report him for that?"
"Shut up! You bitch, you’re the one who seduced him!"
Lynn Lawson shrieked. His arm tightened, and a thin line of blood instantly appeared on Leah Sinclair’s neck. The crowd gasped in horror.
"Leah!"
Zion Sawyer screamed. At the sight of the bloody line on Leah Sinclair’s neck, Asher Keating’s expression turned as dark as ink. He pressed his lips into a thin line, and the very air around him seemed to freeze.