The red bag

Ophelia stood there, clutching the red bag, feeling a swirl of confusion and anger. Alexander walked over to her, his eyes scanning her face for clues.

"What did he give you?" Alexander asked, his voice steady but filled with curiosity.

"It's a folder. He said they want me to sign these documents as soon as possible. He left before I could ask anything more," Ophelia replied, her voice tinged with frustration.

"Let's get back to the villa and look at those documents," Alexander suggested, his protective instincts kicking in.

As they drove back, Ophelia couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding. What could be so urgent that her stepmother and stepsister would have someone track her down for her signature? And why the secrecy?

Back at the villa, they settled in the study, the folder resting ominously on the table between them. Alexander reached for it, his expression serious.

"Let's see what they want you to sign," he said, opening the folder carefully.

Inside were several documents, each marked with numerous tabs for signatures. Ophelia's eyes scanned the pages, her heart sinking as she realized what they were.

"They want me to transfer my shares," Ophelia said, her voice barely a whisper. "They want me to sign away my control of the Devereux empire."

Alexander frowned, his eyes narrowing as he examined the documents more closely. "This is an attempt to strip you of your power. They're trying to oust you completely."

Ophelia's mind raced as she tried to process the implications. "But why now? Why are they so desperate?"

"Because you're a threat," Alexander said, his voice firm. "They see your potential, and they know you could take control and expose their corruption. They're trying to eliminate that threat before you can act."

Ophelia's eyes filled with tears, a mix of anger and determination. "I won't let them do this to me. I won't sign these documents."

Alexander nodded, his expression resolute. "We need to be smart about this. We need to gather evidence and build a case against them. But first, let's go through these documents carefully. There might be something we can use."

As they pored over the documents, Ophelia felt a renewed sense of purpose. She was not going to let Eleanor and Clarissa take everything from her. She had to fight back, not just for herself, but for the legacy her father had built.

Later into the night, after they had reviewed the documents thoroughly, Alexander leaned back in his chair, his expression thoughtful. "There's something off about this. They're too confident, almost as if they believe you have no choice but to sign. However, they did not see that they have given you a loophole."

Ophelia nodded. "Maybe they think they have some leverage over me. However, the loophole… I don't know whether it's their confidence or they trust me this much."

Alexander's eyes darkened with determination. "We need to find out what that believes then. But how do you think that this is not their overconfidence, I mean the loophole is so simple. If you marry within three days you can keep the 12% share that they are asking you to give up."

Ophelia shook her head and explained.

"This 12% dowry share that was reserved for me was for my marriage and Elanor had somehow managed to agree since the guy the family was trying me to marry off was her best friend's son, Jack who is in a relationship with Clarissa it seems.".

Alexander could not help but make a very dark face.

"That playboy! That jerk, Jack? They wanted you to marry him?"

Ophelia could not understand why he made such a bad face but she could not help but laugh.

"Yeah that playboy but I was not marrying him. It was a way for Eleanor to manage those 12% shares. If within three days I can't marry Jack then I have to look for someone else, right? I think this was her plan from the start."

"What are you thinking then?" Alexander was quite curious so he asked her.

"What choice do i have apart from giving up it seems." Ophelia whispered in a low voice.

"You have a choice of keeping them." 

Hearing Alexander's remark, Ophelia could not help but ask directly. She knew he had been looking at her for good amount of years now. While doing her research the only similarity they had was they had the same school but he was two years ahead than her, but still she could not help but wonder, why her. What was his ulterior motive.

"Why do you want to do this?"

Alexander was surprised that she had read him.

"I know you did your research. I have known you from school. I don't have any bad habits and i am a very good person with a good family background. That too i am very good at my education qualifications too and…"

"Hey, i don't want your biodata. I am just curious to know why me? You can marry any girl of your choice from a rich family and not someone who just have been thrown out."

Alexander flickered his eyes before adding,

"I don't have any ulterior motives, if you want to test it you can have a contractual marriage but i know i would never let you regret marrying me." 

His voice was full of sincerity, however, Ophelia needed at least night time to think over it. Understandingly he said.

"We will talk about this in the morning. It is late now and you should keep recovering."

---

The next morning, Ophelia awoke with a sense of urgency. She joined Alexander in the study, where he was already deep into his research.

"I've been looking into some of the hidden transactions we found yesterday," Alexander said, his eyes glued to the computer screen. "There are several large sums of money being funneled into offshore accounts. We need to trace these transactions and find out who's behind them."

Ophelia nodded, feeling a surge of determination. "Let's get to work."

In the evening, as they were working late into the night, Alexander looked up from his computer, a triumphant smile on his face. "I think I've found something."

Ophelia leaned over, her eyes scanning the screen. "What is it?"

"There's a pattern to the transactions," Alexander explained. "It looks like they're using a series of shell companies to launder money. And if we can prove that, we can expose their entire operation."

Ophelia's heart raced with excitement. "This could be the evidence we need to take them down."

Alexander smirked. "These documents are more than just financial records. These records are good for scaring them."

"It's worth a shot," Alexander looked at Ophelia and said.

"And did you think about it?"