CHAPTER 18

When Ben walked into the office, he looked up at him.

"What exactly is it?" Mark was perplexed as to why his P.A. was in his office when he had no appointments.

"The old man has arrived and wishes to speak with you. Should I send him again?" Ben sought permission.

"I believe it is past time for me to meet with him. We have a lot to talk about. Send him in and don't let anyone bother us," Mark said, and Ben nodded before leaving the office.

Rob entered his office a few minutes later. Stress had caused the man to age in just a week.

"Please take a seat," Mark said as he joined Rob in taking a seat.

"Thank you for seeing me," Rob said as he sat down.

"We can't avoid each other forever," Mark chuckled, before asking, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm going to get right to the point. I will do whatever you want, but please let my daughter go," Rob said, and Mark laughed.

"Your daughter, not your business, you're a devoted father?"

"I can't live if my daughter has to suffer alone in that cold prison. Just tell me what you want and I'll do it; just let my Dee go."

"I hear your plea, but I am afraid that my wife has more power in this matter. She hadn't yet made her statement because her memory is hazy, but she told me what happened that day. You see, my wife has never met your daughter, and yet your Dee has made life difficult for my angel, and you expect me to be gentle with her?" Mark was so angry that he slammed his fist into the table, which shook; if it hadn't been strong enough, the thing would have broken.

"We can settle this; I've already lost so many people to this. My family will never be able to recover, so please spare her. They're going to sentence her harshly, and I'm not happy about it."

Mark saw hope in the man's eyes as he said, "There is something you can do for me."

"What exactly is it?"

"Your son-in-law Victor happened to be the root of all this trouble. He harassed my wife, and your daughter witnessed it. This resulted in the confrontation, which resulted in the attempted murder of my wife. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Would you like me to get rid of Victor?" Rob inquired, his voice trembling with rage.

"Not only that, but I want you to make his life so miserable that he will regret ever looking at my wife. That ungrateful son-in-law of yours is a greedy wolf," Mark said, pulling an envelope from a drawer he had been keeping for a few weeks and tossing it to the man.

When Rob opened the envelope, he almost coughed up blood. What did his daughter notice about that man? He didn't like Victor, but he just gave his blessing for the sake of his daughter, who was madly in love with him.

He would do anything for his daughter as long as she was happy. How could he have so many extramarital affairs and even children outside of his marriage?

He couldn't believe such nonsense existed. He would not let his daughter suffer simply because she was with the wrong woman.

"I will do it," Rob said, agreeing to the terms set by Mark.

"Do that, and if I am satisfied with the outcome, the entire case may be dropped, and I hope to collaborate with you in the future. After all, we're all businessmen, but that will depend on how happy my angel is once she's recovered," Mark said of his wife, and Rob could hear and see how much the man adores and loves his young wife.

That wasn't just lust; the man was profound, and he admired him for it.

He wasn't ashamed of his feelings for her, but rather flaunted them for all to see.

"I will not disappoint you. I'll leave now," Rob said as he stood up.

"Let's talk again," Mark said, and Rob walked out of the office, puzzled.

Rob sat in the backseat of his car, telling his driver to take him to the hospital where his daughter had been admitted after fainting. She wasn't getting better and wasn't faking it. He was afraid that if this trial went on, he would lose her.

When he arrived, he ignored all of the reporters' questions and accusations and made his way into the hospital. He walked into the room where his daughter was being treated after passing through the police.

"Daddy, what are you doing here?" she asked, her face tinged with a faint smile.

"We need to talk, Dee," he said as he took a seat.

"Is it for real?"

"Yes, it is. "Do you realize you're suffering like this because of Victor?" he asked directly.

"I had a feeling it had something to do with it."

"Can you tell me what the whole story is about? What exactly did he do to Aurelia?" Rob asked, noticing tears streaming down his baby's cheeks.

Something major was going on behind the scenes.

He couldn't believe such a massive accident could happen without someone controlling the entire scene from behind. Everything seemed to have been scripted from Robert's point of view, and the target was not only him but his entire family.

He didn't like putting his family in danger, which is why he was willing to go to any length to save his daughter from the situation she was in. The prospect of her being imprisoned for a crime she is accused of committing broke his heart.

He knew his baby didn't do it; after all, he was the one who had indulged her all these years and let her have her way with things.

Rob began to pay attention to what was going on between Victor, Aurelia, and she. Victor was snatched from Aurelia about eight years ago, according to his daughter. Aurelia was a nobody back then, and Diana was so in love with Victor that she would do anything for him. She forced him to end his relationship with Aurelia so that they could be together, and together they became.

Victor no longer cared about Aurelia, so it was simple. They broke up, and everything was fine until Aurelia married Mark King. Victor assumed she did it to despise him and exact revenge, but she never approached them or did anything.

That month, Victor began to cross paths with Aurelia, and someone took intimate photographs of Aurelia and Victor. She became so enraged when she saw this that she confronted Victor about it, and he told her that she was the one who was hitting on him. She trusted her husband, so she confronted her at the event, and she ended up slipping and falling down the balcony, but she never pushed her.

"How did she fall, baby? This entire situation is a complete mess. I have a solution for you: divorce Victor. Only then will they be able to be gentle with you," Rob explained to his daughter. He could see her reluctance, but there was no way he was going to let her be this obstinate.

He didn't want her to know, but he didn't have a choice. Rob threw the photos at Dian, who went through them one by one; he hated seeing her cry, but what else could he do?

"Did he do it behind my back?"

"He did a lot more, sweetheart; all he was doing was using your and our names. You must let him go or else you will suffer greatly for the sake of a man who doesn't care about you. Can you consider it?"

"I'll do it, Dad; I'll divorce him and make sure he realizes he messed with the wrong person. How could I have been so stupid?" Diana started crying and blaming herself; Rob took his child in his arms and began to comfort her. After a while, she calmed down and smiled.

"Do whatever you want with him, dad; I don't care," she said, her voice rough from crying.

"I'll do it then. I will have the lawyer draft the divorce papers and bring them to you for signature," Rob said, and she nodded.

"Thank you for everything, dad, and I apologize for being such a disappointment," she said, lowering her gaze.

"Never, ever, ever lower your gaze, my child. We all make mistakes; we just have to learn from them so that we don't fall for the same trick the next time," Rob said as Diana hugged him tightly.

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you as well."

After a few more minutes, Rob finally exited the hospital room, leaving Diana in a foul mood. She was furious at herself. How could she have been so stupid as to believe his lies? It's no surprise that Aurelia kept provoking her and making fun of her at the event; she might have known what kind of jerk Victor was, but she was too busy making a scene. She was so pitiful that she just wanted to disappear.