Chapter 390: Precious
Matthew found himself staring at the walls of Jay's family home, looking at photos of the woman and her siblings from birth to adulthood. When he finally got to the sitting room, there was yet another wall, covered in the achievements of the four children from their first day of school.
The large wall was split into four sections and contained a photo from each child's developmental milestones from kindergarten to high school. At the very top of the wall was a college graduation certificate complete with a cap and gown photo. Matthew had not even known Jay had completed a higher education program.
Matthew looked closely at her photo, noticing that her carefree smile was something that she had not lost since childhood. He then looked at the certificate, wondering what the woman had studied but he found himself caught off guard.
"Something wrong?" Eric asked, fully aware of what the problem was.
"Jade Hueland?" He asked, turning to Director Hue with a perplexed expression.
"That is her real name, hasn't she ever told you?" Matthew realized that he and Jay had never really spoken about their personal lives. Every time they were together words that did not have to do with work were barely spoken.
"I've heard a man on set call her Jade before, I thought it was a pet name." Matthew had gone into Jay's home with the intention of clarifying the photos that were taken, but now he felt as though he needed to explain his ignorance.
"With the exception of Rachel, who I adopted from my sister, all of my children are named after precious stones." Matthew looked at the other children on the wall and indeed Jay's twin brother was named Jasper and Emma's real name was Emerald.
"Was it a theme?"
"My wife practices stone carving, she chose the name for the children based on the materials she was obsessed with at the time of pregnancy." Matthew knew better than to follow up with another question. He knew Eric was walking him into another trap to make him feel guilty, but the man did not hold his blows. "My daughter is more than a toy you know?"
"Director Hue-"
"No need for formalities. You can address me casually." Matthew found himself not entirely comfortable with that, so he shot for middle ground.
"Mr. Eric, I think there has been a misunderstanding with those photos. Jay and I were discussing some things being said behind our backs. The woman who took those pictures, was also responsible for the situation that occurred today." Eric finally sat down and gestured for Matthew to follow suit.
"What exactly happened today, and why were men with guns looking for my daughter?"
"As I said that woman Mary is responsible. The man from earlier had come for Mina, he just used Jay to find her."
"Who came for Mina and why? Does CEO Rue know?" Matthew nodded.
"I think he is the reason Mina isn't being featured in some adult film overseas. The man who came to get Mina is Antonio Sylvan." Eric shot out of his chair.
"Why? Where is Mina? Is she safe?" Matthew nodded. She is still employed with the Lee group who provides her a security detail. The man who was with her today was able to stall for time until CEO Rue cleared things up." Eric found himself feeling like he had abandoned the girl while focusing solely on Karen, who was doing much better than he had expected. With his busy schedule, he rarely checked in on Mina.
"What issue does Mina have with that man?"
"I sent Mina's photos to Peter before she came to work for me. I asked him to show it to some casting directors. Mary thought Mina had sent the photos herself. From there the misunderstanding spiraled out of control, and Jay and Mary ended up fighting last night." Eric shouted Jay's name and the girl came running like a summoned child.
"Have you been fighting again?" Jay looked at Matthew as if he were the biggest traitor in all the world.
----
Cylus pulled up to Mina's apartment fully aware that she might not want to see him. He had prioritized his cousin, not realizing that Mina would ultimately become the main target. Thinking back, he should have known that she would somehow become a scapegoat. Especially considering that Mary had originally blamed the woman for Olivia's actions from the start.
After assuring that Mina was safe and well, Cylus left feeling a bit unwelcome, and even a little uncomfortable with the situation. He was not sure if it were him, but he could swear that Mina had a faraway look in her eye. Almost as if she were there in person, but not there in mind.
It was not scary to Cylus in the sense that he thought Mina would do something to hurt herself, but it made him think that something else had happened, and he was right. According to Emma, President Lee made a surprise visit, and Mina who was already behaving oddly, had not behaved normally since.
As Cylus left Mina's apartment complex, he found himself wondering how she and President Lee were connected and he told himself that he would ask her for details after Connor's party, which Mina assured she was still going to attend. In the meantime, he would give her the space she clearly needed.
----
Mina did not trust President Lee, she never did, and now that he had blatantly lied to her about saving her, when Cylus had already told her that he was the one who negotiated for her safety, it made her think that her time was limited to just after she approved Lisa's studio.
With those thoughts in mind, Mina secretly asked Emma to buy her a specific device, and the woman wasted no time in making the request real. Mina had a savings of a few thousand dollars, courtesy of her on call position with Oric Lamar, and her secret agreement with his mother. She had invested most of that money into a company she knew from President Lee's email thread that he wanted to invest in.
As Mina expected, the value of the stock had increased tenfold, and she quickly sold most of them off, not seeing a future in the investment. She was also aware that President Lee planned to sell off his stock in the coming days, and she figured she would beat him to it. Before the end of the business day, Mina had $150,000 in her E-Traders account and counting.
After the thirty percent fee, Mina would be left with $105,000 which she could sink entirely into paying toward her parents' home. The only problem was that she needed to meet with her uncle in person to do that and she was sure the man would have found a way to tack on tons of fees and penalties that could be 'waived with a marriage'.
Doing the math, Mina was confident she needed an additional hundred thousand to be safe, but President Lee had taken away the phone that was tethered to his, and her new device was incapable of, or she just did not know how, to duplicate the screen sharing. That meant that she would have to work harder, and perhaps if she made enough money, she could take her parents and flee before the man knew she was gone.