Chapter 76: Sudden Change

Zarah decided to hail a taxi to go to Stevens Group.

Now that her identity was made public, she dared not to be reckless.

She waited outside the campus but then she saw Elliott already parked outside.

"I didn't know you've changed career and now become an Uber driver?" Zarah teased as soon as she approached his car.

Elliott helplessly chuckled as she heard his teasing.

"Just get in. Master Xavier especially instructed that you should not be allowed to go out or walk alone. You should have a bodyguard watching you."

Zarah touched the tip of her nose, a sign that she was annoyed.

Well, this was the repercussion that she was thinking of earlier when she decided to make the will public. "Julie is fine. I don't need anyone to follow me around," she said.

It took time for Zarah to warm up to people unless she was left with a choice.

"I'll let Master know about it."

Zarah hummed as she turned her attention to the view outside.

"E, let's say I want to interfere with the Gil Corporation, will that affect the company?"

Elliott was stunned when he heard what Zarah said.

"Are you serious?", he asked.

"I am," she admitted flatly.

"Well, Miss Gil must have pissed you off this time."

Zarah sighed and did not comment.

"Well, the Gil Corporation is our third biggest collaborator as of the moment."

Stevens Bank was the main financer of most of Gil Corporation's ongoing real estate projects. Should some trouble occur to Gil Corporation, they might not be able to pay their loans on time.

And this would affect Steven's Bank, too.

Stevens Group had just recovered its finances. That was thanks to Xavier's painstaking effort to draw investors to the company and to have good collaborations with the local market.

Zarah nodded in understanding.

For some reason, Elliott was interested to know what Zarah would do with the company when she said: "interfere".

"What if I say I want to replace the chairman and kick out Gil Family from their position?"

Elliott was shocked that he suddenly pulled over to the right before he would suffer a heart attack.

Zarah pursed her lips after she saw Elliott's huge reaction.

Was it a big deal?

"Don't kid around, Zarah. I know you're rich but you can't just do anything recklessly out of your will," he reminded her like a good big brother.

Zarah chuckled softly and this annoyed Elliott. He thought that she was mocking his advice.

"Even Chairman Stevens was careful to not mess with the Gil family because they have a strong political backing."

Mr. Gil's brother was a senator while his second brother was a governor of the state.

Therefore, Crystal was so bold to be a bully because she thought she was untouchable.

"Mrs. Gil's father was a retired military General," he added. In short, their family should not be taken lightly.

Of course, Zarah knew of that. Therefore, she would not wage war unprepared.

"I doubt Master Xavier would support you in this. You might win but it would be an uphill battle."

Although the Stevens were the richest family in Sterlington, they were not the most powerful in the whole state politically.

There was the Wagner Family, the Gil Family of Oakridge City; the Holland family, the Dawson family, and lastly, the Bush Family.

However, there was one family that was the wealthiest in the Country and that was the Dawson Family.

It was said that they had been funding the country's military force and even the President had to pay respect to this family.

Isaiah became rich because of his hard work. However, the Dawsons were different as they were crazy rich.

Those working in the government had the power to make things difficult for business owners like them.

That was why Isaiah was being suppressed during the death of Xavier's mother.

Zarah smiled coldly as she listened while Elliott gulped hard as this was the first time he had witnessed this cold side of her.

She was always calm and composed even though she was faced with adversaries. She would get even to people but with wits and not with violence.

"Just drive, E." Zarah ended the conversation like that.

Most powerful, eh?

Zarah sneered as she thought of it. As long as they won't mess with her, she would not mess back with them.

Crystal had the guts to slander her name again and again. She would be a benevolent person should she let this matter slide.

Just then Jackson called her phone.

"Yes, Jackson?"

"Nikolai and Franklin's first trial would be next week."

"Oh!" Zarah's gaze turned cold when she listened to what Jackson said.

Their legal team was settling the court case against Nikolai Stevens, Franklin Stevens, and Clara Kent.

She trusted Xavier to deal with the matter and so she almost forgot them. She somehow felt guilty as these people were the people behind Isaiah's death.

A lot of things happened ever since Isaiah's funeral. Should her opinion be asked about this matter, she would punish them herself.

However, Xavier insisted to put them in jail.

He had deep trust and confidence that Jackson would not let them down.

"I tried calling Master Xavier but he didn't answer me."

"He's on a business trip. He's probably still on the plane," she explained.

"Well, that would explain it," Jackson commented on the other line.

"The prosecution gave them a plea bargain. They tried to appeal the case yet the judge declined. He pleaded not guilty."

Zarah snorted coldly when she heard what Jackson said and then replied in disdain, "Well, it was expected. Even if there were a ton of evidence to convict him, they would try to find a loophole and prove their innocence."

"Indeed. I could not agree more," Jackson agreed.

"Will the trial be covered by the media?"

Zarah had not watched the news lately. She did learn that the case filed against the two brothers gathered media attention yet Xavier paid the press to delete the topic regarding the matter.

"No."

"They tried to bribe the media to stir public opinion against Master Xavier yet the Master made sure that they will not have it their way," Elliott butted in.

Zarah's heart turned cold at the same time she heaved a sigh of relief as she married a capable husband.

"Tell me what day and time the trial is. I'll be there."

After their conversation, Zarah and Jackson ended the call.

"Don't worry, Zarah. We have the best lawyers in the city. They will not be able to turn this case in their favor," Elliott comforted her.

He had also paid close attention to the case.

Just like Zarah, he wanted the two brothers to pay for their sins.

Zarah and Elliott arrived at the company. They immediately headed upstairs.

"Zarah, there's a private function tonight, and since Chairman Lockhart could not make it, is it okay if you'll attend on his behalf?"

Zarah raised an eyebrow.

"It's a function held by the Gil."

"Okay. However, I don't have anything to wear."

"Chairman Lockhart has already arranged everything. It's in the office."

"Oh."

Since Elliott told her how influential the Gil Family was. She was curious about what this family was up to.

She had only interacted with Crystal Gil. However, she also believed that "the apple doesn't fall from the tree".

Zarah messaged Olivia and Trixie. She said that she might be late for an hour and that they should have dinner first.

"Will you be there, E?"

"No. However, Miss James will be there with you."

Zarah's lips twitched when she heard what Elliott said.

She could only assume that Xavier must have arranged this.

Zarah went to the office and did some paperwork for an hour.

Hope also messaged her through chat in her email.

She was updating Zarah about the development at school. Hope's classes would end at five in the afternoon.

The topic of her having a sugar baby was taken down and the public opinion about her being married had also died down.

As expected, after the will was publicized, the narrative that she married for money died down.

They could simply do the Math and they will know how much she was worth.

However, some were still skeptical and could not believe that she inherited much money yet the granddaughter didn't get as much. What was a million compared to a billion?

However, what could they do?

[Who do you think is her husband?]

[Is he that old man?]

[Gross. He's like my father. I will never imagine sleeping with a man the same age as my father!]

[Wait! She's an orphan! Perhaps her ideal husband is someone who looked like her father!] +100 likes

Then someone posted an audio clip that played Zarah's voice.

It was very clear in the audio when she said her husband was on a business trip and she needed someone to warm her bed.

This ten-second clip caused an uproar on their forum.

Those who believed that Zarah was not a gold digger jumped into the hate wagon that she was an sl*t and a wh*re.

Zarah chuckled as the profiles who posted those comments were dummy accounts.

She decided to create a post in the forum. [Keep it up! I know who you are. Karma will get you soon.]

Then, she added.

[Expect letters from my lawyers the next day. Even if you use a dummy account, I know who you are. You have overestimated yourselves.]

After she posted this on the forum, those who wanted to slander Zarah more hesitated now.

They had forgotten that Zarah shocked the entire school when she won the City Level Hacking competition in a domineering fashion!

This was when she was still a freshman. Zarah's computer skills were top-notch.

Because she was very talented, she gained a lot of admirers and at the same time, she gathered a lot of haters.

That was when the hate propaganda against her started.

Zarah thought that it was time to send that person a message.

Should she want to punish these kids, she would not do it half-heartedly.

Although she messaged Elliott about this, she thought that their legal team at the company was already busy.

And so, she decided to have her lawyer in this matter.

She opened the messaging application that she developed on her computer to message that person.

[Delta, are you free?]

A beautiful woman wearing her two-piece bikini was enjoying her time at the beach. She then frowned when she saw her phone screen lit up.

She placed her phone in silent mode so she would not be interrupted during this rare vacation she had.

As she saw the sender of the message, her blue eyes sparkled in surprise and excitement.

She decided to message her back.

[Commander Alpha! Am I seeing things?]

Zarah sighed after she read the message.

[Seems like you have a lot of free time on your hands. I have a case, are you up for it?]

[Where are you?], the woman named Kelsey responded.

[Oakridge City. Bravo and Charlie are here too.]

[Okay! I'll be there in a heartbeat! Wait for me, Commander!] she was nearby. She was at Red Oak City.

Zarah rolled her eyes.

[Stop calling me that! I'm no longer your commander.]

[You're so cute when you're annoyed. Sadly, I can't see it.] Kelsey then chuckled after typing.

Zarah felt speechless. She had forgotten that this woman was such a tease back then.

[Hurry up before I change my mind.]

[Alright Commander Alpha!]

Zarah rolled her eyes. She then gave her the address and time to meet.

She didn't have to go to the airport to pick her up as Kelsey would just show up at that place at the exact time.

Of course, she was considerate to give her twenty-four hours.

After exiting the application, she stretched her back and decided to get ready for the event tonight.

After her chat with Zarah ended, Kelsey Dawson grabbed her robe and wore it. The bigger view of her location came into view.

She looked up and saw the high roof.

Yes, it was a stage design. It was like a movie set. She was in a huge room that could be compared to like that a warehouse because of how huge it was.

The water was a huge swimming pool with real sand on the other half to mimic the sea setup.

For someone to have this setup, she surely had to own a bank account that had nine zeroes in it.

She walked toward the door and exited the room. She entered into a completely different setup. From the interior design and arrangement of the furniture, it was a house. A mansion to be exact.

She met a handsome man in the hallway who resembled her looks.

"Tyler, I have to leave. My commander needs me."

Her brother frowned when he heard that.

He had always been curious about the identity of the commander his sister had been mentioning.

"Where are you heading?"

"Oakridge City," she shortly replied.

"Oh! Dwight's at Oakridge City too. Kindly check what he was up to."

"I guess he was there to help Carla Kent."

"Grandma's sister?"

"Yes. I've heard that she on jail now."

"That idiot brother of ours." Kelsey shook her head in helplessness.

"We could not blame him, Carla Kent saved his life. I guess he was paying back the gratitude he owed. I just hope that he would not make any trouble."

"I hope so too, Tyler. Or else, Mom and Dad would be furious."

***

Zarah finished getting ready for the function.

The clothes that Xavier prepared were a white jumpsuit dress with a matching white blazer.

It looked simple yet she looked elegant and soft in the outfit.

Xavier left a note which said, [I know you'll prefer to wear this rather than the usual dress. I might have chosen a gown for you to wear tonight, however, I'm not there to shield you from unwanted eyes so I chose this instead. I hope you don't mind.]

Zarah could only chuckle helplessly. However, she thought that her husband was cute!

***