Chapter 9

Tuut —Tuut—Tuut— followed by the rumbling of the ground

She turned towards June and Stella to confirm if they also heard those sounds. The two also looked at her and stood up.

The three of them gave each other glances like they knew where those sounds came from.

"Did you hear that?" she asked.

The two nodded in response.

Clare resumed her pace. She raised her head to look outside since it was visible from the glass doors of their store. But what she saw was something she didn't expect...

What she saw stunned her in her position!

She saw big tractors around the area and the buildings that were around hers were going to be blown out by the gigantic wrecking balls.

She couldn't believe her eyes. The cranes, the excavators, bulldozers, dump trucks... All were present. This looked like a demolition!

BOOM!

The building in front of hers was reduced into pieces in an instant.

No. it only didn't look like it but it was it! IT WAS A DEMOLITION!

'What the actual f***!' she thought as she stared at the process, slack-jawed. The whole area was now a wreck, except for hers.

What the hell was happening?

She froze in her spot before realising that she, her family, and her friends were in danger!

They needed to get out of the building!

ASAP!

Everyone was thrown in disarray seeing the panic on Clare's face.

"Clare—"

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

All of their attention was caught by the person knocking on the glass door of their store. He was wearing an orange helmet and an orange vest with neon green lines. It was the outfit she would mostly see worn by people who did construction jobs.

Clare immediately went to open the door for the person. But her face was still pale from shock.

She was about to say something when the person cut her off by speaking first.

"Why the hell are you people still here?!

Can't you see that we're doing a demolition here? Are you guys crazy?! Do you want to be blown away with the houses!?" he scolded her with an irritated expression.

He was angry with these people. They were lunatics! The residents here knew that there was a demolition scheduled here but why didn't these people leave?! Were they trying to commit suicide?!

Good thing he had exceptional eyesight, for him to see the lights of one building was on, or else they would've been blown out by one of the wrecking balls.

"I'm sorry... what?" she said.

"Are you dumb? I said, What are you doing here in the middle of a demolition?!" he said.

Stella, Jun, and Owen were all shocked. They wanted to ask Clare if she had any idea.

Well, OBVIOUSLY, she didn't!

She was the most clueless here!

Claire, who heard him, couldn't process his words in her brain. For her, what he said was utterly ridiculous! A demolition?

That must be a joke! That can happen when she had just bought this building!

But seeing the evidence being displayed in front of her eyes. IT WAS A DEMOLITION HAPPENING ON THE DAY OF HER RESTO'S OPENING!

That couldn't have been such a coincidence, right?

Or was this all planned from the start?

She couldn't accept it!

Then the reason Mr. Bowe...

What the hell?!

Did she just get f*****g scammed?

Was fate playing with her or what?

"How... How could this happen?!"

The construction worker looked at her with a puzzled expression while the latter was on the verge of tears. 

That damn old man!

***********

Three days ago (prior to the demolition), at the main headquarters of Grant Corporation, inside the CEO's office:

A man's broad back could be seen. His eyes surveyed the entirety of the city that could be seen from the glass. The buildings below looked so small and the people moving around the streets were like ants to him.

Intimidation was the only thing that could describe what his secretary felt at the moment.

A deep cold voice resounded inside the office.

"How's the preparation for the Demolition at District Clift going?"

His secretary, Alfred retrieved his iPad and showed the report regarding the demolition that was scheduled to take action three days later. They were planning to demolish the central part of the business district. A huge mall along with establishments like restaurants and a few hotels would be built. This was a big project the company has invested in. The total investment amounted to billions of dollars.

They bought the lands of the business district from the majority of its residents, comprising at least 89% of the establishment owners of the district. They have also fully compensated some of the district's inhabitants who didn't own any of the said properties like those people who were renting in apartment complexes and buildings made for lease.

When the iPad was handed to the man seated in the swivel chair, he swiped up and down to read the digital report. Not long after, a frown was seen on his handsome face. 

Secretary Alfred only wiped his forehead, he knew his boss must've been unhappy with something. He could already predict the number of people lining up to get their final payment from the finance department.

"What is this? Why are there still some who refuse to evacuate," he asked with a cold tone.

His thick brows raised and his gaze directed to his secretary like a hawk. He seemed so unsatisfied with his subordinate's performance.

"What is the Engineering Department doing? I thought they had already managed to clear out these residents by now. Their target due date was supposed to be a week ago."

Secretary Alfred hesitated if he should tell the reason for this circumstance but he knew that his boss would be seeking answers from the Architectural and Engineering Department. The Engineering department already informed him beforehand, wanting to avoid the wrath of their infamous CEO.

"Well about that, Sir...The Engineering department has already informed me that some of the residents accepted the subsidy but still refuse to let go of their properties. They said that they had already given the report to the Legal Department and are already taking action. "

The frown on his face subsided but his brows were knitted. His demeanor turned even colder.