An Assassination
As Eliana’s eyes fell on the haggard middle-aged man begging and crawling piteously at Maurice’s
foot, all dignity thrown aside, she inevitably recalled her late father, Lemuel Pierce.His death came
without warning, hitting her like a bolt from the blue.
But that wasn’t the end of everything: following his sudden death, the Pierce Group fell into bankruptcy
and Eliana’s mother took her own life.
In just a flash, Eliana’s world came crashing around her.She lost everything in the blink of an eye,
falling from the luxury of heaven and tumbling down straight into the fiery, miserable pits of hell.
The Moran Group emerged as the ultimate beneficiary and bought the Pierce Group at an insultingly
low price, thereby ending the Pierce Group’s existence once and for all.
Recalling her past tragedy, she suddenly found it hard to breathe.
A pair of invisible hands clenched her heart tight, gripping and crushing it without mercy.
Discomfort pricked her like tiny needles plunging into her flesh.
Eliana’s gaze grew slightly blurry as she trembled.
She peeked through the small crack of the ajar door, her frightened gaze fixated anxiously on Maurice’s
ever cold, ever emotionless visage.
Did he once treat her father the same heartless way he treated the pleading middle-aged man? Was he
responsible for ruthlessly destroying her father’s will to live on? Was he the catalyst that pushed her
originally happy family off the cliff, spelling their doom? As these thoughts raced through her
increasingly frantic mind, Maurice’s sharp eyes turned to the door.
His frigid voice was like the lash of a whip.
"Who is it? Enter!"
Eliana found herself shivering involuntarily, so much that the document in her hand slipped out of her
shaky grip.
Panic struck her immediately.She grabbed it as fast as she could but she accidentally pushed the door
wide open and put herself under Maurice’s daunting scrutiny.
His eyes were daggers.
She forced down her growing anxiety and tried to calm her screaming nerves.
Giving her utmost best to put on a straight face that revealed nothing, she handed Maurice the
document.
"Mr.Moran, I need you to sign this document."
Subconsciously, her eyes swept across the kneeling middle-aged man.He looked anguished and
thoroughly ashamed of the humiliation forced upon him.
Yet, he bottled all of his resentment and remained kneeling motionlessly on the floor, perhaps as he
understood full well that he was without any choice.
A pang of guilt struck Eliana as her gaze softened in pity.
The poor man! He wasn’t debasing himself because he had no dignity.
Far from it! The burden of family forced his hand, and he must sacrifice were he to protect the
livelihood of his children.
Maurice was soon done with signing the document.
As he looked up, he took notice of Eliana’s line of sight.
Seeing the obvious sympathy brimming in her saddened eyes, he clicked his tongue and sneered in
disdain, "Mind your eyes, Eliana."
His harsh reprimand startled her.
She wanted to say something, but suddenly, she felt as though a particularly sharp, pesky and sad
stone was stuck in her throat.
With great difficulty, she braved herself to speak, although her words came out in a terrified stammer.
"Mr.Moran… Y-you may be rich and powerful, but you can’t trample on people’s dignity so."
"Fool."
At her words, Maurice’s face darkened in an instant.
A storm brewed in his eyes, promising the coming of great wrath that could destroy everything.
"How could you actually believe such a flimsy lie?"
Eliana, for her part, had never seen him so intimidating towards her.
She shrank, her fear growing by the second.
Maurice forced himself to draw in a deep breath.
How could the people sent by Gerald be idiotic to this extent? Or was she perhaps too good of an
actor? Eliana was hesitant, uncertain of what to think.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda