Cherished By Seven Sisters by Melvin Houle

Cordelia had a sinking feeling the moment she saw Zachary. She uttered coldly, “You’re no longer an employee of this company, so please leave.” “Are you in such a hurry to kick me out because you’re afraid I’ll expose the despicable things you’ve done, Ms. Youngblood?” he asked with a sneer. Cordelia raised her eyebrows at that. “I’ve always been open and transparent. Your baseless accusations don’t scare me. It’s just that what you have to say has nothing to do with today’s press conference, so please be on your way.” “You’ll know whether or not it’s related after I’ve finished talking,” Zachary responded, continuing to smirk. “Mr. Lawson, could you elaborate on what happened?” asked a reporter. Instantly, all the cameras swung toward him. No one was paying attention to Cordelia Group’s new products any longer. “Of course. I’ve come here to rip away Cordelia’s façade and give you all a look at her true self so you can see how ugly she is inside.” He cleared his throat before continuing, “My name is Zachary Lawson. I was Cordelia Group’s HR manager and had worked diligently at the company for over ten years. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Cordelia Group wouldn’t be enjoying the success it has today without my contributions. I couldn’t be happier when I heard the company was going public soon, thinking my hard work over the years was finally paying off. However, this woman here called Cordelia Youngblood turned her back on me. Wanting to advance her toy boy’s career, she kicked me, a long-time employee who had worked hard and made valuable contributions, out of the company. Do you think that’s fair?” After his loud lament, the reporters began discussing among themselves. The way they looked at Cordelia changed entirely. Never judge a book by its cover, indeed. This woman is beautiful, but who would’ve expected her to be such a snake? And yet, such a company as hers harbors hopes of going public? More like going to the grave! Cordelia’s expression turned grim. “That’s all utter nonsense, Zachary. You colluded with Allure Group first. You should be grateful that I didn’t take any action to pursue criminal liability. Instead, you come here and make unfounded accusations. Don’t you have any shame?” “I colluded with Allure Group? Cordelia, one must have proof to back one’s claims.” “You admitted to it in my office the other day, remember? Now, you’re asking me for proof?” “What a joke!” Zachary exclaimed. Then he pointed at the reporters and said, “You be the judge. Do you believe what she said? If you had betrayed the company you work for, would you come forth on your own accord and admit to it? Do you think I’m that foolish?” Everyone shook their heads. Only a fool will admit they’re colluding with another company. What she said was a slapdash statement. Here, Zachary gestured toward Simon and declared indignantly, “However, the person who has suffered unfairly the most is Simon Hall. He used to work as Cordelia’s driver and was the first person to find out about her young beau. However, look at how badly he got beaten up just because he tried to give a few words of advice!” The cameras turned to focus on Simon immediately. He played along flawlessly and took out a medical report. Gritting his teeth, he said, “This is the diagnosis from the hospital. I have a comminuted fracture in my right wrist and torn ligaments in both knees.” Like the effects of a bomb exploding in deep waters, an uproar rippled through the audience. “That’s outrageous! Absolutely lawless!” “How can such a wicked woman still dare to stand on that stage and hold a press conference? Hurry and get down from there!” “Cordelia, you have to give us a proper explanation! You must give these two men the justice they deserve!” The general opinion shifted drastically as all the reporters fumed with righteous indignation. Cordelia’s face paled slightly, and her voice trembled as she said, “Zachary, you claim I wanted to advance my lover’s career and that I had someone beat up Simon. Well, where’s the evidence? Please show me the evidence!” The only thing I can do now is to demand that he present his evidence. Zachary merely snorted coldly without saying anything. Just then, a middle-aged man seated in the front row rose to his feet. “I have something to say.” The man was Tobias Jackman, Cordelia Group’s current HR manager. When Zachary held that position, he had been the deputy HR manager. “I can prove that Zachary is telling the truth.” Everyone had thought he wanted to defend Cordelia, but to their surprise, he sided with Zachary. That immediately caused a stir in the crowd. Cordelia’s slight figure trembled as she asked, “Tobias, what are you saying?” “You don’t understand what I’m saying? The whole company knows you planned to let that toy boy of yours take over my current position. You only offered it to me after being pressured.” He removed his employee ID as he spoke. In a harsh tone, he added, “I don’t need such shameful handouts.” A shudder ran through Cordelia’s b*dy. However, before she could recover her composure, someone pushed open the doors to the conference room again. This time, it was Kane and Gavin. “Well said, Mr. Jackman. It isn’t worth your effort to work for a woman like Cordelia. You should leave Cordelia Group. You’re always welcome to join the Sheldon family.” Kane’s appearance was enough to send the reporters into a frenzy. They knew that the Sheldon family was Cordelia Group’s largest distributor. On top of that, Kane was Cordelia’s ardent pursuer. They could not help but wonder what he was doing there. Oh, right! He must be enraged that Cordelia has a toy boy. Sure enough, Kane took the microphone one of the reporters handed him and said, “I’d like to announce that I’ll be severing ties with Cordelia Group from now on.” Then, he turned to Gavin. “Didn’t you have something to say? You can say it now.” With that, he passed the microphone to Gavin. A trace of resentment flashed in Gavin’s eyes. Cordelia, Mr. Kane promised to pay off my gambling debts for me, so please don’t blame me for what I’m about to do. You were the one who acted cruelly in the first place. “I’m Gavin Wahl. Like Cordelia, I grew up at Sunshine Children’s Home, so I know what she’s like. She liked bullying others since she was little, and I was one of them.” He proceeded to distort the truth, blaming Cordelia for everything he had done at the orphanage. “But I won’t talk about the past anymore. Let’s take a recent event, for example. The previous director of the orphanage was seriously ill and needed a large sum of money for treatment. I approached Cordelia numerous times, getting to my knees and begging her to lend me the money. However, not only did she refuse, but she even called me a scoundrel and told me to get lost…” A prolonged silence ensued after he finished talking, and a tense atmosphere shrouded the entire conference room. That sort of tension was the type that signaled an imminent explosive outburst of anger. After a lengthy period of tense silence, the crowd’s rage hit the ceiling. “Cordelia Youngblood, you low-life scum!” “An ungrateful woman like you doesn’t deserve to live! Hurry up and drop dead!” “As a woman, I feel ashamed of you. You’re a shameless b*tch!” “I hope you go to hell soon!” Cordelia’s b*dy shook violently when she heard the barrage of harsh remarks and censure, and tears streamed down her face. “It’s not like that. I didn’t do those things he said…” She kept shaking her head vehemently, and her angry tears soaked the front of her clothes. However, nob*dy was interested in hearing her explanation. The others had already decided she was a vicious woman devoid of gratitude and shame and that she deserved to drown in a sea of condemnation. Angelina gave a mirthless laugh as she took off her employee ID and threw it onto the floor. “You’ve concealed your true colors very well. In all these years I’ve known you, I never once saw you for who you really are. I feel ashamed to have worked with someone like you.” “Angelina, not you too…” No matter how strong Cordelia was, the shock of so many consecutive bombshells was still too much for her to bear. Everything went black around her, and she finally fainted. Right before she hit the floor, a figure rushed onto the stage and caught her fragile b*dy. “None of you here right now should even think of washing your hands off of what happened today!”