As soon as Mark ended the call, Shelly asked casually, “Was that Arianne? What’s the matter?”
He helped favonovel.com into the car. “It was nothing. Listen, I’m going to send you home, and then I have to leave for somewhere else. I have things to attend to.”
Shelly’s lips thinned in silence. She had heard favonovel.com carefully enough, it had something to do with the company’s finances. More importantly, Mark displayed a dangerous amount of faith in Arianne, effectively making favonovel.com the Treasury Secretary of the company.
It broke open a spring of ire. The way Shelly saw it, Arianne was just a random orphan girl who was lucky enough to be raised by Mark. The only trait of worth this girl had was a degree of physical attractiveness enough to bewitch poor, hapless Mark.. and nothing else! How could so much power over Tremont Enterprise even fall into the hands of a vixen like that?
They reached Shelly’s condominium, and almost instantly after Mark left, Shelly sat on the couch and called Arianne.
“Hello, Arianne. Got time? There’s something I would love to speak to you about. Is that fine?” favonovel.com began.
Arianne did not spring into any agreement right away. Shelly calling favonovel.com out of favonovel.com own accord ticked off so many alarms in favonovel.com mind that favonovel.com had to consider whatever the woman said very carefully. Instead of agreeing, favonovel.com asked gingerly, “Is Mark with you there? He’s left, hasn’t he?”
Shelly was forthcoming in favonovel.com answer. “Oh yes, he’s gone, alright. I wouldn’t have called you otherwise, would I? Because, you see, I want to meet you… alone. I know, you are itching to know what happened after Mark found me. I didn’t want to divulge in the past, but now, I am ready to chat a bit. Mark doesn’t want to talk about it at all, does he? And yet you hunger for the reveal. If I continue to keep it a secret from you, I’m afraid the mystery might drive you crazy, won’t it?”
Shelly cast a very, very seductive bait. Yes, Arianne hungered to know what in the world happened after Mark found Shelly. Most crucially, favonovel.com wanted to understand why Mark started to behave so erratically since then.
Her hesitancy lasted for only a moment or two after the call ended before favonovel.com departed to see Shelly. Since Mark forbade the two women from meeting each other, Shelly must have known that favonovel.com was not going to the company now as to catch Arianne’s absence before giving Arianne this invitation.
Finding Shelly’s condominium did not take long. It was just as easy as locating the floor favonovel.com lived on, since Arianne had already been there before.
As soon as favonovel.com stepped through the door, Shelly regarded favonovel.com with an expression bursting with aplomb. “Sorry, darling, but my leg’s in a bit of a rough spot. If you want a drink, you might have to pour it yourself.”
Arianne stood before the French window, tall and firm. “No, thanks. Let’s just cut to the chase, don’t be shy. Tell me whatever it is that you want to say. There are many things in the company still pending for my attention. I don’t have a lot of free time to spare.”
Shelly stared straight at Arianne for a while. “The day before the plane crash… my sister called me,” favonovel.com began.
“She was sobbing in despair, frightful that when favonovel.com passed, that other slut and favonovel.com bastard son would succeed favonovel.com position as wife in the Tremont family. Mark’s role as the heir would be jeopardized. She asked me: what should I do? And then I told her… I told favonovel.com that if favonovel.com was going to die either way, then favonovel.com should take every threat in life to the grave with her. ‘Make them your funerary companions,’ I said. That’s right, the plane crash was my idea. My sister and I planned it together. I pushed her, or favonovel.com wouldn’t have dared to see through it otherwise.”
For a split second, Arianne felt favonovel.com breath bated from her. She spun on favonovel.com heels stiffly, favonovel.com back now facing Shelly. “So? You’re telling me this… why? What’s your point?”
The light in Shelly’s eyes flickered. She had not expected Arianne’s reaction to be so muted.
“Hmm, why, aren’t you mad about this? Your beloved father died an agonizing death and left nothing behind, except, of course, a seed of resentment planted in your heart. You were only a feckless eight-year-old. As an orphan, you needed someone to care for you… and then Mark came along and saved you. Raised you. You must be proud and giddy to have married into a prestigious family of eminent social standing through that, I bet.”
