CHAPTER 89
The Subtle Warning
"What a bunch of idiots!" Sophia angrily slammed the door shut, kicking her shoes off and the keys to the nearest surface.
How stupid can a bunch of men be? She thought, walking towards the kitchen in the dark for a glass of water.
The job was simple.
Target Elena as soon as she steps out of the hospital, tail her, and kidnap her.
How hard could that be? Yet she managed to get away by some stroke of luck.
Sofia was so angry that she wished she could slam her fist through the wall or better still, punch Elena in the face.
The damn bitch kept being an obstacle in her way and it was getting pretty damn tiring.
If only she could just make the woman disappear for a while.
Sadly, none of that was possible so she hoped to console herself with a cold beer or maybe two.
However, luck must not be on her side today because she didn't even get to do that.
Before she took another step, flipping on the switch on the wall, her steps halted both due to fear and surprise.
There's a man in her house.
"Holy shit!" She screamed, slapping a hand to her chest as she jumped back.
The light illuminated a man seated on the couch next to the living room pillar.
Her first instinct was to call for help or reach for a weapon but then she squinted, realizing that the man was none other than Cornell.
Her shoulders fell in relief, creeping towards him. "Cousin?" She called out, stopping halfway, just close enough that she could talk to him without shouting but far away that he couldn't touch her.
While she was relieved that it was a familiar face, Sophia couldn't help but think about other things too… like how long he had been sitting there and, most importantly, how the hell did he have access to her house?
"Sophie," he greeted, his voice calm and unruffled.
"What are you doing in here?" She tried to match his tone despite how anxious she was.
"For the same reason, your heart is beating so fast." He says, getting to his feet slowly, a move that is sure to make her feel intimidated. "I'm sure that by now you've been informed by your men that Elena's been rescued."
Sophia didn't even have a response for that or had the time to deny Cornell's accusation before he continued talking.
"I want you to stop targeting Elena." He tells her. "And direct your efforts to bringing Damien down. Let's face it, your progress with Damien is so slow, it's quite comical, and your father won't accept you back into the family with such poor results."
How dare he?!
It's one thing to break into her house to reprimand her but it's another thing to come into her home and insult her without regard.
"Look, I do my best to respect you because, for some reason, my father chose to put you in charge, but don't you dare come to my house and talk to me like that!" She raged, her fingers forming fists by her side.
A rich, mocking laughter escaped from his perfectly shaped lips as Cornell threw his head back to laugh.
It didn't last up to three seconds, though, before he stopped, his lips flattening into a thin, hard line.
"You'd better watch your tongue! There's a reason I'm in charge and it's simply because of how incompetent you are to be a leader. I mean, if you weren't, your father wouldn't have had to go out of his way to pick me up and train me to take over."
Every single word he uttered was true and it stung like hell.
Each day Cornell was in charge was a reminder of how she had fumbled, and how much work she had cut out for her.
If only she had done all the right things when she was supposed to, then the roles would be reversed and she would be able to put this asshole in his damn place.
Sadly, Sophia could do none of those things at the moment so she swallowed her pride and bowed her head slightly in deference. "You're right…" she muttered, each word heavy like stone. "I spoke out of turn, I won't do it again."
He looked at me for a tense second before easing back to his practiced, charming smile. "It's alright. Besides, you're aware that your father is a bit of an old-fashioned man who thinks women can't amount to anything, but you're lucky… he's given you another chance, don't fucking waste it."
"I know…" she said, rolling her eyes which Cornell pretended not to see.
"Darnell told me that you're partnering up on Project Houston so I want you to use your influence and secretly sabotage the project from the inside."
Sophia took his words in stride. "All right but I do have one question though…. why?"
"It's quite simple," Cornell says as he heads towards the door, buttoning up his blazer. "I want it to be that by the time Cornell wakes up from his coma, well, if he wakes up… the project would have done so badly that it would be a huge blow to the company."
And then, with one last smirk thrown her way, he turned the doorknob and walked out, his words echoing in the silence.
Poor
Damien has no idea what's about to hit him.