Chapter 457 Defending Herself
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CHAPTER 457 – Defending Herself
The floodlights cast long towering shadows over the blacktop of the parking lot, giving the setting a surreal, dream-like quality.
Stepping out from her hiding place, Andromeda's silhouette resembled that of a raven of death under the dim light and when she stopped in front of a luxury sedan, effectively blocking Victoria's path, she swept a menacing glance around before settling it on them with stern piercing eyes.
There was an inscrutable expression on her face, one that Victoria couldn't quite understand. Nevertheless, seeing her here, alone unscathed, she knew something was definitely wrong.
Immediately, her heart pounded loudly in her chest as Andromeda's gaze met hers. She couldn't shake off the feeling of triumph that radiated from her eyes. It only worsened things in the end.
"My Lady?" One of the guards with her called out after analyzing her reaction to know well enough the lady standing before them was a threat.
A triumphant smile danced on her face, the corners of her mouth curling upward in an insolent gesture of victory. Her eyes sparkled with the satisfaction of a cunning hunter finally cornering its prey.
Victoria's heart pounded like a wild drum beating heavily against her eardrum. Her mind reeled in the face of the unexpected confrontation.
"My, my, my… If it isn't Ms Victoria. I bet soon the world would know your name way beyond your family's," Andromeda voiced calmly like an innocent butterfly simply breezing by.
Immediately, Victoria's eyes narrowed, filling with accusation as she jabbed a slender finger towards Andromeda, her lips curling into a snarl. "You were the one who set me up," she spat out, her voice raw with rage and humiliation.
Rather than stooping to her level, Andromeda merely shrugged, her triumphant smile broadening into a belittling sneer. "And so what?"
The icy indifference she gave to Victoria's outrage was disconcerting, to say the least. And when she parted her lips again, she did in a calm, calculated tone, revealing how she had uncovered Victoria's elaborate plot to destroy her chances in the semi-finals of the fashion contest.
At first, Victoria's eyes widened in their socket. She had not expected Andromeda to know but turns out she did. Which would explain why everything turned out this way.
"You think you could go scot-free with almost ruining what I have been denied of for the past few years? Certainly not. You are also lucky Lian Rui didn't rat you two out on time but then, who you used as a distraction for my assistants did not know how to cover his tracks."
"That…"
She did not need to speak in other to make Victoria keep quiet. The coldness in her eyes did so for her.
"Thanks to that, tracing the link was easy and from there I was led to you." She took a few steps forward, her heels silently echoing till they stopped and she continued.
"I never would have thought there would be a greater link to all these until like him, you messed up.? Thanks for making it easier to find the real mastermind."
"I hate you. I fucking hate you! You should have been the one there on that bed in the hotel room with all those reporters," Victoria spat out angrily.
"Yes, I should have been. But I decided not to have the story told that way."
"What? You bitch!"
"Hold your rage. Don't you want to know how you got cut in your own web?" Andromeda smiled calmly. "I shall tell you."
"Save it for yourself. I do not want to know."
"Oh, but you need to. Unknown to you, I had gotten a hold of your plans. Once that was done I staged my kidnapping. Oh and by the way, I guess I should thank that sexy friend of mine who helped pay for your drink, you know… the very ones you had spiked for me. The second you took that, I had you in the palm of my arms."
"I shall sue you, Andromeda Kai," Victoria gritted as she promised her nemesis.
"Watch again, it is the words of a desperate woman with her career on the line over an upcoming star."
Victoria felt like clawing Andromeda's face just to wipe that smirk off her face.
"From there, the rest was easy peasy. Getting the corrupt judge drunk went well and then I had you replace me in the hotel room the judge was to go to. Two of you failed to realize who it was that you had slept with thanks to indulging pleasures. I bet it must have been the spectacle. Sadly for you, the paparazzi you prepared for me, ended up coming for you. Hahhaa, too bad you couldn't prevent this ordeal."
As she continued to reveal the extent of Victoria's machinations, the shock began to register on Victoria's face. Her initial anger faded into disbelief, then slowly transformed into a creeping terror, a stark white mask of pure shock.
"I know everything," Andromeda continued, her voice filled with cold fury, "I know who the puppeteer behind this charade was, and you made it easy for me to find them."
"You are nothing more than a used wannabe designer, Andromeda. I curse you. I hate you!" Victoria could only return a series of curses, her voice shaking with suppressed fear.
Her bravado was fast evaporating, leaving behind a shell of a woman consumed by paranoia and regret. Andromeda simply smiled the curves of her lips sharp like the blade of a scimitar.
"Your words mean nothing to mean, neither would they be able to save you from your scandal."
Feeling backed into a corner, Victoria glared at Andromeda in anger when a knowing smile crept into her lips. "Fine. Even if you think you have won, I wonder what your fans would think when they see the video of what I would do to you here."
It was something to see the mighty Victoria getting backed into a corner and trying desperately to save herself by acting tough.
"Oh really now?"
"Yes. Actually, even though you may call me stupid, I think you are more stupid given that you came here to speak to me alone and that would be your doom." She hissed, motioning her three burly guards to apprehend Andromeda. "Get her and feel free to use her to your heart's content."
Before they could even take a step, Andromeda snapped her fingers. Suddenly, the quiet parking lot erupted into action as twelve muscular figures clad in black suits appeared from every corner, as their imposing aura was marked with a promise of violence.
As they lined up behind Andromeda, Victoria's audacity faltered. Her gaze fell onto an emblem stitched on one of the suits of the men. The Rong family crest. Her face faded.
"Y-YYou..." she stuttered while pointing her fingers at the man. "That emblem… The Rong family... How?" she asked, the reality of her predicament dawning upon her.
A triumphant smile decorated Andromeda's face spilling into her eyes. "I hoped you would be repentant but I see even the crocodile refuses to change scales. Your family's business is about to take a fall, Victoria. And your career? Let's just say that it won't look too promising once the world learns about your treachery."
Victoria crumbled, falling to her knees. Her eyes were wide with terror, her body shaking uncontrollably. Goosebumps rose on her skin as a cold dread spread through her veins.
"Please… Andromeda…. No, No. I mean, Ms. Kai. Please forgive me. It wasn't entirely my doing. It was all Serena's doing. I was manipulated by Zheng Ling and Gao Yuemi. I promise you. Please do not ruin me and my family," she pleaded.
Andromeda looked at Victoria's pathetic display of desperation and felt nothing but contempt. Had it been in the past, she may have fallen for such false tears and acted but not anymore.
She was tired of her kindness being used and taken for granted.
"Serena, Zheng Ling and Gao Yuemi... All those involved she pay the price too," she promised, her tone seeping with venom. "No one crosses me and walks away unscathed."
With that, she turned on her heels and walked away, leaving a broken Victoria kneeling in the harsh glow of the parking lot floodlights.
The echoes of Andromeda's words reverberated through the silent night, an unspoken promise of retribution hanging heavy in the air. Yet there was nothing Victoria could of. Knowing whom Andromeda dated, she knew it could be easy if she did as she promised without involving the cops.
The thought of her family's reaction, their ruin, her fall… everything made her heart clench so hard that the next second, she lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.
**Flashback Ends**
And just like that, she was back in her room, on her big white bed. The memory receded like a wave, leaving her feeling disoriented and hollow.
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