Chapter 28
Chapter 28
“You evil bitch! You’re no princess of philanthropy, more like a black widow if you ask me! Everything on the internet is true, don’t be fooled by her!” Asher Walter pointed at Angie and shouted profanities at her from below the stage.
“What nonsense! Security, take him away!” Angie screamed out loud as she saw Asher. She could not be bothered with appearances right now. How dare this fat old man turn up here?!
“Angie Grant is a black hearted woman! Her charity work is just a coverup to fool the public. You and me, we’ve all been fooled! She chopped off my hand just because I was brave enough to speak the truth. We don’t need someone like her representing Imperia, and she most certainly doesn’t deserve this award!” Asher bellowed excruciatingly as he cradled his injured hand.
Murmurs and whispers began as the crowd took in this new information. Is it true? Has their princess of philanthropy been a fake all this time? Was everything said on Facebook true
The charity dinner was a prestigious event attended by Imperia’s wealthiest and most influential who would not stand to be fooled. Many of them left the dinner, but not before demanding for Angie Grant to provide a proper explanation.
The media was naturally in a frenzy trying to get more information, with the paparazzi trying to push past the barricaded entrance. The security staff made a show of fending off the media, but they had received orders not to come to Angie’s protection if the situation escalated.
Noah Quincy was initially furious when the incident broke out and Angie was covered in red paint. He was ready to teach Asher a lesson himself. However, he halted his actions after listening to Asher’s speech and seeing his decapitated hand. He wanted to hear the truth for himself too.
He strode purposefully toward the VIP table looking for one woman in particular. As expected, Madeline was watching the horror show unfolding in front of her with a hint of glee in her eyes. It was almost as if she had expected this to happen tonight.
“Ms. Grant, is there any truth to what the man said? Did you really hire someone to chop his hand off?”
“Ms. Grant, what do you have to say about doing charity as a coverup? Have you fooled the people of Imperia?”
“Ms. Grant, can you give a statement on the Facebook accusations?”
“It’s not true, it’s all lies!” Angie defended herself. She was already feeling suffocated as the red paint on her skin began to harden. The questions from the media only made her feel like she was drowning further.
Her clothes were soiled. The trophy and her face were smeared in red paint. However, none of that mattered any longer.
She was well and truly finished. All those years she spent building up her reputation as the charitable saint of Imperia were for nothing.
“I have all the evidence in my phone. These are audio and video recordings of her paying people off to block the internet searches and blackmailing the committee into giving her the award!” Asher Walter announced to the crowd as he connected his phone to the big screen.
A cleverly edited video displayed the transcripts and footage of Angie demanding the award from the committee. Angie’s unscrupulous behavior was clear for everyone to see. Angie could see her reputation in shambles right in front of her.
The security staff only appeared after Asher Walter’s video footage ended. He did not put up a fight as they lazily cuffed and escorted him out of the ballroom.
Angie knew she had no way of defending herself after watching the footage. She sat barefoot on stage, her face white as a sheet. She felt her entire world crumbling.
She suddenly recalled Noah was still around. Mustering all her willpower, she crawled toward him and extended her hand to tug at the bottom of his slacks.
“Noah, you must believe me. All those things they said about me, it’s not true! It’s alright if they don’t believe me, as long as you do. Noah, do you believe me?” she pleaded.
Noah looked at her for a long moment with an unreadable expression on his face. Eventually, he bent down and offered his arm to her. Angie took his arm as he helped her up.
As the crowd watched this unfold, the noise and commotion in the ballroom died down. They could say all they wanted to say about Angie Grant, but Noah Quincy was a different story. No one in Imperia would dare cross the Quincy family.
Angie put on a good show looking weak and injured as she held on to Noah’s arm, believing he had bought her act. Noah, however, firmly pushed Angie to a side once she managed to stand up on her own and stood forward in front of the crowd.
“Regarding the allegations of Ms. Grant performing fraudulent charity activities, this matter gravely implicates the Quincy family’s reputation as well. I will be sure to conduct a thorough investigation into these allegations and give the public a proper explanation,” Noah announced in front of the cameras before walking off the stage, leaving Angie behind.
The crowd gathered below the stage parted to make way for Noah. There was a frigid tension in the air as he walked past the crowd.
“Noah…” Angie was desolate as she watched Noah walk away from her. She felt her world spinning into darkness as she passed out.
Wayne Hudson, who was busy stuffing himself with food as all the drama unfolded, chased after his boss as he saw him leaving the ballroom.
“Sir, Ms. Grant has fainted…” Wayne huffed, caught off guard by the turn of events tonight.
“Arrange for her to be taken to the hospital and contact the Grants,” Noah instructed.
“Yes, sir!” Wayne responded dutifully.
“Also, go and investigate this matter thoroughly,” Noah continued. As he barked his orders, he looked sideways toward the VIP table where Madeline last sat. She was no longer at her seat. What great timing, Noah thought to himself.
“Sir, are you worried that someone is playing sabotage behind the scenes?” Wayne was curious.
“It couldn’t be more obvious. Go and look up the relationship between Angie and Madeline as well.” Something told Noah that Madeline definitely played a part in this maelstrom.
……
Madeline considered her mission accomplished as she watched Angie’s unconscious body lying on the ballroom stage. She was possibly the happiest person in that ballroom tonight. She swiftly left the hotel soon after, boarding her helicopter back to Maple Forest Villa.
She had just made herself a hot mug of chocolate milk. Colton was still asleep when she got back, so she made herself comfortable by his bedside as she tuned in to the live broadcast of the gala dinner. She knew the young boy would panic if he did not see her around when he woke up.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!
An official announcement on the postponement of the charity dinner was aired on the livestream. Social media headlines were all about the incident.
“Angie Grant – Black Widow of the Charity World!” one headline wrote, garnering the top place of search topics on the internet. The previous articles that Angie had tried to block had been dug up by netizens once again. It was an ugly fall from grace for the philanthropic princess of Imperia.
Madeline’s lips curved upward as scrolled through the headlines on her phone, liking every post related to Angie’s downfall.
Gordon, I hope you’re seeing this. The woman who killed you is finally getting what she deserves!