Chapter 12 The Other Woman Named Adams

• After exiting the Graham Group office, Arissa turned around to look at the sky-high building. It was undeniable that she felt a little disappointed with the interview outcome.
• At first, she thought the interview would proceed smoothly and that she would soon begin working here. But who knew a turn of events would change this trajectory.
• Since fate had other plans, she could only search for other opportunities.
• I mean, there are plenty of other companies besides Graham Group anyway.
• Arissa hailed a taxi to go home. On the way back, she suddenly received a phone call. Seeing that it was Ethen, Arissa felt odd that he could still call her after her earlier encounter.
• Arissa furrowed unconsciously. Nonetheless, she answered the phone call with a courteous tone. “Hi there, Mr. Frank!”
• “Hello, Ms. York!” Ethen replied, secretly trying to test the waters. “Ms. York, is there something that you're unsatisfied with Graham Group? If the concern relates to your remuneration, please know that we're open to discussion. Our CEO, Mr. Graham, really values your talent. We sincerely hope that you'll consider working with us.”
• Arissa was stunned by Ethen's words. What is Mr. Frank up to now?
• Arissa tried to make sense of the situation before concluding that Ethen and the rest of them probably didn't know that she was chased away by Danna.
• Thus, she replied, “There's nothing that I'm unsatisfied with the Graham Group. I came to today's interview with sincerity to join the company too. However, since Mr. Graham's fiancée did not like me and chose to shoo me away with a mouthful of nasty and impolite words, I figured that there is no longer a reason for me to join your company. I will take my shot with other companies instead.”
• Upon listening to this, Ethen was shocked. “You mean Ms. Adams?”
• Ms. Adams!
• Arissa's heart skipped a beat at the sound of that name. The name instantly brought out a deep-seated hatred that she had buried deep in her heart for many years.
• Five years ago, a woman, who was also called Ms. Adams, forcefully took her children away from her. Furthermore, she instructed cruel treatments upon Arissa and her children. It was extremely fortunate that someone found them. Otherwise, she and her children would have died a painful death.
• Is this Ms. Adams the same individual as the woman from my past? Or is it just a coincidence that they happened to share the same last name?
• To this day, Arissa still couldn't understand why that woman wanted to take her babies away from her. They had no past grudges and didn't even know each other. Yet, that woman secretly set Arissa up and locked her in an abandoned building until she gave birth to her children.
• Initially, Arissa thought that this whole thing was her father's doing. However, as time went by, she realized that things didn't make sense.
• She will never forget those dark days and had sworn to find that woman to exact retribution. But more importantly, she needed to find her lost children back.
• “Ms. York?” Realizing that Arissa had stopped responding for a while, Ethen called out to get hold of her attention.
• Arissa finally came back to her senses and responded, “I'm here!”
• “Ms. York, so are you saying that you were chased away by Ms. Adams and did not leave the interview because your negotiation with Mr. Graham failed?” Ethen was still in shock. He needed Arissa to confirm this explicitly as he still had a lingering worry that the interview might have failed because of the negotiation between her and his boss.
• Who knew that Ms. Adams would interfere with the company's hiring interview?
• “I haven't even gotten the chance to meet Mr. Graham before being chased away by that woman. That woman said that if she couldn't see my potential, Mr. Graham wouldn't see it either.” Arissa's mood was affected by the memories and realizations she recalled. Since she wasn't in a good mood, she didn't bother to explain herself to Ethen further.
• “Anyhow, your company is way out of my league. Goodbye now!” Arissa commented before ending the call.
• Am I being overly sensitive about this matter? That woman from the office earlier sounded different from the woman five years ago. That woman who took my babies had a slightly more hoarse voice.
• Arissa then tried hard to recall the encounter with Ms. Adams at the office earlier. She recalled seeing how shocked Ms. Adams was when she caught sight of her.
• Initially, she thought that the woman was just surprised to find someone else in her fiancé's office. But come to think of it now, it did seem like she recognized Arissa.
• Not to mention the way she arrogantly treated Arissa and that inexplicable animosity she had against her. She seemed to be rushing to chase Arissa out of the office.
• The more Arissa thought about it, the more she shuddered.
• Could she be the same woman from that incident five years ago? If that's the case, wouldn't my children be with her now?
• Arissa quickly took out her phone to search: Benjamin Graham's fiancée.
• If that woman is Mr. Graham's fiancée, then the media must have covered her news in the past. It's probably just me who's struggling to find her information. Could it be that Mr. Graham has hidden all the personal and private information relating to him? Seeing how unique his identity is, it's probably normal if the media chooses not to report news about him too. Perhaps I could ask Ethen for Ms. Adams' first name. That way, it'll be easier for me to conduct my investigations.
• At the thought of that, Arissa quickly tried to call Ethen. However, Ethen did not have his phone with him now. He was on his way to the CEO's office to find Benjamin. At the office, Ethen carefully studied Benjamin for a while. Nonetheless, he failed to determine what Benjamin was feeling. “Speak if you have something to say. If not, get out and get back to work!” Benjamin roared after casting Ethen a sharp gaze.
• “Mr. Graham, I-I have just spoken to Ms. York...” Despite being glared at by Benjamin, Ethen mustered his remaining courage to finish his sentence. “She said that it was your fiancée who chased her away earlier!”
• There was pin-drop silence in the air. Consequently, Ethen closed his eyes so that he wouldn't have to look at Benjamin.
• “My fiancée?” Benjamin snorted with skepticism. Benjamin never doubted Danna. On the contrary, he believed that Arissa could not be trusted.
• What is wrong with Ethen? Did he get brainwashed by that candidate? Why is he speaking on her behalf time and time again?
• “She's quite good at coming up with excuses, isn't she? So what if she was chased away? What good is a candidate like her if she didn't even think to check things through with you?” With a stern voice, Benjamin continued, “Stop wasting more time on her and find someone else. It's not like the Graham Group would fall apart without her. Now get out!”
• Benjamin was in a terrible mood. After being reprimanded, Ethen rubbed his nose and left the room.
• Sigh. Ms. York really is a precious talent that the Graham Group needs. Can't Mr. Graham be a little more understanding? Doesn't he realize how hard it is to find another suitable candidate? I mean, we're looking for the best IT engineer in the industry, not just some ordinary engineers.
• Meanwhile, Danna arrived at an underground parking lot. With a fierce look of mercilessness flashing across her eyes, she picked up her phone and called someone.
• The recipient answered the phone call while trembling in fear. “M-Ms. Adams!”
• “So you do remember me!” Danna's voice was vicious and rude. A complete difference from how she portrayed herself in front of Benjamin.
• “Of course, I remember you, Ms. Adams. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have the life I have today,” the middle-aged woman replied with fear and gratefulness.
• “Is there something that I can help you with, Ms. Adams?” Danna had not contacted her for a few years. Thus, the middle-aged woman could tell that nothing good was up now that Danna reached out to her out of the blue. Her heart palpitated with uneasiness.
• Danna let out a snort before interrogating the middle-aged woman, “Why didn't you tie up loose ends for that thing I asked you to do five years ago? I just saw that woman alive and well right in front of me, fool!”
• “Alive and well? That's impossible! All of them were eaten alive by beasts!” the middle-aged woman exclaimed in disbelief.
• That woman is alive? But that's impossible.
• “Did you see her being eaten alive with your very own eyes?” Danna pressed on. She had to find out what exactly happened back then.
• If Arissa did die, then the woman Danna met earlier in the office couldn't have been her. Yet, Danna trusted her own eyes more. She was sure that she did not mistake Arissa for someone else.
• “W-We... Back then, we saw a pack of wolves rush up to them and tear them apart. T-Then, we left. We couldn't bring ourselves to see the rest,” the middle-aged woman whispered. Indeed, we did not witness them being eaten alive ourselves. There were so many wolves among that pack. We were afraid of being attacked too.
• If the wolves were to charge at them, they would have a hard time leaving the scene even if they were inside the car, which was why they sped off after seeing the wolves closing in on the family from afar.