Chapter 101

When Debra arrived at Erica’s company, Erica was ecstatically jumping around, looking at the newly deposited sum.

“Debra! You’re amazing! That jerk must be feeling miserable now, huh?”

Erica hadn’t expected Juan to compensate such a large amount, but she wouldn’t reject it. Despite the minor uproar, this was a win for her.

“The compensation came through?” Debra asked.

It had only been an hour, sooner than Erica had expected.

“I bet he used his personal account to transfer the money. There’s no way it could arrive this fast otherwise. Juan must be worried about losing face,” Erica replied.

Seeing neither Marion nor Randy in the office, Debra asked, “Where are they? Something this big happening in the company, why aren’t they here?”

“You know Marion. As soon as he heard about the trouble, he left and told me not to tell you. He probably knew early on that it was Juan’s doing and went off to plan his revenge,” Erica replied.

Debra nodded thoughtfully. “It’s normal for Marion to seek revenge, but why keep it from me?”

“I was just so angry today that I had to call you. If Marion finds out, he’ll definitely be mad at me,” Erica added regretfully.

Debra advised, “Now that everything’s settled, call him back. Let’s not stir up more trouble.”

Seamar City was Juan’s turf. Debra recalled Juan’s words: he held considerable sway here. Even though Marion had connections too, he couldn’t match Juan. Stirring things up could lead to chaos.

“Don’t worry. Marion knows what he’s doing. At most, he’ll just cause a bit of trouble for Juan’s company,” Erica said.

But on second thought, she felt unsure and took out her phone to call Marion. It rang once and then was disconnected.

Erica froze. “He hung up on me.”

Debra tried calling Marion too, and he answered.

“He picked up,” she said, puzzled.

“What?” Erica flared up, ranting into the phone, “What the hell? You answered Debra’s call and rejected mine. Are you even my cousin?”

Debra felt awkward.

Erica continued, “Anyway, you’re an unfit cousin, and I am very angry.”

There was a moment of silence before Marion’s calm voice came through. “Finished?”

“Yeah!”

“Give the phone to Debra.”

“Oh.”

Erica rolled her eyes and handed the phone over to Debra.

Taking the phone, Debra said, “Erica told me you were planning to retaliate against Juan.”

“Not retaliation, just a little move,” Marion replied. “I’ve already sorted things out with Juan. Don’t worry about it.”

“I have to,” Debra said.

Marion paused and declared, “This is a competition between men.”

Debra was confused, not understanding what he meant.

As the sky darkened, Debra returned to the Nichols family’s house.