Chapter 3 Settled case

A Settled Case

He got home grumpy but had to be happy for his grandmother and mother's sake.

He washed up to his grandmother hoping to talk to her about his father's decision. "Granny, I have a problem". He said acting childish.

His grandmother looked at him concerned. "What problem is it ? Little one." She asked him

He took a deep breath. "Your son is setting me up with some spoilt brat, even with the full knowledge that I have a woman in my life." He said pouting.

His grandmother looked at him intently. "What's her family class?" She asked .

He was surprised by her question. "Not you too, grandmother." He said feeling bad.

She looked at him again. "Just answer the question,Emmy?"

He felt defeated. "She's middle class" he replied

She nodded and asked another question. " what does she do?"

He held her hand in a pleading manner. "She works in a company as a director and owns a small event decorating company which she herself works in part time,but she has workers there." He said

His grandmother touched his head. "You mean she's ambitious?" She asked

He felt a little bit relieved. "Yes granny. She doesn't even know my background." He announced happily.

Mrs Purvi Dennis was surprised by his words. "What do you mean she doesn't know your background?" She asked curious.

He smiled at her then continued. "We'll you see, we met at her the mall and we started talking. She thinks I'm just a regular guy, and that the only source of income I have is the shares I own in the company where she works." He explained to her.

His grandmother was really happy. "Then that means she's not a good digger,but a very hardworking lady" she said.

He felt triumphant. "Yes,you're right granny." He said

His grandmother continued. "Then you have to fight for your love" she said to him rubbing his hair .

He took one of her hands and kissed her. "I will fight for it,granny".

She stood up and held his hands motioning him to do the same. "Let's go get some massage" she said.

He stood up following her. "Okay granny,but let me go get some clothes from my room".

She didn't let him go. "We'll send whoever we meet on our way to the spa,cmon it's still the same compound." She answered

He surrendered and followed her like a puppy.

LATER THAT EVENING

Blackwood Luxury Lounge - Afternoon

The golden hue of a chandelier spills over velvet armchairs and crystal decanters. Soft jazz hums in the background. A fireplace crackles, casting shadows on mahogany-paneled walls.

**Gerrard Bernard** (50s), sharp-suited and sharp-eyed, sips from a tumbler of scotch. His demeanor is smooth, but there's something calculating behind his smile.

Across from him sits **Theophilus Dennis (Emmanuel's Father)** Early 60's, old money elegance wrapped in a tailored suit. He's a man used to getting what he wants-but unused to being read like a book.

**Mr Gerrard Benson ,leans back, casually. "You know, Theo, our families have always danced in the same circles. Galas, fundraisers, legacy board seats... but we've never actually sat down like this. Strange, isn't it?"

**Mr Dennis smiled at him "The old guard tends to orbit, not collide. But I must admit, I've been curious. You don't usually make time unless there's a game in play."

**Mr Gerrard Benson chuckled and hoped he didn't see behind his game. "Fair. I respect that about you-straight to the point. I'm here because I see an opportunity. Not just for me, for both of us."

**Mr Dennis smiled and nodded at him. "Go on".

Bernard leans forward, setting his glass down with precision.

**Bernard cleared his throat before talking. "Our children. Your son Emmanuel . My daughter, Claudia . Both ambitious. Both burdened with legacy. I believe... we could give them something powerful. A union. A future. One that ties our names together permanently. Besides they were both classmates".

**Mr Dennis, laughs lightly, but his eyes narrow. "A contract marriage? Victor, you make it sound like a business merger".

**Mr Bernard continued "Isn't marriage always a bit of one? At least, the ones that last. You and I both know love is volatile. But strategy? That builds empires. I know we don't really talk but you could give it a thought".

Theo swirls his wine, watching Gerrard over the rim.

**Mr Dennis decided to ask him. "And what's in it for you?"

**Gerrard replied in a sincerely fake tone. "Stability. Prestige. Your daughter is brilliant-headstrong, like my Julian. Together, they could be unstoppable. Apart, well... they're floundering in different directions."

His heartbeat as fast as a hip hop tune

**Mr Dennis asked again. "And you think they'll agree?"

**Mr Gerrard smiled,then continued. "They'll come around. Youth resists until it sees the advantages. You and I? We just lay the groundwork."

Mr Dennis lifts his glass again.

**Dennis (CONT'D). "To the future".

Gerrard hesitates, then clinks glasses.

**Mr Dennis "To the deal... whatever form it takes."

But as they drink, Theo studies Gerrard carefully-because he knows a hunter when he sees one.

The Bernard Mansion-Night

Rain taps against the tall windows. A storm is brewing outside, but inside, the fire glows warm. Bookshelves line the walls, and the scent of old paper and leather lingers.

**Gerrard Bernard stands behind his massive oak desk, a drink in hand, practically buzzing with self-satisfaction. The door creaks open, and his daughter Claudia (mid-20s), elegant and sharp as a blade, steps inside.

**Claudia entered the study uninterested."You said it was urgent?"

**Mr Bernard smiled widely. "It is. Come in, Claudia Sit."

She eyes him, wary. His good moods usually mean someone else is about to suffer.

**Claudia was still uninterested. " If you bought another yacht, just name it after yourself and spare me the unveiling".

**Mr Bernard laughed at her. "No yachts. Something far more... meaningful".

He gestures for her to sit. She does, carefully.

Mr Bernard smiled at his daughter and smirked at her before talking. "I met with Theophilus Dennis tonight. I really didn't expect to meet him at the event today, and coincidentally we were at the same table,so I took my advantage. We came to an agreement".

**Claudia was skeptical. " is it what I'm thinking?daddy?".

**Her father shrugged his shoulder. " yes it Is. My beautiful daughter"

She blinks in unbelief.

**Claudia was very surprised and felt like her dreams had come true. " It was that easy for you?" She asked .

Her father nodded at her. " I also didn't expect it" he replied .

He continued. " Guess it's because I said you were classmates" he said .

She clasped her hands together. " that's nice daddy, I owe you a massage" she said.

Her father nodded his head in disagreement. " No, you don't. All you have to do is tell your mom about it all and then you go get better skincare and more expensive clothes because you're about to become a richer lady". He encouraged.

Claudia got very excited. " on my way" she said rushing out of the study.

Chapter 8: The Savior I Needed

Emmanuel had managed to keep his identity hidden for almost 4 years. To anna,his girlfriend, he was just a regular guy-funny, kind, ambitious, but in no way would she have thought he was one of the heirs to one of the largest business empires in the country.

He liked it that way. He wanted it that way, he loved the way she treated him purely as she felt without an y special treatment because of his background .

Brianna loved him and not his bank account or family name . She wasn't impressed by names or brands. She loved her job at the company where she worked as the strategy department director,loved poetry, and even decorate events anytime she gets a client .

She made him feel normal and there was no way he would dump her for Claudia.

He hopes she would love the surprise when he tells her about his family background and won't be mad at him, he knew he couldn't keep it for too long and also plans to make her decorate the place he'll be proposing to her.

He wished everything was just a bad dream, he didn't want Claudia ruining his plans.

Emmanuel felt like the whole thing had taken his brain, he thought about calling his elder brother but he didn't want sarcasm before solution.

He took out his phone to call Jasmine, he needed a plan from a crazy girl.

*****

The room is brighter this time. The sadness has simmered down into cold resolve. Anna sits at her desk, tapping a pen against her lip. She contacts an old friend who is an investigator and luckily she was also in Zanzibar.

She waited for the receiver. "Hello Cleo" she said into the phone.

The receiver paused for a minute. "Isn't this Brianna castles?" She asked

Anna smiled. "You got it right bitch" she said.

Cleo screamed. "You remembered me today?" She asked.

Anna felt guilty. "Not like that, I was just scrolling through my google contacts so I got you" she replied telling her half the truth.

Cleo beamed with smiles. "Don't worry I'm coming back home for Christmas" she said soothingly.

Anna replied. "I'm not in country X,I'm in Zanzibar right now".

Cleo was surprised. "You didn't come because of me right?"

Anna was also surprised. "You're also in Zanzibar?"

Cleo nodded . "Yeah I am"

Anna was very happy about the information. "Where are you,so I'll come find you tomorrow"

Cleo was also happy about it. "I'm in a hotel,it's very popular for tourists. The name is Blue Pearl."

Anna screamed . "What the fuck!,I'm also there,I'm in apartments 158" she announced happily.

Cleo was stunned. "No way, I just heard you scream,I'm in apartment 157"

Anna rushed out of her mini apartment and Cleo does the same and they collided at the doorsteps.

Cleo hugged her tightly. "I missed you so much, introvert." She said.

Anna hugged her back. "I missed you too,crazy bitch" she replied

Anna broke the hug and dragged cleopatra into her room.

They talked and caught up with a lot of things till the topic shifted to her relationship crisis and she briefs her all about Jasmine had told her.

Cleo looked at her with pity and said. "I'll help you for free,but not next time" she said jokingly.

Anna Laughed at her and nodded her head in approval. "I'll also cook for you for free"

Cleo looked at her and pouted. "Ohh I missed your cooking"

Anna looked at her sweetly and answered. "If you do,then get to work and I'll be your personal chef when we get back to country X"

Cleo took a deep breath and said. "I've missed you so much,my angelic bestie."

Cleo (private investigator) lounges across the bed, eyes sharp, scrolling through social media on her phone and pressing on some things in her laptop.

Cleo grinned at her. "Okay, found her,the name is 'Claudia Bernard', her Daddy's rich, family's traditional, and she posts inspirational quotes like she invented inner peace.

**Anna bends and reads over her shoulder.

"She believed she could, so she did." Wow. She really *thinks* she's the main character."

**cleo nodded. "Yeah, well. Let's rewrite the script."

Anna stands, pacing. "I don't want to ruin her life. I just want her to know what she's walking into. She deserves to know he wasn't exactly "single" when this match was arranged."

**Cleo reasoned with her * "So we don't go full scandal. We go *surgical*. Make her uncomfortable enough to question things... and let Nuel's family see the cracks" Cleo added .

Anna's eyes flicker. An idea forming.

** Anna decided to ask if the instigator could investigate Emmanuel's father. "Could you help me investigate his father,you should know about him right?"

Cleo nodded positively. "Yeah, I met him at a gala party. He's not dumb."

**Anna nodded. "Then we go to him. We tell him the truth-*all* of it. Not to break the match, but so he knows his son's been playing two sides. If this fiancée is such a catch, let her family know the full truth too. No surprises after the wedding".

**Cleo answered. "Alright but we can't get to their house without being to his company"

Anna was confused. "His company?. He's just a shareholder. Why that much security?." She shrugged.

Cleo looked at her surprised. "Don't tell me you don't know that he owns The whole of X company" she asked.

Anna furrowed her brows. "Own a company? Explain to me" she queried.

Cleo looked at her and understood what was going on and she decided to burst the bubble. "Seems like your sweet boyfriend didn't tell you how rich is father is" she said

She was more confused. "He said his dad is a shareholder and he also is at the company branch where I work in our country."

Cleo laughed hard. "For your information,his father owns the company and all the shareholders are his children."

Anna got furious. "Do you mean Emmanuel has been lying to me for over 3yrs now?"

Cleo sighed. "Not like that. According to what I've gathered about him,he doesn't like people knowing he's a Dennis and I'm sure the girl also didn't know he was that rich"

She shrugged. "Are you trying to cover up for them?"

Cleo sighed. "That's not what I'm saying. It shows here that she attended the same school as him,so it means the whole marriage thing is from her family. Just saying." She said raising up her hands."

It dawned on Anna why he was a large spender. "No wonder,he's always spending thoughtlessly"

Cleo smiled at her. "Now you know."

Anna continued. "I'm done being the quiet one,Cleo."

**Cleo clicked her tongue. "Then let's plan this right. You reach out to Mr. Kapoor, request a respectful conversation. No drama, just facts. Meanwhile, I slide into Miss Claudia's DMs-kindly, of course-with some... archived memories of you and Emmanuel from the past eight to one year."

**Anna Smirked. "If she's truly the one instigating this marriage thing, then she'll never be respected the same way again."

**Cleo agreed with her. "And if karma does its job... maybe she backs out herself when I message her. It will Save face. Saves you the trouble."

**Anna,stayed quiet and pressed her lips firm together. "I'm not doing this to win him back. I just want the truth to have *weight*."

*Cleo nodded again. "And it will. Trust me."

She went to her and gave her a big hug. "I missed you so much, God knows you're the savior I needed."

Cleo held her tight. "Don't forget you owe me food."

Anna raised up her head and smiled at her. "I love you so much, that's why I'll order for some food first, then I'll cook for you when we get back home".

Cleo raised her hand like a child. "Yay that's my bestie" she replied while doing a triumphant dance. "Jasmine will be so surprised to see me " she said.

Anna looked at her with smiles. "Let's call her" she proposed.

Cleo didn't buy the idea. She nodded her head negatively. "I want to give her a surprise ". She answered.

The food arrived. They clink their spoons like wine glasses, sealing the deal. Revenge wasn't the goal-but justice? That's personal.

Chapter 9: Winning Over

The upscale brunch spot in Midtown buzzed with soft jazz and the clinking of mimosas. Emmanuel sat uncomfortably at a private corner table, dressed sharply in a charcoal-gray suit. Across from him sat Claudia , dressed in a pale pink silk blouse, smiling sweetly and laughing just a little *too* loud at everything he said.

He barely touched his drink.

"I'm so glad we're finally doing this," Claudia cooed, casually reaching across the table to brush imaginary lint from his sleeve. "No press. No chaos. Just us."

Emmanuel offered a tight smile.

Across the restaurant, Jasmine sat alone at the bar, oversized sunglasses perched on her nose, pretending to scroll through her phone. In reality, she was recording the whole interaction-every fake giggle, every not-so-accidental touch, every perfectly timed selfie Claudia snapped with Emmanuel in the frame.

She tapped her phone twice. A live feed of the video was already streaming to Anna.

**Text to Anna:**

*Operation Barbie Snake is in full swing. She's got the claws out-but he's ice cold.*

Back at her apartment, Anna watched the screen with narrowed eyes, one hand gripping her mug of tea.

"She's so *desperate,*" she muttered.

Back at the restaurant, Claudia leaned in just enough to make the picture look intimate. "Smile for one?" she asked, already holding the phone up.

Emmanuel exhaled, letting her take the photo. But the moment she looked down to edit it with a glittery heart filter, his jaw tensed. He wanted to leave. But this was about keeping things calm. Controlled. No outbursts. Not yet.

Jasmine's phone buzzed again.

**Anna:**

*Post that selfie. Now. Caption: "Love brunch with my almost." Let's see if she takes the bait.*

Jasmine smirked, lifted her mimosa, and casually tagged herself at the location.

Within seconds, Claudia's phone buzzed. Her eyes flicked down, and she froze.

She turned her head slightly-just enough to catch Jasmine at the bar.

Their eyes met.

Jasmine raised her glass in a silent toast, her smile razor-sharp.

Claudia's was happy and thought she had won Jasmine over,but she couldn't make a scene. Not here. Not yet.

Instead, she leaned in closer to Emmanuel and whispered, "It's nice when people stop *watching* and let us be, isn't it?"

Emmanuel looked her dead in the eye.He tried containing the irritation in his heart towers the flirtatious spoilt brat sitting right in front of him.

"Claudia ," he said evenly, "you've been staging a photoshoot since you sat down. Who exactly are you trying to convince?"

Her smile faltered. Just for a second.

From the bar, Jasmine phone buzzed again.

**Anna:**

*She's cracking. Stay there. Let's see how far she takes it.*

Jasmine grinned, flagging the bartender for another drink. She loved the way Anna was playing the game, by letting the enemy think she has the upper hand. Showtime was far from over-and.....Anna had front-row seats.

*****

Claudia got back home feeling as tho she owns the world. She rushed to her father's study, to share her good news.

She rushed in then took a seat. Her father look at her, waiting patiently for her to spill the beans. But Claudia was full of smiles for a whole minute before she started talking.

She opened her mouth to talk and her father took a deep breath. "You're finally done smiling, Claudia" he cuts in.

She rolled her eyes. "We'll.....let's start with this.... I have an alliance with someone who hates Brianna, and she's been of great help to me, especially today."

Her father was pleased with her. "That's beautiful, keep it up daughter" he said in patting her hand .

She smiled with a lot of confidence. "Did you see the pictures online?. She helped with the pictures and created an account for me."

Mr. Bernard also felt good about it. "You have a great choice of friend." He said praising her.

She felt like her adrenaline was going to burst, then her phone rang and it was "Jasmine".

Claudia pointed to her phone happily. "She's the one calling me, daddy".

Her father's face lit up with happiness. "Pick up and let's hear what she wants to say."

She picked up the call and pressed the speaker button. "Hello darling, do you like the pictures from today?". Jasmine asked with enthusiasm like they've been friends for long.

Claudia and her father beamed with smiles. "Of course I did" she replied happily.

"We'll i have a suggestion, why not talk to some bloggers to make beautiful posts about you and even create a fan base. All you have to do is always find a way to take pictures with him" Jasmine said with enthusiasm in her voice.

Claudia and her father, bring the gullible people that they are, were happy with the proposal. Her father nodded positively to it. And she replied her too. "That'll be nice,Jasmine. Do you have any blog company in mind?" She asked.

Unknown to them, Anna was listening over phone call. "I know a particular one, but I haven't reached out to them yet" she replied.

Claudia and her father thought about it. "What about I call you later and I search for a blog company too?"

Jasmine was okay with it. "Okay then" she replied and waited for Claudia to hang up the call.

Claudia and her father thought about it and they settled for using the blog company Jasmine proposed. "Even of things turn out badly or Emmanuel gets to know about it. Then we can easily put the blame on her." Mr Bernard advised.

She held her father's hand. "You're right, daddy".

On the other hand

Jasmine smiled at Anna. "What next,planner" she teased.

Anna paused for a minute. "We'll look for a company that's at brink of collapsing due to spreading fake rumors and offer them what they can't afford to loose, so we'll be safe till I'm back and everything unravels".

Jasmine nodded positively. "But not just that, to be on the safer side. I'll use a new phone and a fake sim,then all the transactions with the blog company will be under her name".

Jasmine could her the clap of hands but she thought it was Claudia. "You could see, that I'm very smart."

Anna gave her a thumbs up. "Of course you're damn smart" . Cleo was pressed and needed to go into the bathroom. "I'll call you later..... I want to pee." Cleo got up and Jasmine saw her,but the call was cut before she could say anything. "You should have waited a second,Cleo." Anna rebuked her.

Cleo rolled her eyes. "Even if she saw me, we could still give her some suspense"

Anna held her forehead. "Whatever" she muttered.