Tristan dropped Belle off at her company. She was about to enter after greeting the guard when someone called her. She immediately turned around and to her horror, it was Esme and she was holding a gun.
“Finally we’ve met! I’ve been trying to see you for days!” Esme sneered.
“Put the gown down Madam!” the guard shouted, walking over in front of Belle to protect her.
However, instead of following the guard’s order, she shoots him. The guard immediately dropped right in front of Belle and it freaked her out.
“What are you doing?” she screamed but Esme just smiled at her. The crazy woman gestured for her to go in and Belle quickly followed.
When they reached her office, Esme locked the door and pushed Belle to her table. “I still can’t believe that you’re alive…” she whispered.
Belle wanted to say something but no voice would come out of her. She’s been inhaling and exhaling since they got in but it won’t calm her nerves.
Esme made her sit on her swivel chair, while she’s pacing back and forth in front of her table. This allowed Belle to use her phone and send a message to Tristan.
He told Tristan that Esme was in the office and that she was in danger. Hopefully, he’d see it sooner than later.
Meanwhile, Lawrence quickly stepped on his break when he saw a man lying lifeless right in front of Belle’s office. He already has an idea of what’s going on, but he’s still hoping he’s wrong.
Lawrence tried feeling the man’s pulse but he can’t find any. ‘He’s dead…’ he whispered to himself. Before getting in, he called Frederick and told him what happened.
He then rushed inside and saw no one. He walked toward Belle’s office and heard someone talking. “You should have died and not Vernice!” Esme yelled.
Lawrence pushed the door open, startling both women. When Esme saw him, she quickly pointed the gun at him.
“Esme, what are you doing?”
“I’m avenging my daughter’s death!”
“Please, please stop. This won’t do any good. Belle’s my daughter too.”
“And I don’t care if she’s your daughter! She’s not mine! But Vernice, Vernice is my heart and soul and she killed her!”
“You killed her!” Lawrence shouted. “If it weren’t for your evil plans, Vernice will still be alive!”
The man's eyes were bloodshot. He’s furious at his wife and at the same time, he’s scared for his daughter. Both their lives are in danger.
Esme slowly shook her head at her husband, “It’s not my fault. It’s this woman’s fault! If she didn’t show up here, everything would have been perfect for my daughter!”
“If you didn’t mess up the deal between Tristan and Vernice, things would have been different,” Belle butted in. “You should have just let her marry Tristan.”
“Shut up! Shut up!” Esme yelled. “Who gave you the right to speak? Who told you that you have a say in all these? You know what Belle? I should have killed you as soon as I found out that my plan failed. I shouldn’t have let that couple take you home!”
Lawrence started shedding tears. Although he’s witnessing it, he still can’t believe that she’s become this evil. Her greed has consumed her fully.
“I can’t understand how you’re so lucky…” Esme started again, sharpy staring at Belle. “We framed you for poisoning that old man and yet, you still managed to clear your name. Joyce tried killing you too, but still, you survived. I tried kidnapping and killing you, yet you’re still here! Pestering me and killing my daughter!”
Hearing all these, Lawrence felt his ears going hot. It’s as if all the steam of his anger reached his head and he’s now about to explode.
Lawrence took two steps and slapped Esme, hard. But instead of getting some sense out of her, she became more furious.
Driven mad by everything, Esme pointed the gun at Belle and pulled the trigger. Lawrence stepped closer to stop her but she shot him too.
Esme started laughing after what she did, “You deserve that! You both deserve to die!” he yelled. But when she opened the door of the office to run out, the police were already there, blocking her way.
She refused to be handcuffed but the police were quick to arrest her. After she was taken, the medics rushed to attend to Lawrence and Belle.
Both father and daughter were rushed to the hospital. Unfortunately, Lawrence didn’t make it and he died on the spot, while Belle sustained a shoulder injury.
Meanwhile, at the De Clarion Empire, Jacob turned on his and Tristan’s phone. It started beeping incessantly and his heart thumped, making him realize that something terrible happened.
Instead of reading the messages, he chose to call his father. “Where are you? Belle’s rushed to the hospital. Esme shot her.”
Those were the words of his father as soon as he answered the call. And those words keep replaying in his head on his way to the CEO’s office.
“Tristan! Tristan!” he yelled.
The young CEO was startled when he heard his assistant. He saw Jacob drenched in sweat and his hands were shaking uncontrollably.
“What happened?”
“I-I got tons of messages so I called the villa. F-Father told me… Father told me…”
“Told you what?!”
Jacob’s legs gave way and he fell on the floor. Tristan quickly rushed to him for support. “T-Tristan, father told me… that Esme went to Sweet Sue. She was looking for Belle.”
“And? Hurry and tell me what happened or I’ll make sure you’ll be kneeling here forever.”
Jacob breaks into tears, unsure if it was because he’s scared of what happened to Belle or he’s scared of Tristan’s threat. Regardless, he was feeling pain because of the news.
The rattled assistant inhaled and exhaled several times, “Belle was rushed to the hospital because Esme shot her. It’s been two hours since the incident and Lawrence was declared DOA.”
“What the f---?!”