Refusing to let the Shadows or Wanda interfere, Vaneesha gave a subtle signal by shaking her head. Though her anger was already rising, the stress of dealing with Jenna sent it soaring.
She restrained herself from punishing the girl out of sheer curiosity—to see just how far Jenna was willing to go. Both the store clerk and the manager appeared in response to the theft alert, and the crowd quickly gathered to witness the spectacle as the police arrived in haste.
It only took one look at the situation for Carmen to understand what her beloved daughter was attempting—accusing who she thought was the runaway maid who had narrowly escaped her.
"Oh, my poor child—!"
"Get away from me!" Vaneesha shoved her aside, disgusted, as Carmen tried to hug her.
"Is she with you?" everyone was stunned. They knew Carmen and Jenna as regular clients, but not Nisha.
"Well… it's just that our maid is a bit too curious. I'm terribly sorry about this—but don't worry, I'll pay for everything—" Carmen tried to drag the girl away, but Wanda stopped her.
"How thoughtful. But that doesn't change the fact that she was accused of theft. We'll be going to the station to clear this up—unless, of course, you prefer to damage the store's reputation with false testimonies." Wanda wasn't about to let them get away with it.
The manager panicked. The store's reputation could be at stake, and without hesitation, she requested Vaneesha be removed from the premises. She didn't want trouble—especially if it meant losing customers. After speaking with the officers, they decided to take Vaneesha in.
Climbing into the patrol car, Vaneesha's face was contorted with such fury that Carmen froze in terror upon seeing her through the glass. She knew those eyes—eyes that looked at her like filth—and silently, she swore she would get even.
Deirdre Stern.
Two years ago, Carmen had taken her unbearable mother-in-law to court in hopes of securing an inheritance she assumed existed for Louis.
Not only did such a thing not exist, but Deirdre filed a restraining order and severed all legal ties, banning Carmen and Jenna from ever contacting her again—for wasting her valuable time. The look she had given Carmen in court had been so suffocating that Carmen still had nightmares about it.
"Why did you let that beggar go?! Mom—ouch!" Jenna's tantrum snapped Carmen out of her thoughts, and she pinched the girl.
"Shut up and don't make a scene." They pretended everything was fine and headed for the exit.
But the matter wouldn't end there.
Calculating that if she went to the station fast enough, she could recover Vaneesha before Deirdre found out, Carmen's hopes were crushed by Jenna's clumsiness—and pride.
"Damn it!" Carmen was dragged to the ground by her own daughter.
"Ow! Mom—someone pushed Jenna!"
The strange sensation of being watched turned to humiliation when the manager's shout of "Thieves!" brought the police back.
Scattered across the sidewalk were several pieces of jewelry and a couple of designer purses found inside their shopping bags.
"They accused someone else to get away with it. Shameful," Wanda muttered, stirring a storm.
The tables turned quickly, and what followed was a wave of scandalous gossip and bitter mockery.
Mother and daughter were arrested, while the girl in the other patrol car scolded the culprit.
"Because of you, I'm going to get punished." Vaneesha grumbled at the glowing little man, who leapt to hug her cheek.
"Nisha, the lawyer will be here in ten minutes. We'll get this resolved, and then—oh!" Wanda, stepping into the patrol car, froze as the being vanished in a flash of light.
"What…?"
"So it was him…ugh!" she sighed in exasperation.
**
The scandalous Carmen had annoyed the chief so much, he ordered the cellblock doors closed.
Dealing with people like her was nothing new—except for the girl calmly sipping juice in the waiting room.
Madame Stern's daughter had been brought in, accused of theft, loitering, and vagrancy. The store manager had even pushed to send the girl to a juvenile center. But instead of being handcuffed or locked up, Vaneesha was being pampered by officers who refused to mistreat her.
The shock silenced the manager when a dozen men in black suits parted to let the lawyer through. Nelson, after arguing with the chief, filed a complaint—not against the police—but against the clothing store.
Lacking real evidence and with Vaneesha carrying only a notebook, as she had merely been inspecting the place, the charges had to be dropped.
"But…the girl…I didn't know…her clothes…and Mrs. Shultz said…" the manager stammered.
"What are you implying? That fashion designer Jean-Baptiste makes trash? Or that attempted kidnapping is just another Tuesday? You clearly lack common sense!"
"Enough, Nelson. I understand her confusion—but that doesn't absolve her of discriminating against me. Rest assured, the investment I was considering for her business has been scrapped thanks to her poor judgment." Vaneesha was ruthless.
To earn the contempt of young Miss Stern was like being cursed by her mother—it meant ruin. It was widely known: when Lady Fortune took an interest, prosperity followed. But when scorned, ruin was inevitable.
The owner, now desperate, would do anything to keep this from going public and falling into ruin.
Along the hillside route...
The concrete jungle stretching in the distance did little to calm Vaneesha's nerves.
"Romero, pull over," she ordered. The driver obeyed, stopping on the shoulder.
Once out, everyone waited as their lady surveyed the upscale area ahead.
"Now I know how to proceed. Let's go," she said, flashing a sinister grin that chilled everyone to the bone.
Whatever she had concocted against Trumpet in the last fifteen minutes must've been so horrifying that no one dared speak on the drive back.
**
"She just accepted the punishment without complaining—that's not like her." I was getting pissed.
"She's been locked in her room working on her project for five days," even Wanda was stunned.
"But Minerva, why did you call the doctor?" Something was definitely wrong with Nisha.
"When I brought her breakfast, I saw she hadn't stopped typing all night. Her hands were swollen. Deirdre, you need to speak with her."
Just as I was about to check on her, Nisha appeared—dragging several folders and looking like the living dead.
"Mother, Minerva, Wanda... I've finished." The bags under her eyes were frightening.
"What the hell is wrong with you?! You're supposed to be on vacation—anyone would think I've locked you up and tortured you!"
"I'm sorry, Mother. I promise I'll rest—just as soon as I make my offer. I need a loan."
"A loan?! Nisha, stop—"
I figured she wanted to buy some absurd thing to get back at that tramp and her daughter, but what came next was so offensive, it bordered on surreal.
"I promise I'll pay back every cent, with compounded interest in five years. Lend me ₽250 million."
Cough cough!
"God!"
"What?!" All three of us were in shock.
"My offer. If it doesn't convince you, I'll find other investors." She handed me the folder. I had to flip through it three times to believe it.
This girl wasn't finishing homework. She was planning the annihilation of her enemies.
"Let me get this straight—you believe you can actually bring this plan to life?" She nodded confidently.
"As I said, lend me the money. Nelson and Senator Simpson too. The founding partners and initial capital for the tax registry are already secured. Just think of it as an investment—to drown in profits."
Investment. Anyone else would've laughed at such a proposal, calling it pure delusion—but the numbers told a different story: guaranteed returns. On top of that, my little glowing friend was dancing atop the folder, buzzing with excitement.
"I'll give it to you," I said. If he was this worked up, the prize had to be huge.
"Deirdre?!"
"Ma'am?!"
"Don't disappoint me, Nisha."
"Sterns don't fail. We shine." And with that, I pulled out my checkbook.
With the loan secured, Nisha rested for three days before inviting her classmates to a tea party.
But the gathering would be anything but dull. One by one they arrived, and the meeting began only once the last guest was seated.
"I can't believe you invited me to your house, Stern. I thought you hated me?" Jolene Woods said, smug and snarky.
"Why did you invite her?" Jazmín questioned Nisha's judgment in inviting her academic rivals.
"It's true, I don't like you—but that doesn't mean you're not useful. The reason you're all here is this: to move forward with our assignment." She passed out folders to each guest.
"You're insane. We're on vacation" Randolph Coleman was livid.
Half the table groaned at being summoned for school matters—yet the other half remained silent, flipping through the pages.
"Stern… what are you planning?" Leonidas asked, trembling as the idea clicked in his mind.
"A real multinational investment society to fund our own projects…"
"But why go that far?" Valentino asked, speaking for the rest.
"To manage assets in the stock market and then—"
"You're diabolical, Stern!" Jolene screamed in outrage, watching her flash a wicked smile.