SCARLETT’s POV
I’m not certain, but I’m concerned about what’s going on right now. I have more issues. Furthermore, I don’t know whose are spreading wrong information about me and what’s worse, my children are involved here.
When we arrived at the parking lot, I turned to Claire, but she was serious, so I removed my helmet and got off her motorcycle.
“All right, let’s go!”
I said nothing, but I just followed her. She was so serious that I couldn’t ask her what was going on.
It surprised me to see the police when we arrived at the bar. Why are there cops? What is going on? I also noticed our employees talking to the police.
“What’s going on, Claire?” I asked, but she ignored me and continued walking, so I followed her.
When the cops saw us approaching, they immediately came to me.
“Ms. Scarlett Knight, you are the one we want to speak with,” the cop said, bowing to avoid my gaze because I am a knight.
“What are you doing in my bar?” I asked. The cops exchanged glances before facing me, but his gaze remained averted because he avoided my gaze.
“Ms. Knight, someone told us that establishing your business here is illegal because you don’t own the land.”
My eyes widened as he spoke. What caused this to happen? Claire handled our transaction, and I legally signed the land title.
I shook my head, unable to believe that even my business seemed to have gone. Damn it.
“What I signed is legal. I have the land title, so you can’t interfere with our business.” I said and turned to face Claire. “She is one of the bar’s owners, and I assigned management to her.”
Claire smirked and nodded. “She’s right! I'm one of the bar’s owners. If you want me or Scarlett to talk, talk to our lawyers.”
They were all stunned by Claire’s sayings, and I frowned because something was wrong with them.
“If you still don’t want to believe that we have rights to the land. Just wait…” Claire raised her hand and took out her phone to call someone.
“What are these cops? They’re planning to destroy Scarlett’s business! They say we don’t have rights to the land!” Claire yelled, frowning, “Huh? Ah, okay!—Oh, I trust you, man!”
I bowed and bit my lower lip. I can’t afford to lose what I’ve worked for. If the bar closes, many of our employees will lose their jobs, and I will not allow that to happen.
Claire approached them and said, “Mr. Carter Knight has talked to your chief, and he says he doesn’t give you any orders.” she smirked. “Who are you working with?”
Claire's sayings surprised me because I had suspected earlier that something was wrong with them.
“They ordered us to arrest Ms. Knight for land theft and illegal activities, M-Ma'am.”
Illegal acts? Theft of land?
I never considered stealing something that did not belong to me. What they say is impossible, given the size of our lands.
“Arrest her, huh? Don’t you know who you’re talking to? You’re going to arrest a Knight!” said Claire. “All of that land is theirs, but she bought it the right way.”
Claire rushed the cops, but I stopped her because it would embarrass to the cops and our employees. We can discuss it.
I took a deep breath and turned to face the cops. “If you really want to talk to me, I’ll go with you to finish this. I would rather not ruin what I’ve worked for.” I said and turned to Claire, who shook her head, but I just tapped her on the shoulder.
“You don’t have to do that.”
It took aback us by what they had said, so we turned around to see Erin, Rios, and the twins Aaron and Eron arrive, smirking at us.
“Oh, why are the cops here? Why are so many people outside your bar? What’s going on?” Eron frowned.
I sighed because I was interfering with their work. “I’ll be the one to talk to them—” Claire interrupted me.
“They say they’ll arrest Scarlett because she stole the land, and she has no rights because the title is illegal. TSK,” said Claire, rolling her eyes at the cops, who didn’t move because they were still stunned when my cousins arrived.
Rios laughed at what Claire said and moved closer to me, placing his arm on my shoulder.
“How is it illegal? This is my land, and I named it the Scarlett,” Rios explained. It took aback us as he smirked at us.
“Rios?!”
How? Claire spoke with someone else then, and then we bought the land before Claire could start our business here in Manila. It’s just surprising that he owns this land because I know the Knights no longer own it.
“TSK. You don’t believe me?” he asked, pointing to someone in his car, and my eyes widened as I recognized Rios’ companion.
“Y-you?” I asked, motioning to the man standing in front of the car. He approached me with a smile.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Knight,” he said, “but Director Knight said, don’t tell you that the land is his because you might not accept it.” He approached the police and showed them the documents.
When I heard everything, I covered my mouth. I didn’t think Rios owned the land here.
“I bought the land because it was no longer owned by the Knights, and because I didn’t want Scarlett to suffer, I named the title after her,” said Rios, winking at me.
I winced and shook my head at him because he was wealthy.
“Wow! Rios is wealthy!” said Aaron, but Rios hit him.
“I also struggled with my money, and I took part in several racing events because dad froze my account and almost suspended me from work, TSK,” he complained to us like a child.
“How come dad didn’t freeze your account? You didn’t attend meetings! You abandoned your investors, and you want to avoid marrying your investor’s daughter!” Erin yelled.
Rios just smirked and looked at me, saying, “Don’t worry, you won’t lose what you worked for,” and tapping my shoulder.
I held my forehead as I watched them get into their cars.
I think that’s why they came here, but I just smiled and looked at the cops as if I couldn’t believe what Rios had said.
“Oh, please inform your boss. 1 point for Knight,” Claire said to the cops as she drew me inside.
We also resolved the discussion about my rights to the land, and they have proven that it truly named the title after me, so they no longer have a fight and cannot arrest me.
My issue is no longer with the land, but with the bar, itself.
“M-Ms. Knight, time to close the bar for inspection.”
“How is our work, Ms. Knight? We don’t want to leave here.”
“Isn’t the bar going to disappear, Ms. Knight?”
“Ms. Knight.”
I clenched my fist because I didn’t know what to do. Why does my problem continue?
For the past few weeks, we’ve been fine; I always have my secretary check the bar before they open. I also always check to see if the bar has a issue, but my secretary informed me that there was none.
So, I’m not certain why even my business is affected. I looked around at our employees, but frowned when I noticed Ken wasn’t there today.
“Where is Ken?” I asked. They exchanged glances before one of Ken's friends reacted.
“He hasn’t come in for a week, and I tried to contact him, but it turned off his phone.”
Claire and I exchanged glances, but she just shrugged her shoulders.
“H-hey! Don’t close it! You have no right!” Claire yelled, but they ignored her, and they placed a sign on the door of the under-inspection.
Damn it!
“Pay them first, Claire, and talk to all the employees; we need to close the bar,” I said. She nodded, and she took them to our office, and I looked at all the things in my bar.
I double-checked everything to see if there was a real problem or if it was just an excuse to close our bar. It also has the impression that something is wrong with what is going on because of my troubling issues.
First, they spread false information about me, affecting my children. The second is about the title that appears under my name.
The third reason for the bar’s closure is that they are going to inspect it because there are cockroaches and rats, and the bar is not clean. At last, Ken hasn’t been in for a week, and our employees who require the work that they will suspend because of the bar’s closure.
I’m not sure what’s going on anymore. F-ck! It looks like I'm really the target to torture myself.
I clenched my fists and took a deep breath before continuing to inspect the entire bar, but I couldn’t find anything wrong. They used that as an excuse to shut down my business. Damn it!
I came to a halt when I arrived at the employee quarters. I also checked all their lockers, and they are all clean because we also have a janitor here to clean the bar.
Not only that, but I stopped in front of Ken’s locker and opened it, and I also smiled when I saw the picture of his wife and his baby. Furthermore, I know very well how much he loves his family.
Furthermore, I sighed and was about to close Ken’s locker when I noticed a piece of paper stuck to his clothes. Likewise, I took it, and my eyes widened as I read the contents of the paper.
***
“DO EVERYTHING I SAY TO DESTROY A SCARLETT KNIGHT, AND YOUR FAMILY WILL BE SAFE!”
***
“I WILL KILL YOUR FAMILY IF YOU DISOBEY MY ORDERS!”
***
“GO TO THE LOCATION I TELL YOU!”
***
It stunned me when I read everything. “N-no!” I said. As my tears fell. “Ken!”
I tore up all the papers and wiped my tears before rushing out of the quarters, where I even ran into Claire while observing all of our employees.
“It is really necessary—” I snatched Claire's key before she could finish speaking.
“Where are you going, Scarlett?!?”
As I ran towards her motorcycle, I yelled at her. “Lend me your motorcycle, and I won't scratch it!”
Before I drove her motorcycle to Ken’s apartment, I took her helmet and put it on.
I just hope nothing bad happens to Ken. I won’t be able to forgive myself if something bad happened to him and his family. F-ck.