On one of the sides Regina stood there with a smirk.
Her plan had worked better than expected. The protestors, fired up by the video she had carefully crafted, were now attacking the very core of Canary's power at Andersons Group.
Canary, Lucy, Ketra, and Joel walked into Canary's office, the heavy silence hanging between them.
The weight of the protest, the video, and the accusations still loomed over Canary.
He could feel the tension rising as the door closed behind them.
Before Canary could speak, Lucy, her face flushed with anger and disappointment, stepped forward without warning and slapped him across the face.
The sharp sound of the slap echoed through the office, leaving Canary momentarily stunned.
" How could you ashame me like that ?" Her voice trembled.
" I warned you about women already, See what you have to yourself !" She hissed.
Canary, still reeling from the slap, took a step back. He opened his mouth to say something, but the words caught in his throat.
The disappointment in Lucy's eyes cut deeper than the protest outside.
"You don't believe me," he whispered, looking at his mother. "You really think I'm that kind of person?"
Lucy's anger intensified. "I believed in you, Canary. I thought you had changed. But you've let your arrogance take over, and now it's too late."
She shook her head, her expression a mixture of disbelief and hurt.
"You've hurt everyone, even your own family. I'm ashamed of you."
Without another word, Lucy turned and stormed out of the office, her footsteps echoing in the hallway.
Canary stood motionless, the sting of her words still burning inside him.
Joel and Ketra exchanged glances, both aware of how badly the situation had escalated.
Ketra, ever the calm one, stepped forward. " Your mother is upset, Canary,"
she said gently. "She needs some time to cool down. Let's not make this worse."
"I'll take her back home," Ketra added, offering a soft smile. "You stay here and figure things out."
Joel, however, stood still, his gaze on Canary. He said nothing, but there was something in his eyesalmost like a flicker of satisfaction at the unraveling of Canary's world.
"Are you done here?" Joel finally spoke, breaking the silence. "I'm going to my office."
Canary nodded absently, still processing everything. "Yeah. I need a moment."
After Ketra left to calm Lucy, Canary turned and walked toward the washroom, needing to clear his head before facing the mess he had created.
——
Joel walked into his office and saw Regina, Mr. Williams, and Mrs. Regina waiting. Regina stepped forward with a satisfied smile holding a glass of wine.
" Surprise!" She said to him.
Joel paused, then said, "You know, Regina, your intelligence in all of this is impressive. The way you planned everything it's brilliant."
Regina smirked, pleased. "I'm glad you noticed."
Joel nodded. "Canary never stood a chance. You knew exactly how to bring him down."
Regina's confidence grew. "Timing was everything. And with his ego, it was easy."
Mrs. Regina added, "We need to keep the pressure on."
Joel agreed. "We make sure he stays down. Andersons Group will be ours."
Regina smiled, "And Canary will be forgotten."
Joel sat and Regina poured him a glass of wine.
They all toasted and gulped it down.
Joel began, his voice full of admiration, " The video was genius. And bringing in those fake protesters? Brilliant move. You managed to make Canary look like the monster he's being painted as, and now the rest of the employees joined them in protesting .."
Regina gave a small, confident smile.
"It wasn't that hard. The video stirred them up, and with a few planted voices, the rest followed like sheep."
Joel nodded, impressed. "You turned everything in our favor. Canary never stood a chance."
Regina's eyes glinted. "It's just the beginning. We'll make sure he never recovers."
——
Regina entered her office, her mood buoyant from the celebration with Joel and their allies.
She shut the door behind her and turned toward her desk, only to freeze at the sight of Camilla standing in the middle of the room, arms crossed, her face a storm of fury.
"Camilla?" Regina began, but before she could say more, Camilla stormed toward her and slapped her hard across the face.
"Why didn't you tell me you used to date Canary?" Camilla shouted, her voice trembling with anger.
"You lied to me, Regina! You never said a word about him!"
Regina rubbed her cheek, stunned, but quickly composed herself. "Camilla, calm down…"
"Don't tell me to calm down!" Camilla cut her off, her eyes blazing.
"Why did you have to drag my name into that video? You've made it look like I'm one of the women Canary's supposedly slept with just to hurt you! Do you realize what you've done to my reputation?"
Regina scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Oh, please. Don't act like you're innocent in all this. You dated him, didn't you? It's not like I made it up."
Camilla's voice dropped, cold and sharp. "But I didn't agree to be part of your petty revenge scheme. You used me, Regina. And now, thanks to you, my name is being dragged through the mud alongside yours."
Regina stepped closer, her tone turning defensive. "I did what I had to do to bring Canary down. If you're caught in the crossfire, that's your problem, not mine."
Camilla glared at her, her fists clenched.
"You've gone too far this, Regina. Don't think I won't fight back."
Regina took a step closer, her voice low and cutting. "Do you have any idea what Canary did to me, Camilla? Do you?"
Camilla hesitated, her anger momentarily replaced by confusion. "What are you talking about?"
Regina's lips curled into a bitter smile.
"You don't know the half of it. I dated Canary for three years, Camilla. Three years. And when I told him I was pregnant, he abandoned me. Just like that. He didn't care. He moved on to other women as if I didn't even exist."
Camilla's angry expression faltered, her eyes widening in disbelief. "You… you were pregnant?"
" Yes, I thought he loved me. But the day I went to tell him, I found him with another woman called Leah. I endured that and went ahead to tell him I was pregnant,"
" But he still dumped me.." Regina shade crocodile tears.
Camilla felt touched by Regina's lies.She took a step back, stunned. "I… I didn't know."
Regina nodded, her face hardening. "Yes. But the stress, the heartbreak… It caused a miscarriage. I lost my baby, Camilla. And all because of him."
Regina's voice dropped, her words laced with venom.
"That's why I can never forgive him. Canary ruined me, and I won't stop until he knows what it feels like to lose everything."
Camilla looked at her sister, torn between disbelief and guilt.
"If that's true, Regina… then I'm sorry for what you went through. But dragging me into this? That's not fair. ."
" I am so sorry little sis.." Regina cried.
Camilla's expression softened completely. Her anger melted away, replaced with pity.
She stepped forward and hugged Regina tightly. "I'm so sorry, Regina. I didn't know. I didn't mean to yell at you."
As Camilla held her, Regina's lips curled into a sly smirk. She had played her hand perfectly, and now Camilla believed every word of her lie.