The Manipulated Villainess

Leon was quietly standing outside the ICU of Westview Hospital. Tucking his left hand to the side and the other hand in his pocket, he stared at the man who was lying on the bed inside the ICU.

There he was, the Master of Blackhood. His master, his teacher and his maternal uncle. Lying on the bed with life support, the doctors had already lost hope in the man. It's been a year and the Master was near to his end.

Due to the Master's condition, Leon had already taken charge of the organization for the past year. All the power and authority was in his hands now but he didn't want to take over the organization, not during his uncle, the current Master was still breathing.

However, all the members had already accepted him as their leader and Master, wholeheartedly. They were more than willing to submit themselves to him and obey his orders.

He stood still with his gaze fixated on his uncle when one man dressed in all black came to him. "Young Master." The man bowed.

"Did she return?" Leon asked, still staring at his Master.

"Yes. Shara joined the others early in the morning." The man replied respectfully.

Hearing the response, Leon narrowed his eyes on the floor. "What is the member's opinion?"

"They are happy with it. Shara is always great at her task. They always look up to her."

Leon felt like something was pricking his heart yet he didn't show it. As a future successor, he was taught not to show even a slight weakness to the members. He had engraved it in his mind. "That's good. I will drop by in the evening."

With that said, the man bowed and left Leon's side.

* * *

Nicole was in her office, fully occupied by her thoughts. After her conversation with Leon last night, she gave extra attention in the morning, trying to spot Leon's men. However, she failed. All she saw was the familiar faces of Garcia Han's men.

She concluded that there might be two possibilities. First, her fiance had withdrawn his men so they were not there. Or, second, they were so capable and intelligent that she couldn't spot them no matter how much she tried. She desperately hoped for it to be the former.

What Leon said last night still bothered her. He trained his men himself? How was that possible? She never knew him being skilled in combat, let alone using weapons!

When she received a message, she checked out the contents. It was from Leon and he was sending her the names of three orphanages and nursing homes they would give donations to, including Moon Orphanage. They will personally go there after two days. That means it will be the day after Aston and Anna's photoshoot. She made a mental note to clear her schedule to visit the orphanages.

Now, she should focus on her meeting with an important businessman which was just a few minutes away. She was just about to reread the files for the meeting but she heard the sound of her office door being knocked. "Come in." She responded with a slight frown.

Director Colin Park, her step-mother's aide in the company make his way to her which made her frown deeper. He's already back?! What an annoying old man!

"How have you been, Chairwoman?" Director Park said as he slightly bowed.

"I feel better when you're not around. You should not have returned." The Chairwoman didn't even bother to hide her contempt for this greedy and fake man. As always, she was easy to read.

"Too bad." Director Park commented. "I'm only here to report that I returned from my business trip safe and sound." His smile was always too fake.

"Now that you have finished reporting, leave. I have a meeting." Nicole said with an annoyed face, pointing her chin at the door.

"I want to give you an advice to celebrate my return, Chairwoman." Director Park said, pressing up the middle of his glasses. "Be extra careful from now on if you don't want to regret it later. Be careful of everything, be it a business or your personal life."

As soon as he finished talking, the Director smiled as if he cared for the young Chairwoman and then left the office.

Nicole was puzzled. What does that old fox mean? What did he know? Unconsciously looking at the time, she realized that the JK Group Chairman will be here any minute. She briefly goes through the files as she was running out of time. Then she was informed that the guest had arrived.

Her office door was opened and she rose from her seat to greet the Chairman of JK Group.

A man in a grey suit and tie walked inside with his assistant following him behind. He stood beside Nicole and reached out his hand to her. "Hello, Chairwoman Yang. I'm Carson Jun, the Chairman of JK Group. It's nice to meet you." He introduced himself with his captivating emerald-green eyes fixating on the young Chairwoman.

Nicole held his hand and gave him a handshake. "It's nice to meet you too, Chairman Jun. Please have a seat."

The two Chairpersons took a seat. Nicole didn't even notice that the Chairman was observing her for the whole time.

"This is just a simple meeting before the actual meeting with the Directors. You might find it strange but I always request this type of meeting before I make any business deal. I think the core of the business is knowing your partner well." Chairman Jun said as he flashed a smile.

"That's true. I bet this is the reason behind your success." Nicole remarked. She smiled but it was only out of courtesy.

JK Group was established later than Yang Group but their growing success put them among the leading corporations of the country. Not to mention that the two groups were very comparable in terms of wealth, power and business fields.

Carson Jun, the current Chairman and the founder of JK Group was also one of the most famous self-made billionaires of the country. He was only 39 yet his success and influence were huge. He was the brain and the reason behind the Group's tremendous success.

The fact that he had never married was always a hot topic in the country. Some even thought that he might be gay because he was never seen with a woman. Some said that he remained unmarried because he was a workaholic who devoted himself to his company.

Carson Jun let out a laughter. He wondered how much Nicole had grown since the last time he saw her. Well, the latter won't know him as they never crossed path. He only saw her from afar and heard about her from Garcia. For a split second, he even wondered why his lover was so obsessed with this young woman.

"I still have to work harder to be able to compare to your father's success." Carson Jun said, observing Nicole's reaction.

She felt a bit downhearted at the mention of her late father but she tried to not show. After all, on the scale of a businessman, this Chairman had many similarities with her father.

Her father founded and strengthened the Yang Group and Carson Jun did the same in JK Group. The two men were considered as one of the most successful self-made billionaires of the country. The fields in which the two Groups took an interest was also very similar.

"You already surpassed my father," Nicole said, hiding whatever she had in mind. She always wondered if the devil had a weakness. Little did she know that the man sitting beside her was Garcia Han's most biggest weakness and strength!

"Maybe." Chairman Jun muttered. "Our two corporations are connected in many ways. I'm happy that we finally get to work together."

"Same here, Chairman Jun," Nicole said and handed the files to the Chairman while the latter handed her other files. They were supposed to go through the files before a formal meeting with the Directors is held.

Now that he had stared and observed her for a few minutes, some riddled Carson had in mind were solved but only a few. He slowly started to understand why Garcia was so invested in this young woman.

They had many similarities. The Chairwoman sitting beside him reminded him of Garcia Han in her younger days. Their nature and even behaviour had so much in common. Was this because Garcia was the one who raised her? He didn't know.

Did Garcia Han saw her old self in this young woman? Was it the reason why she insisted to let Nicole Yang live when she should be long dead? Maybe.

Carson was convinced that he would love to be on good terms with this young woman because if she resembled Garcia Han, she would be capable of many things. But that's not possible. It might be, only if she was not the blood of Zachary Yang.

Being the daughter of the late Chairman Yang, that alone made her his enemy.....