The Royal Contract

Jacky remained standing at Dani's side as she observed the exchange happening between the two. She stayed and quietly watched by the sidelines. 

So far, she did not see any threats from their visitors, but she still kept her guard up. She could not be too sure of their intentions.

"I am surprised that you even thought of me. I know that what I did to you was unforgivable. Seeing me must be hard for you, but I am here because I need your help and Alex." Cassie finally stated her case.

She knew to survive this. She needed all the help she could get. Although Jacob offered to help, it would not be enough to stop Nick from exacting his revenge on her.

"I am willing to overlook the past. If you are sincere about cleaning up your act, then maybe we can forget whatever happened between us." Dani placed her hand on top of the table as she looked directly into Cassie's eyes, wanting to see her reaction.

"I assure you that it is my intention." Cassie did not break eye contact when she said this to Dani. "I want to ask for forgiveness even if I do not deserve it. I wish to bury the past and start all over again."

After a very long time, Cassie felt tears run down her cheeks. She had been carrying the burden of hating the Hamilton family that her heart had turned to stone.

After hearing her own words, she felt like floating in the clouds as the heaviness in her heart lightened. She never thought that she would ever feel this way ever again.

"Then, what happened?" Dani needed to hear her explanation, to understand the whole picture. "If you don't mind, I want to hear the entire story." 

She leaned on her chair, dropping everything she was doing. She already had texted Alex about her unexpected visit. She would be expecting him to arrive soon.

Whatever she would learn from Cassie. She also wanted Alex to hear about it because they were in this together. She was through fighting this battle on her own.

She believed that everything happened for a reason. Cassie hated her and her family because of something that occurred in the past. She could not judge her until she heard every detail.

"It is a long story. I hope you have time." Cassie looked at all the people present, waiting for some form of confirmation. When she saw that everyone seemed to be waiting, she prepared herself for her narration.

"I hope you still have room for one more." Alex walked into the room and went straight to Dani's side.

Although he already knew most of the story, he still wanted to hear Cassie's point of view. It would probably shed some light on why Cassie was so determined to destroy them at the start.

Then, why did she all of a sudden change her mind and turn against her partner? Until now, that portion still boggled his mind.

"Well, you are just in time for my story." Cassie shifted in her seat before beginning to tell them her tale. "As you all know, my father made a business transaction with yours. Since they were best friends, your father offered to help him."

But her father lost the business. Many speculations circulated, and one of them was the accusation that Ethan fooled his father. Ethan used him until he lost everything.

This story stuck in her head, including the evidence she found against Ethan when she worked for him. Then, it all added up in her mind, bringing her to the conclusion that Ethan was not trustworthy.

"I always hated your father for what he did with mine. Your father ruined my family, then killed my father. But it did not excuse what I did. I should not have taken it on you." Cassie shared with them what she always felt.

The anger she kept burning, fueling her desire to take her vengeance against those who she blamed for her misery. It was the same hatred that Nick used as his instrument against their enemies.

She followed him like a blind puppet, moving according to his string. She thought that she had everything under her control, but she was wrong. Nick was only letting her believe that she did.

"I think you have it wrong." Dani was about to defend her father from her accusation, but Cassie stopped her.

"I know. I had been researching in Nick's files. I had seen the figures that he was keeping from me all this time. Your father had nothing to do with what happened to my father." She finally explained to them what she had learned recently.

She took out another set of papers from her bag and handed them to Dani. Then, she proceeded to tell them about the history of the said files.

"He fueled my hatred by keeping that information from me. He led me to believe that Ethan was a criminal, but I discovered that Ethan was only protecting my father." She pointed to the evidence that Nick kept in his vault.

She was lucky that she snatched those files without him knowing. Or else, she might be lying on a ditch right now, lifeless if he caught her.

"He wanted the files that I took from Ethan because it would incriminate him with the underground activities." She was talking about the previous papers she had already sent to Alex.

"But I discovered that he had acquired the rest of the papers that would have absolved Ethan from any criminal intent." Luckily, she found it.

However, she discovered on those papers a hard-to-digest truth. It was not Ethan but her father who had dealt with the criminal syndicate. Ethan only tried to help him extricate himself from the mess he made.

"I am sorry for everything." She felt her tears again, dropping down her cheeks.

But, it was too late. Ethan could not do anything about it. He could not stop her father's company from going bankrupt. Her father had done too much damage to fix it.

Ethan could not save her father from himself. Her father had become a lost cause that the only thing he could think of as a last resort was to end his life.

She finally realized her mistake. She learned that Ethan and Dani were not her enemies.. She had sided on the wrong side of the fence.