Just as she alighted off the chopper to board the waiting car that would take her to the hospital where Steve stayed, Athalie received a message from Tristan. For security reason, she only got to see the photo for ten seconds before it got deleted.
Tristan erased all traces of the picture and sent "mission completed".
It was only for a brief moment but Athalie saw Mhalik's decapitated head on a silver plater. His eyes were staring back at here as if looking directly into the person who caused his death, but Athalie didn't feel anything.
Compared to what her boyfriend went through, Mhalik had it easy - she didn't request for him to get tortured.
She wasn't a saint and she wasn't raised to be one. From a very young age, she saw death by torture hidden behind closed doors. Even so, she never regarded it easy to take one's life. However, the thought of losing the person who loved her more than anything in this world has awaken the cruelty in her.
An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.
That was the only thing she had in mind the moment she figured out Steve's disappearance.
"Thank you," Athalie replied and a few seconds later, their conversation was deleted along with its history.
The next morning, Cayenne posted on her account that she would be giving her statement regarding the issue involving Steve Scwargarian at 10:00 AM in Turtle Paradise Resort. All media were invited to show up if they have some time available on their schedule.
Of course, even if they weren't available, reporters would drop whatever they had planned for this dropped bomb.
Cayenne's post was forwarded thousands of times in just a few minutes by her fans and anti-fans. Comments flooded her account - support and hatred were expressed with great fervor.
Around nine in the morning, reporters slowly filled the seats in the huge conference hall. It was estimated to hold a capacity of one hundred guests and now, the staff could see that it was half full already. Some of her fans nearby came to show support as well.
On the other hand, Cayenne was getting ready with her team in the presidential suite. She was wearing a simple black silk shorts with a white silk tank top draped with a black suit. She didn't want to appear too formal in front of everyone this time since she would just be clarifying some issue with her husband.
Stefan was done with his preparation long ago and was just waiting for his wife while playing with the kids.
"I'm almost done," she said while she sprayed a little bit of her favorite perfume. "We'll just call them for lunch later once we're than with the interview."
"Got it. I have already scheduled the hotel van to pick up everyone before lunch," Stefan answered as he lifted Zeki up and carried him over to watch the view outside the skyrise building.
Ten minutes before the stipulated time, Cayenne and Stefan finally arrived at the venue. Cameras started flashing as she made her way to her seat with Stefan following right behind her.
Along with them was Gracielle - head of PR department, Tristan - Stefan's secretary, Jackson - Cayenne's secretary and Atty. Lewis - Stefan's lawyer.
"Wow! Mrs. Dumrique is even more beautiful in person," whispered one of the teenage girls who were sitting in the crowd.
"And look at Stefan. Look at the way he looks at her," responded another fan, and since she had pointed this out, those who heard her also noticed the intense gaze that Stefan directed at his wife.
She was all he could see in this conference room.
In fact, from the moment they came in, his eyes had always been on her.
At this moment, everyone's thought echoed in silence.
[We came for hot news! Not to get diabetes!]
Stefan had no idea about all these though. He was a natural sugar with no preservatives added.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We're all here to listen and discover the truth of the issue involving Mrs. Cayenne Ardolf - Dumrique and the internationally-knowned Hollywood actor Steve Schwargarian. Let's start with some facts," Gracielle began without further ado.
She can't waste a single minute of the couple's time since they had other plans for today.
"Let's go back to the time of Cayenne's live stream. Steve Schwargarian had sent her expensive gifts and it caused a lot of people to misunderstand. First of all, Cayenne didn't know the actor. She had only watched some of his movies and that's it. All she knew of was the man on the screen of their movie room."
"Then, are you saying that Steve likes Cayenne which prompted him to give those gifts?" asked one of the reporters before Gracielle could continue.
Everyone wanted to ask this question as well.
"Nope. Steve didn't know Cayenne either. It was Steve's girlfriend who liked Cayenne for a long time. She used his account to view the live stream, and while enjoying the show, she sent her gifts before realizing that it wasn't her account."
"That is right," Cayenne added. "I have never interacted with him in the past or with his girlfriend. It was only due to this matter that we got to know each other."
"Here's the exact statement from Steve's management," Gracielle said and Tristan immediately connected his laptop to the projector and showed everyone the conversation that Gracielle had with Steve's manager.
"So, you're basically saying that, with this statement, you are not responsible for Steve's disappearance?" questioned another reporter which made the others nod in agreement to his inquiry.
Hearing his words, Cayenne's fans were agitated. They felt like tearing the old woman's face for saying such a thing. However, they knew that this question will be asked sooner or later, and this moment was important for Cayenne to clear her reputation.
Cayenne picked up her microphone and without showing a change in expression, she held on to it firmly and answered, "Yes, I'm guilt-free. And we're just getting there."