CEO's Runaway Mate and Her Cubs

Luther knew it wouldn't be so easy. Nate, on the other side, was more optimistic.

He used to be a careful CEO, but since he reunited with Lara, the world had turned into a rosy place full of flowers and hearts everywhere. In that world, everything was perfect.

Even his revenge plan could work flawlessly, couldn't it?

The plan itself worked. Too well, in fact.

In less time than they thought, Clayton Enterprises was on its knees. At least, the cloth fabric part. However, they were just hoping the rest would follow suit as the Clayton couple lost their position in high society.

He had heard from Lara that her friends' husbands weren't asking for the Claytons' services anymore after she had told them the truth about her mother. It made it a little easier for Nate.

However, what he couldn't predict, was that Gracelyn had no intention of staying put and waiting for that storm to destroy her life. She had earned it with her hard work: how could she just let go of everything?

When it became clear that her husband simply had no power to oppose Nate, she decided to drag everyone down with her. She wouldn't be the only one falling, would she?

She had no power to hurt the LY Corp economically, but there must be something that she could do to reduce Nate's power!

He was hurting them, how could the rest of the world sit and watch?

Since Gracelyn's only hope was to appeal to justice, she chose the only path visible in front of her: publicity. Letting everyone know what was happening would have turned everyone's attention towards them. In that case, Nate would have stopped doing what he was doing. Lara couldn't stand the shame and glares of being considered a cruel woman. She knew her daughter well.

She loved being praised and liked by everyone; she used to when she was a kid.

What had happened to the little girl always in search of her parents' approval? Sometimes, Gracelyn missed her.

However, she couldn't be sentimental - not if she wanted to avoid bankruptcy.

As such, Grace Clayton contacted a reporter she knew and arranged an interview. To avoid Nate hijacking the event, she didn't tell anyone and required it to be a live interview. It would have been late to stop when anyone got news of it.

The reporter accepted because he knew Grace would wreak havoc, and what better than chaos could attract viewers?

The evening of the interview, just as planned, the TV channel aired an ad for the interview; it was scheduled for nine in the evening, the most viewed hour. As soon as it happened, someone warned Nate, but it was too late.

Since everyone could expect him to have an informer on the TV channel, everyone had kept secret the interview. The only one knowing was the director of the channel, other than those directly involved. Not even the makeup artist had a clue.

Since the first part of their plan worked, Gracelyn and her reporter friend proceeded with the second part: the interview itself.

The questions had been agreed on in advance, to avoid incidents. So, proud and mighty, Gracelyn sat in the armchair as if she had every right to be there.

She had a woman in front of her, not her reporter friend. No biggy: the questions weren't much of a challenge.

«Hello everyone, here we are!» the woman said. She looked nervous and quite uncomfortable.

What kind of incompetent had they put in that seat? Gracelyn was visibly unhappy, but not worried. If that woman was in that condition just because of an 'unplanned' interview, how could she sit in that seat at that very hour?

After a brief signal from the cameraman, however, the woman calmed down and focused.

«Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our early evening program! I'm Katy Dixon, and you're watching Nine O'Clock on Nora television! Tonight, we have a tight schedule! First of all, we will hear from Gracelyn Clayton about something you might want to know about a figure we all know and respect!

Later, there will be our comedy show and, when the kids are in bed, we can talk freely about the newest love story on the entertainment scene: who is Abby Brown's new affair?»

That said, Katy took a deep breath. Saying that she didn't like being there was an understatement. She knew Gracelyn was going to talk about Lara Clayton. After obtaining the sponsorship of the LY Corp shortly after she met Lara, she felt in debt - even though Lara said she had no part in Nate's decisions.

Everyone knew that Gracelyn Clayton had thrown her daughter out of home years ago, so Kate expected to hear something she didn't want to know about Lara. Who cared if she ended up being a bad person? Everyone was, come on!

And if Nate Woods liked her, if they dated and met often, he knew it well enough. There was no need for the whole world to hear.

«Welcome, Gracelyn. First things first,» Katy said. What she hated the most was that the questions were already written. Oh, no one trusted a model with an interview, so most of her meetings were exactly like that. But that one hurt. «How are you?»

«Not well, dear Katy,» Grace said, shaking her head. «Not well at all.»

«Oh, it's a pity. What's wrong?»

«You must already know that my husband and I have a company. Well, two, in fact. We have a construction company that's pretty new and a cloth industry that's been on the market for decades. My husband helped with the founding, and we've seen it develop and grow over the years. It's our family business, in every sense.»

«Oh, that's right. What happened to your company, then?»

«You must know, dear Katy, that things are going badly. We're falling into a pit. We're having losses after losses.»

«I'm sorry to hear that, Grace,» Katy said. «But companies have that kind of period, sometimes. You can't have gains all the time, can you?»

She even smiled as her first deviation from the lines she was assigned happened. She couldn't just sit there and listen to how Lara Clayton's name was covered in mud.

Grace didn't seem to notice anything amiss. On the contrary, she took the chance to make a long, suspenseful pause.

When she talked again, everyone's ears were wide open and everyone's eyes fixed on the TV.

«I wouldn't be here if it was so simple,» Grace said. «I chose to have this interview to denounce injustice and cruelty.»

«Cruelty?» Katy repeated. That woman dared talk about cruelty?

«Oh, yes. My company is in this situation because it has been targeted. I have proof of what I claim. Nate Woods is using his company and money to send my husband and I to bankruptcy.»