Villain: The Play of Destiny

"Keith..."

He frowned when he heard her anxious voice on the phone.

"Yes, Qingyue?" He gently asked.

There was a lingering silence on the call for a good few minutes, and he could hear her agitated breaths.

"Can we come over?" She finally asked. "Mom needs your help. She isn't feeling well today."

"Of course you can come over. Do you need me to come pick you guys up?"

"No, we will be there in half n hour."

"Okay." He nodded.

Keith placed the phone back on the table after the call ended. He inadvertently glanced at the clock that showed it was nearly noon, and his brows furrowed deeper.

He had a hunch that something had happened in the Lin family, and his heart was a little restless since he had never heard Qingyue sound so helpless.

After a quick shower and dressing up for the day, he asked Viola to prepare breakfast for him before heading to the kitchen.

He was lost in his thoughts when he came across the most loveable girl in the world rushing towards him. And just a look at her brought a smile on his face.

"Ehh!" Minami yelped when Keith picked her up in his arms and spun her around before placing her back on her feet.

<What's the rush?> He asked in the sign language, smirking at her shy eyes that were looking away from his handsome face.

<Your mother wants to see you.> She informed him and bowed to him politely in a greeting.

<Lead the way.> He nudged her nose and then followed after her to the fourth drawing room where Venessa was present along with Caesar, who was briefing her on something.

The two of them stopped talking when he entered the room, and his little Maid bowed to everyone, preparing to leave.

<Wait.> He stopped her. <Tell Viola to send my breakfast here.>

Minami nodded to him and then bowed again to everyone before leaving the room.

"Good morning, Mother!" He brightly smiled at her and walked over, leaning in to allow her to kiss him on his forehead.

"Good morning!" She lovingly combed his hair with her fingers before pulling him to sit by her side.

"Good Morning, Uncle Caesar!" He greeted the old man, who politely bowed to him before taking his seat again.

"What was his response?" Venessa asked Caesar to continue with his briefing.

"Lin Houtian is not taking things well. He is trying to get in touch with Zhao Feng to mediate things with him, but Mr Feng is not responding to him. The Lawyers of the Lin Group have already prepared for his bail, and as soon as an arrest warrant is issued, they will submit the bail which will be approved in no time at all..."

Keith quietly listened to Caesar's briefing and understood everything that was happening.

Venessa was finally playing her game now, and her first move was not an attempt to test the waters, but to ruthlessly smash the face of Lin Houtian.

"What's the take of Lin Group's Shareholders?"

"It is too soon for any response. But since Zhao Feng has resigned from the position of the General Manager, the Lin Group is bound to suffer a heavy hit. The shares of the Lin Group's companies are no longer rising and are expected to fall except for their major Pharmaceutical company. Nothing should happen to it unless the Government shows their stance on the matter."

The Pharmaceutical Company was the backbone of the Lin Group, and it was quite hard to do much to it since the Pharmaceutical Industry was protected by the government. However, the loss of fortune the Lin Family was going to suffer was bound to be astronomical even if nothing happened to their Pharmaceutical Company.

"And the response of the media?" He asked what mattered the most right now.

"Mistress has asked the Demiliore Media to not pay much attention to this matter, but other channels all over the country are already after Lin Houtian. Mr Feng did a press conference in the morning where he revealed everything to the public and then openly resigned from his position. He also gave the Media access to the footage of his wife indulging in a sexual activity with Lin Houtian. It's all over the news now, and within a day or two, the public will form an opinion against Lin Houtian."

"And the Police?"

"They are verifying the evidence, and the department has already issued a probe into the matter. Mr Feng's wife is already in their custody, and her son is going to go through a DNA test in an hour." Caesar informed him. "Lin Houtian tried to play a backhand, but everything will go against him and he can't save himself from a Trial. However, it is unlikely that he will serve a sentence."

Keith smiled when he heard those words. As long as Lin Houtian was dragged into the court on this matter, his image would crumble in the Business Society. The Lin Group might recover with time, but his loss of reputation would never be negated. And most importantly, he would be forced by the Law and Public to accept his bastard and give him his name, which would destroy his family.

A man who betrayed his best friend of forty years, slept around with his wife behind his back, and even sired a bastard. It was a gossip that people would remember for a long time.

Every mother was asked to put a name of the father of her child on the birth certificate, and it was a serious crime in Netheria to put the false name and especially when it was done to swindle their spouse.

The woman was going to prison. There was no escape for her. And even her beloved lover would not save her since he could not jeopardise his reputation even more by doing so.

Caesar took his leave when Minami returned with his breakfast. And Keith made the little girl sit with him and eat while he discussed some matters with his mother.

"Aunt Celine and Qingyue are coming over." He informed her.

Vennsa nodded to him, understanding his intentions.

"I will try to convince Celine to stay a few days with us. But she's stubborn, and chances are that she won't agree to it."

"Just ask and let her refuse. I already know that she would ask me to allow her to stay at the Robin's Nest." Keith smiled and said.

He did not ask her about her plans for Lin Houtian, nor did he give her any instructions or suggestions.

Keith understood his mother better than anyone else, and he knew that her methods were vicious and simply perfect.

The only real thing that they had to make sure stayed out of the mind of Lin Houtian and the other families of the city was the Demiliore's pulling the strings behind the scenes. And he had utmost trust in Venessa's capabilites and knew that she would not even give a chance to anyone to suspect their involvement in the downfall of Lin Houtian.

Venessa left him and his little maid alone after a few minutes since she had to attend to some business. And Keith patiently ate in silence, occasionally teasing Minami, which brightened up his mood even more.

<Thank you!> He planted a kiss on her head and said to her when he finished eating.

The little girl blushed at his action and immediately stood up to clear the table after he left the room. She was loving her new life. Every day was just too fun for her and everyone was always nice to her. It really made her happy whenever her Master asked for to do something for him, and she quite loved serving him since he was so caring towards her.

Whilst the little Maid happily did her job, Keith arrived outside the Manor to receive Qingyue and Celine.

He did not have to wait long before a silver Aston Martin Valhalla arrived at the front door.

The pair of mother and daughter were a little taken aback by the security in place, and the presence of the Government and Military vehicles intimidated them a little.

"Your grandmother is home?" Qingyue asked as soon as she approached him.

"Yue!" Celine admonished her daughter at not properly greeting Keith. "Thank you for allowing us to come over, Keith!" She sweetly said and stepped forward to hug him.

"You are always welcome here, Aunty." He said and then carefully looked at her. "I just learned about what's happening." He informed her and then gently smiled at her. "Stay strong, and do not allow yourself to get hurt. Your silly daughter needs you."

"I know." She sighed and palely smiled at him. "But some things are not under our control, little Keith."

He did not say anything in return and then nodded towards Qingyue.

"Yes, Grandma is home. I will introduce you to her later." He said and then invited them inside the Manor.

Keith led them straight to the dining room where he had already instructed the kitchen to prepare something light for the guests. And then the three of them sat at the table silently.

"The soup will make you feel better." He told Celine as the maid served it to her.

"How are your wedding arrangements going?"

"Mom's taking care of everything." He informed her. "And Amelia's family arrived the day before yesterday. She's now staying over at the guest Mansion with them..."

He chatted to her about miscellaneous things, most revolving around his daily life. And then he finally turned to look at Qingyue, whose eyes were vacant.

"Hey!" He smiled and called out to her.

She was a little startled by his call and then apologetically smiled at him for spacing out.

"Sorry."

"If you do not plan on going back home tonight, I can perhaps do something to cheer you up." He teasingly said to her, which made her narrow her eyes, but her mother burst out in giggles.

"And how would you do that, little Keith?" Celine interestedly asked.

"How about we start on her Aura Training?" He suggested.

"You said we would wait a few months for it." Qingyue frowned and asked, but her voice sounded a lot brighter than earlier.

"Does that mean you don't want to start on your training now?" He raised his brow and asked.

"No, no!" She frantically said. "I am up for it!"

"Good!" He chuckeld. "Finish up your meal since you will be expending a lot of energy tonight." He mischievously said, which made Celine nearly choke on her soup.

"Can you stop passing such misleading comments?" Qingyue sternly said.

"Oh... I am not sure what you mean by that, Miss Lin?" He feigned ignorance. "How exactly were my words misleading?"

"Don't call me Miss Lin!" She nearly shouted at him, displeased at being called a Lin, which reminded her again of what kind of a man her father was. However, she soon realized that she had misbehaved. "I am sorry, Keith. It's just a bad day."

"Apology accepted." He brightly smiled at her. "But I am serious. You must eat properly as you will need your energy for the night." He mischievously spoke and winked at her.

"Hmph!" She refused to argue with him and turned her attention back to her meal.

Qingyue had to admit that the gloom waned a lot after talking with Keith, and she was a little excited now, ardently looking forward to their lesson.

Celine was relieved when she found her daughter no longer spacing out and drowning into her rising dislike for her father. Even though everything Houtian did hurt her a lot, but watching her child suffering due to his actions hurt her even more. And she was glad that she suggested coming here. Keith did manage to distract Qingyue from the gloomy mood.