Chapter 26 Someone Set Her Up


    In the box under the feeble light, the smell of the alcohol mixed with the smoke, making the room seem


    even more suffocating. Suddenly, the curtains were torn open, and a beam of sharp light pierced the


    shadows.


    "So, you''re telling me that you failed?"


    The light fell on Ivy''s mouth, curled into a smirk. She snapped her head around, fixing her gaze on the


    man behind.


    Joel stood fixed to the spot, a trace of panic frozen on his young face. He seemed wary of Ivy, reacting


    sharply to every move that she made. Last night''s n had started out perfect. He thought he had


    made it foolproof. And then Rufus had appeared...


    "I...I''m sorry, sis. It was my fault...I should have been more careful." He hung his head, unable to meet


    her eyes. "I didn''t know that Rufus would be there...That man is something else. He somehow


    smoothed everything out...I don''t really know what happened,"


    Joel mumbled his exnation, grasping for reasons as to why he had failed. He couldn''t raise his head.


    Joel knew that he owed everything to his older half-sister. She had provided him with everything he


    needed all these years. She was the one who had arranged his cement in the Tang Group, after he


    had graduated. He had never actually intended to get involved in her schemes, but at some point he


    had found himself unable to stop. The more he saw of Cassandra, the more he craved for this woman.


    He couldn''t seem to keep his eyes from roaming greedily over her, and he thought thatst night might


    be his chance to finally have her. That was...until Rufus showed up.


    "Who do you think you are to call me sis! You careless moron! How could you even mess up such a


    simple task! You really disappointed me this time...and now thepany is suspicious. Luckily, no one


    knows we are rted. We want to keep it that way. If anyone finds out I''m behind this, then we will both


    be screwed!"


    Joel jumped as a wine bottle exploded on the wall beside his head. He whipped his head to see Ivy


    seething at him silently, her temper as unpredictable as ever.


    She had beenying the groundwork of this n for so long. She had waited for the optimal time where


    she could deploy Cassandra''s assistant to seduce the Tang family''s daughter-inw into adultery.


    Cassandra would lose not only her face, but everything that she had ever held dear.


    "I am sending you abroad, toy low for a while. Don''te back until I give the word, understood?"


    Joel nodded silently. The look in Ivy''s eyes made it clear that there would be consequences if he failed


    at this. His inability to control himself around Cassandra had nearly cost them both everything. Now


    she could no longer use him within the Tang Group. She had lost a valuable tool. She had toe up


    with a new n.


    ''Rufus...''


    Ivy slowly sat herself down on the sofa, rolling the man''s name across her mind. She frowned, crossing


    one long leg over the other. She reached for the crystal goblet of wine on the table beside her, unable


    to get the name out of her mind. Her glossy red nails clicked on the wooden armchair.


    ''What was this man like?'' Anyone that she knew so little about immediately roused her curiosity. ''Why


    was he still at Tang Group at thatte hour? Besides, why brought him to that woman''s office


    interrupting our n?'' From what she had seen, and what Lionel had told her, anytime when


    Cassandra had a problem, Rufus just happened to be around to save her.


    Ivy wondered about the rtionship between Rufus and Cassandra, ''Why would hee to her rescue


    if they had only known each other for a short period of time?'' There must be something between them


    that she didn''t know about.


    Ivy pondered, and her eyes fixed on a spot far away. After a moment, her hand tightened on the goblet,


    nails scraping against the crystal. She narrowed her eyes and threw the wine down her throat all in one


    go.


    At the Tang Group


    Lionel strode angrily into a room. "Rufus and Cassandra, neither of them came to work today?"


    He looked around usingly for an answer. He wanted the details about the case that Cassandra had


    been working on, in going to her office he found it empty.


    Lionel hadn''t gone home the previous night, but had assumed that she was there the whole time. The


    discovery that she had gone somewhere without his permisson enraged him.


    "Yes. I heard that Manager Qin worked overtimest night and fainted in her office due to exhaustion.


    She was found by a patrolling security guard, who then called Mr. Luo. It was the president who took


    her to the hospital in time,"


    The assistant was puzzled. He did not understand why would Lionel be so angry at such a small


    mishap - when employees got sick, they would need a day or two off.


    Hearing this exnation, Lionel''s hands balled into fists. Rufus, again! It could not be a coincidence


    that wherever Lionel searched for Cassandra, Rufus was there! Was it really a coincidence?


    Rufus and Cassandra had returned to G City around the same time. They had entered the Tang Group


    the same time. And...most suspiciously...he knew that they had both spent several years in Rome.


    And suddenly they were so close...and inseparable. Where the one went, the other followed. A thought


    ured to Lionel that made his expression grow dark. Could it be that Rufus and Cassandra had


    known each other before arriving here? Had they known each other in Rome?


    "Find out which hospital Cassandra is in,"


    The change in Lionel''s tone made the assistant uneasy. The man speaking before him was cold and


    controlled, opposite to the furious man from before, as if the person who was so furious just now was


    not him. Lionel raised his head and looked into the distance, still absorbed in his thoughts. Something


    unreadable shed through his eyes.


    Why Rufus? Even though Lionel wanted nothing to do with his wife, he would do anything to ensure


    that Rufus could nevery his eyes on her.


    The room was soaked with the smell of disinfectant. Her fever already abating, Cassandra had started


    to sort through her things. She wanted to leave the ce as soon as possible.


    The fuss around her was frustrating. She had been dealing with these small bouts of sickness her


    entire time living alone abroad. If Rufus hadn''t been taking her to the hospital, she would have simply


    gone home to sleep it off -- she didn''t need to be taken care of.


    Rufus had left the hospital a few minutes ago, answering a phone call that had made his face fall.


    Cassandra was alone in the room. She thought about the events ofst night. ''It must have been


    Lionel, '' she thought. She had told Rufus about her suspicions, but to her surprise he said nothing.


    Cassandra packed her things roughly, mming the briefcase once she was done. How could he have


    done something so vile? Even knowing how Lionel hated her, she couldn''t believe that he was capable


    of this. After all, she was still his wife. They were still a couple -- or at least people thought they were. If


    his n had seeded, and word of her having an affair had gotten out, wouldn''t it shame him too?


    Cassandra just couldn''t understand it. Would Lionel really shame himself and his family, just to


    humiliate her? What kind of monster was he?


    "You work for one day and drop down as if dead...Are you really that fragile? You''re useless, nothing


    but a piece of crap."


    Cassandra froze at the voice that pierced the room. She whirled around to face him, determined not to


    be intimidated.


    ''Speak of the devil, '' Cassandra cursed Lionel in her heart. He was thest person she would expect in


    her hospital room.


    As she stared at him, it ured to her that he hadn''t even bothered to knock, simply storming into her


    room. Her eyebrows creased. ''How dare he.'' She watched as his eyes roamed around the hospital


    room, as if searching for something.


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    Cassandra fumed. She wanted nothing more at the moment than to stride across the room and p


    him, but she decided this would be unwise. She steeled herself to talk to him.


    "What are you looking for, Mr. Tang?"


    ''She''s alone in here? How can it be?'' Lionel couldn''t help but furrow his eyebrows in confusion. ''Why


    wasn''t Rufus here?''


    "I wonder if my wife is so desperate that she will cheat on me and hide another man in her room?"


    Lionel took one step closer to Cassandra, and then another. He wore his usual cruel smirk, eyes fixed


    on the woman standing in front of him. His voice was low and teasing. The trace of danger in it showed


    that he wasn''t joking.


    "Lionel. I thought we had agreed that we would live our separate lives and not bother one another. Isn''t


    that what you want? That I don''t bother you?"


    If Lionel wanted to have it out, she was fine with it. She was not his property and she would not let him


    treat her so viciously.


    "Ha ha. You''re a naive little girl, aren''t you? Oh, wait a minute. How foolish of me! How can you be


    naive? You are clearly a calcting and cunning woman."


    The disdain was clear in Lionel''s eyes. He came to stand in front of her, breathing down on her and


    smirking still.


    All the fear that Cassandra had felt about Lionel was seared away by the rising anger within her. ''How


    dare he mistreat me! How dare he set me up! How dare hee to me and try to intimidate me!'' Her


    hands tightened into fists, and she dug her nails into her palms to try and keep control.


    "I am your husband. I will do whatever I want, I will sleep with whoever I want to sleep with - there is


    nothing you can do to stop me! But you...all you will ever be is just Mrs. Tang. Unloved, lonely. No other


    man will ever touch you. I have told you this from the start: You will get nothing but an empty marriage!"


    Cassandra''s stubborn silence only served to infuriate Lionel more. He seemed to have forgotten why


    he hade here in the first ce - he wanted nothing more than to see her flinch.


    "I know that. Now, if you have nothing else to say, please leave."


    Cassandra drew a deep breath. Now was not the time for things to get nasty. And yet, she could not


    keep the disgust from her face. She turned her head away.


    "You''d better keep your distance from Rufus. If you don''t, you''ll find out the consequences for meddling


    in the Tang family the hard way. Or if I find out there is anything between you two, be sure, Cassandra,


    that I will make you suffer!"


    Cassandra could no longer stand the menace that Lionel injected into his words. The sound of her p


    rang throughout the room all of a sudden.


    She, Cassandra Qin, had pped Lionel Tang in the face!