Taming A Billionaire

The third point of view :

He let his guard down and his kids had to pay the price for it. But then, it was his past that has come to haunt him. Niklaus had that thought in his head as he stared at the huge screen where the call from Deborah was connected to. 

"Hello Niklaus, or should I say, father?" Deborah chuckled hysterically as if she had finally lost her mind. 

Finally, she got the attention of the man she had struggled to meet over the years. Now she was staring at him, he doesn't seem so high and mighty like he does on television. 

"I should have known... " Niklaus said, his tone filled with regret, "Your eyes were tell-tale signs of my gene," 

"Of course, you should have, but you didn't!" Deborah burst into another round of laughter that didn't seem funny to the others watching the screen. 

"We trusted you!" growled Reina who regained consciousness moments ago. She rushed at the screen and hoped that she would be able to reach Deborah somehow and squeeze the life out of her.

"Oh Reina," Deborah waved at her, "Quite a pity that you married Niklaus..." She clicked her tongue in disapproval. 

"However," Deborah went on, "My fight is with your husband, Niklaus, and his daughter, Isabella - you're just unlucky to be his wife. So thanks to that, I'll spare your own kids," She added, "As far as they behave,"

"And what happens if they don't behave?" Reina already sensed where this conversation was going. 

"Then I'll treat them the same way I'm about to treat Isabella. A thorn to my cause must be eliminated. I'm not crazy enough to go after innocent blood," Deborah claimed. 

"You're not crazy enough to go after innocent blood?" Reina scoffed, "What did Isabella do so wrong to deserve this ill-treatment from you?!" 

"What did she do wrong?!" Deborah looked as if Reina just asked a ridiculous question. 

She went ahead to say, "She is the reason why my life is shit! She's the reason why I had to get married to an Oldman?! She's the reason for everything!" 

"Men," said a bored voice that was undeniably Isabella's from behind, and the camera moved to capture her.

Isabella lifted her head arrogantly, "You sure know how to lay blame. How am I responsible for every decision you made in your life?" She smirked, "I don't remember holding a gun to your head and forced you to marry that old man. It was your choice. Also, you should really mind the way you speak to me, I'm definitely older than you," Isabella warned her.

Everyone was left dumbfounded by Isabella's attitude. She was at the mercy of Deborah and she still cared about respect? Who does that? 

Thankfully Deborah didn't take offense by that comment and simply walked over to where Isabella sat. She placed her hands on the armrest of the chair and sneered, "You're not responsible for the bad luck in my life?" She sneered with thick disdain, "Niklaus would have known about my existence if you hadn't taken that letter away," 

"What are you talking about?" Isabella was confused this time. 

"The day I handed my letter to your father's secretary, you came along. I knew you saw that letter and I was actually worried you'd read it but I had to hope that luck was on my side. And then I waited while hoping that Niklaus would call after he reads it. That he'd want to know about the illegitimate daughter he had, but nothing…!" Deborah said while laughing, but one could see the pain in her eyes. 

"He never came nor called nor looked for me. The only thing I received days later was my sack letter and that was when I knew you either got rid of the letter or he doesn't want me and was trying his best to get rid of me so I do not ruin the perfect life he was trying to build with Reina and his new children, "

Deborah turned to Allen and Ailee and then back to the screen, directly to Reina saying," It seems you all have to pay, everyone in one way or the other contributed to my misery, "

"Listen here, Deborah," Isabella drew her attention back to her, "I'm not trying to sound like a pussy or something, but trust me when I say I have no idea about that letter you're talking about. I might be rebellious but I respect Niklaus' privacy. Moreover, I have better things to do than to read the letter of a cleaner," she hinted that she finally remembered that day. 

"Then what are you trying to say? That your father was the one with the secret?" Deborah found it hard to believe her. 

"I don't know. You're the one on the call with him, you should ask him," Isabella said and Deborah turned to her screen. 

"Dear daddy dearest, it seems all evidence falls on you…." She directly faced the camera, "So tell me, since when did you know I'm your daughter?" She was eager to hear his confession. 

"I didn't know about your existence until today," Niklaus said, his look hardened, "If you're looking for someone to lay your blames, then it isn't me nor Isabella. She doesn't lie," 

Deborah chuckled, "So in one word, you're telling me that I'm on a goose chase and that none of you is responsible for the damnation of my fate? Is that it?" 

Yet, there was no response from any of them. The silence was so deafening that even a pin dropped would resonate loudly across the room. Unfortunately, Deborah saw that gesture as an insult - they didn't take her seriously. 

"Fine, let's see who's lying then. Perhaps, this gesture would jolt your memory a little," Deborah said with a sinister smile that sent chills down the spine of those watching. 

Before anyone could stop her, Deborah went over to Isabella's side and yanked her hair back and tight drawing a sharp hiss of pain from her lips. 

Her hands then landed on Isabella's cheeks as she began to slap her, not once, nor twice nor thrice. Deborah just continued to slap Isabella repeatedly as if she had finally lost her mind until Niklaus finally shouted, 

"Stop it! I remember!"