Is this destiny?

Stacey waited for Timothy to come back from the study for what seemed forever. Lindsay and Scarlet were on the sofa, playing some online game on their phones.

Timothy came back from the study with a blank expression. He got himself another full glass of whiskey and plopped on a one-seater sofa chair. He didn\'t care that some of his drink got spilled on a fine tan fabric of the armrest. He watched as the material absorbed every drop.

Stacey sat across from Timothy and stared at him, waiting for him to speak. Anxiousness in her was rising, and she was afraid to ask what he found out. His expression was not good.

After some time, he sighed. "Company is gone." This was his biggest pain. He lost his company, position that carried prestige. And he was humiliated. That was the worst part.

"We can get it back, right?" Stacey blurted out. She was not sure if she tried to comfort her husband or to see if getting the company back is possible.

"They are shutting it down. It\'s gone."

Stacey didn\'t understand. Why would anyone get a company just to shut it down right away? "Who is shutting it down?"

"Jeffrey White."

Stacey thought that she is going to faint. "What?!!"

"White… Jeffrey White!" Timothy screamed. At this point Lindsay and Scarlet lifted their heads from their phones and watched their father who was getting out of control. "He showed up in a meeting and announced that everyone is fired, and he is closing the company! What did you do?!!"

"Me? Why me?" Stacey didn\'t understand how the company problem is related to her.

"Because this was personal!" He screamed and huffed few times before grabbing the glass with whiskey and downing it. He was staring at his wife and trembled from anger. "Money is also gone! All of it is gone! I don\'t know how… but I know that Jeffrey White is responsible for taking the money from our offshore account as well!"

Stacey still didn\'t understand. "Even if that is true, how can you make it sound like it\'s my fault?"

"Because you don\'t know when to stop! Always meddling with Whites." He glared at Lindsay and Scarlet. "You pushed these two useless creatures to meet with Whites, to charm them, to get into the White family. For what??! For this dumbass to try and kill Jeffrey\'s fiancée?" He pointed at Lindsay. "If you taught them how to put makeup on and pout their lips, why didn\'t you teach them not to poke a tiger!"

"Oh! Now it\'s my fault?!" Stacey sneered.

While two of them spat insults at each other, Lindsay was listening in shock wondering if what she is hearing is correct. Did they really lose company, and money? And it was all doing of Jeffrey White? And why are they dragging her into this??? She suffered a lot two evenings ago… First, she embarrassed herself on the stage, then Jeffrey intimidated her with his threats. She still remembers that he said how he will rearrange her face! And then Elanor and Oscar! They knew so many things about them which no one should know! And they said that if they see them anywhere close to their family that everything will be exposed! That was the most horrible day in her life… ever.

Next to Lindsay, on the sofa, Scarlet was disconnected. She browsed on her phone for her favorite pastime: celebrity gossip. Suddenly, she froze while staring at her phone. Her eyes darted to her father and back to the phone few times before she tugged Lindsay\'s arm to get her attention.

It took some time for Lindsay to stop swatting Scarlet\'s hand away and to turn to see what she wants. But only because Scarlet was very persistent. When her gaze fell on Scarlet\'s phone, Lindsay opened her mouth in disbelief. When Lindsay recovered, she stood up so fast, that it looked like she is launching herself to the second floor.

That startled her mother. "Why are you acting like this??!" Already agitated Stacey screamed at Lindsay.

Lindsay didn\'t seem to be bothered by her mother\'s behavior. She stared at her father. "Is it true?"

Timothy\'s face was twisted from anger. "What?!! Which part you didn\'t get?!! Money? Gone! Company? Gone! And that means NO MORE MONEY!!!"

Stacey saw that everyone is getting out of hand and tried to calm everyone down. "OK. OK… Screaming is not doing us any good. To anyone. Let\'s all take few deep breaths and think of a way out of this."

Timothy slumped back into the chair. Stacey took that as an agreement. "We still have the house, cars, we are not completely out of money. As long as we stick together, we can recover. We can get back what belongs to us. Right?"

Timothy nodded. He was defeated, furious, but what is the point of those feelings? At least he can agree with his wife and hope that in time he will see the way out of this predicament.

"Is it true?!!" Lindsay repeated her question with more force this time. She was still standing and glaring at her father.

Timothy looked at her, not understanding why she is asking that again. "Are you stupid? I already said that it\'s all gone. How many times I need to repeat?"

"Stupid? How dare you call me that?!"

"What is going on, honey?" Stacey tried to calm down Lindsay.

Lindsay glared at her mother. "What is going on? You don\'t know?" She started laughing manically. "Of course, you don\'t know... While you are busy trying to get us into bed with Whites, father is in bed with Sabrina Welsh!"

Stacey stared at Lindsay for some time before vigorously shaking her head. "No, no… it can\'t be true…" She didn\'t dare look at her husband, concerned that he will confirm Lindsay\'s words.

"How can it not be true? Look at the magazines! Full of explicit content: Timothy Cox, exposed! Everyone knows!!!" Lindsay snatched Scarlet\'s phone and stuffed it in her mother\'s hands.

Stacey reluctantly looked at the phone, as she scrolled through the photos, her knees got weak and she fell back into the chair.

There was one excruciating minute of silence before Stacey lifted her gaze and looked at Timothy. She could see in his expression fear. She was hoping to see some sign of remorse, but there was none. Only fear. Stacey inhaled. "Pack your things and get out."

Timothy\'s expression changed into panic. "What are you saying?"

Stacey didn\'t respond. Her eyes were resolute. She thought that they can do this together. They lost a lot, but they didn\'t hit the bottom. They can recuperate. But after seeing these photos. It\'s over. "I said: get out!" Her legs were shaky, but she stood up. Anger in her swelled and she got fueled by adrenalin. "Out! Get out! I don\'t want to see you again! You want to talk to me? Talk to my lawyer!!!"

Timothy never saw Stacey this enraged. They fought. But never like this. He understood that there is some undeniable evidence of his affair. Probably photos. Timothy was not sure how to pacify his wife. This can\'t end like this. His brain already came up with number of scenarios. Divorce: even with a regular one wife gets half. And now, that there is evidence that he cheated, she will get much more than that. If he leaves, he will lose EVERYTHING! He needs to pacify her… at any cost! He walked slowly toward Stacey with his arms spread, as if he is expecting her to come to his embrace. "Honey… my apple pie… sugar plum… listen…"

Stacey\'s eyes were turning red from anger. "How dare you!?? Get out!"

Timothy looked at her, and he thought that she will jump on him and tear his face with her nails. Or something like that. His assumption was almost correct, he got the hurting part at least. The decorative porcelain figurine missed his head by one inch. One second later, heavy photo frame of him with his wife during their vacation in Bahamas, hit him in the knee. He dodged various items while stepping backward, and Stacey got close to a wall filled with African masks they purchased last year on their safari trip. Most of them missed him, but he got one in the stomach, two in the legs, and one in the head. He saw that she is not calming down, and his instinct told him to leave.

\'I will come back later, when she calms down.\' He took a last glance toward the villa as he drove away.

…

Stacey grabbed a bottle from the wet bar. She didn\'t care what it was, as long as it had high percentage of alcohol. She removed the cap and put the bottle to her lips. After few large gulps she started coughing violently. When she calmed down her cough, she took another swing from the bottle and looked at her daughters.

"Mom?" Scarlet\'s voice was just a bit more than a whisper. "What are we going to do now?"

"What do you think?" Stacey squeezed through her teeth while walking toward the sofa chair and taking a seat clumsily. It seems that alcohol already started taking the effect.

Scarlet shrugged, and Lindsay\'s eyes darted from Scarlet to her mother and back. She was still processing what happened. All of them did. It was such a shock. From a prominent family, in a blink of an eye they lost their business, money and they found out that Timothy is a cheater.

After long silence Stacey spoke. "Our income is gone. You know what to do, right?"

Lindsay\'s eyes opened wide in horror. "You don\'t mean that we… get a… job?"

Stacey glared at Lindsay. "Both of you are in your twenties, with degrees… what is wrong with getting a job?"

Scarlet thought that she is going to faint.. Her whole life she is preparing to marry into the White family, and to be The Madam. \'What is this nonsense about getting a job?\'