Suddenly, I Am Rich

”I promise,” she said quietly. ”We’ll keep it safe.”

Mara slowly reached out and took the envelope from Anne. Her hands were careful, as if it were something fragile. With her assurance, Anne slowly nodded. She gave Mara a small smile.

”Thank you,” she whispered.

They did not talk much after that because there was nothing else to say. Anne stayed for more, but it was just long enough to finish her drink. After that, she stood up, bid goodbye to Mara, and left the cafe.

While she was leaving, Mara watched her go. When the door closed, she moved her attention to the envelope that was in her hand. Gray quickly stood up after finishing his drink.

”Are you ready to leave?” he asked quietly.

Mara nodded. ”Yeah.”

Gray let out a slow breath. ”Good. Let’s go.”

They left the cafe soon after, not talking much until they were already outside. They went back to the office and went through everything Anne had given them.

The photos were worse than they expected.

Some of the pictures showed children with bruises on their arms and legs. Some eve had marks on their backs. There were faces of staff members, too.

Mara’s chest became heavy at that.

”This... t-this is so horrifying,” she muttered.

Gray’s jaw tightened at that. His eyes became dark. ”Yeah. It is.”

Over the next few weeks, looking for more evidence became their life.

Mara spent most of her days talking to people. She followed one name to another, then another. Just like how she found Anne, she reached out through friends of friends, and people who used to volunteer or work for the foundation.

It wasn’t always good. Some choose to stay silent and ignore her. But there were still some who chose to help.

Every time, they met in cafes and in parks. Anything that doesn’t look suspicious and that was also done with other people.

Because of it, over time, more stories came out. There was a former nurse who said she had personally diagnosed kids who were beaten up. There were other volunteers who have personally verified that staff are really beating up kids and even locking inside a storage room.

With their permission, Mara recorded everything.

Gray was also there all the time. He made sure that every meeting was safe. He always stayed nearby. He never ever let Mara go alone.

At the same time, Gray kept up his public face.

He still went to events hosted by the foundation. Just like what he said to them, he really did donate for the 2nd time. The 3rd one was still in progress. He told them he would still see it.

That was why even now, he still had a good relationship with Alistair. They even had dinner together a few times.

”You’ve been very supportive lately, Gray.” Alistair said one night while having dinner, ”You know, people like you are rare.”

”It’s because I really believe in the cause you’re doing.” Gray smiled.

Alistair laughed at that. ”Hahaha! You really got me there.”

Gray nodded and laughed with him. But inside, he was really sick of it.

Gray listened carefully whenever Alistair talked. He let him ramble and brag in front of him. He knew that being close to the man would help them.

And one night, Alistair revealed something to him.

”I’m running on election again,” Alistair said casually, like it was no big deal.

Gray paused. ”Really?” he raised his brow, now looking curiously at him.

”Yes,” Alistair leaned back in his chair and smiled. ”The campaign starts next week. It will be two months.”

”That’s great,” Gray replied and smiled. You must be getting busy now then?”

”You can’t imagine,” Alistair chuckled. ”It will be very stressful once the campaign starts.”

”Oh well, I could only imagine.”

Alistair lifted his glass and looked at Gray with a wide smile.

”Since you’re already this involved, I hope I can count on your support this time too,” he said. ”The campaign will need people like you. I would need donors and public figures. Someone that the voters trust.”

Gray did not hesitate. He raised his own glass and smiled.

”Of course,” he replied easily. ”You got it.”

Alistair’s smile widened even more. ”Hahaha. I knew I could rely on you. You’re really the best, Gray.” He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice.

”Don’t worry. Once I win, I won’t forget you. People who help me always get rewarded.”

”You better make sure of it Mayor,” Gray let out a small laugh.

”Of course, of course,” Alistair said, laughing as well. ”I always pay my debts.”

They clinked their glasses together and laughed.

From the outside, it looked like a simple moment between two men sharing a drink. But inside, Gray was already burning with anger.

Every word that came out of Alistair’s mouth sounded dirty. The thought of that man standing in front of cameras, talking about helping children, made Gray’s hands curl into fists under the table.

’You have no idea,’ Gray thought. ’You really have no idea what is coming.’

He forced himself to stay calm. He just kept on talking with Alistair. He made sure he played his role perfectly.

When the dinner finally ended, and they stood up to leave, Alistair patted Gray on the shoulder.

”I’m glad you’re on my side,” he said.

”Of course, Mayor.” Gray smiled.

”Hahaha, I’ll see you next time then.”

”Sure, Mayor.” After that, they parted ways like old friends.

The moment Gray was alone, the smile on his face faded. His eyes also turned cold.

’Two months,’ he thought.

They had two months left to gather everything. He will make sure that Alistair has no way out.

After boarding the car and telling Daniel to drive off, Gray took out his phone and called Mara.

”Hey,” Mara answered immediately.

”Mara,” Gray said, ”I just had dinner with Alistair.”

”What happened?” she asked.

”He told me he’s running again,” Gray replied. ”The campaign starts next week. It will last two months.”

”Two months...” Mara paused.

”That’s our time limit,” Gray said. ”We need to gather everything we can in those two months.”

”You mean all the evidence?” Mara asked.

”Yes.” Gray said. ”We will release it the day before the election.”