Aunty-in-law 3

Linda closely scrutinized the file in front of her while occasionally glancing over to Jin Ae who didn't seem bothered, she was sipping on her coffee without a care at all, and even Linda's shock-stricken face did not faze her.

Linda cleared her throat and removed the memory stick, "No, no....this is too risky, this will cost you a lot, not just you but Jeremy will suffer, the same Jeremy we are trying to save.". Any normal person would be just as frightened. There was a reason why people who dealt with Jeremy's family always tread lightly, they were not to be messed with, and things took a turn for the worse when their company went bankrupt. They became monsters who would do anything and everything to regain the power they lost. They were living as people who had nothing to lose, God save whoever was against them. She was lucky to have been able to save Jackie from their grip, she sighed, "There has got to be another way." Those were her final words before closing her computer.

Jin Ae said nothing but elegantly stood up to lock the door and close the blinds, with a soft voice, she turned to Linda, "I am about to show you something and I need you to keep it to yourself...",

Linda instantly became antsy, the woman who appeared calm and collected was all of a sudden showing signs of uneasiness, "What do you mean? Keep-"

"Promise me Linda, Jeremy will never find out.", she yelled silently,

Linda sighed heavily in assurance, "Okay...okay. I promise.", she had an uneasy feeling about all of this, the reason for Jin Ae's sudden change in behavior, she kept her eyes glued to the woman in front of her and they began to widen as Jin Ae began to strip off her clothes. She suddenly took off her black long knee-length jacket exposing rope burns on her arms causing Linda to gasp in shock. As if that was not enough, she took off her brown top and turned around to show Linda her back which had marks of a whipping, Linda instantly sprung from her seat to where she was standing, tears and horror dancing in her eyes, "What are these bruises?? What happened to you? Who did this to you?", her voice sounded agitated. Soon enough, confusion and anger took over, Linda couldn't stomach violence, especially against women.

Jin Ae turned around to face her, "Remember the text I received while I was with you and Jeremy", she nodded, Jin Ae put back her top, "It was a death threat to Jeremy from his 'family', saying if I don't meet them, they would make him disappear."

She took Linda's trembling hand and led her back to the couch, "That family is evil. They don't know the meaning of family, and that naive John doesn't even know what he's getting himself into.", she sighed heavily, she always thought he was greedy, but she didn't expect him to join hands with the worst people in the universe.

Linda kept thinking about the bruises and the marks on Jin Ae's body, Everyone in the industry knew they were monsters, but, she did not expect them to be this evil even towards family, their own people. Although she was frightened by how far they would go to get their way, she didn't expect them to threaten Jeremy's life as if it were nothing.

She paid close attention to Jin Ae, she had to be strong if she wanted to take them down, and that began by not letting the marks and bruises distract her. 

With that in mind, she began to pay close attention to the story, "They locked me in a basement, trying to find out why I suddenly showed up. They warned me against changing Jeremy's mind about the mission. But you see Linda, I didn't get this far just by brain alone, no, I have insurance. I have something they don't want the world to know and it is not what you have there. That is nothing compared to what I have protecting me. That will just cause a rift within their family, shake them a little, and make them see that the enemy is not outside that curse they call a family. I mean, what are videos of infidelity going to do to that evil empire, brother and sister partaking in forbidden acts, it will graze them a little, and that's all we need, to give us enough time to prepare for a nuke, something that will take them down once and for all."

Linda was surprised by Jin Ae's strength, after all she knew and what she had been through somehow didn't scare her, she seemed even more eager to end them, but the idea of spreading some gossip news, didn't sit well with her. She finally let out a deep breath she wasn't even aware she had been holding, "I hear you aunt, but exposing such gossip is not really how I operate, and it will get you killed because you want this article printed and your name is on it, as a source. Not only that, the gallery will be affected by all of this, you forget that you are a well-known business partner to the Kings."

Jin Ae understood Linda's stand, but Jeremy was the only person who mattered, and quite frankly, she was ready to risk it all, including her life, to save him, she took both her hands, "I hear you, hence I need to make sure that Jeremy takes over sooner than later, and the name is needed to make the story more believable. Don't worry about me, I told you, that is not even enough to put a scratch on me, they know not to cross that line. Why do you think they let me off without major damage, just bruises."

Seeing that there was no getting through to her, Linda sighed, "If you wanted this to be printed out, why didn't you send it out to the tabloids yourself?"

Jin Ae chuckled, "Which news outlet do you know that is willing to cross them, those guys are ruthless, at this point they are a gang. They operate in fear, no wonder my nephew is afraid for his life. I can't allow him to be used like this, it's not like the company going down was his fault. Why is he being used to rectify something he never had a hand in?"

"How do you know about that?", Linda was flabbergasted, only close people knew that Jeremy was framed for the company's downfall, and to the rest of the world, he was truly guilty.

Jin Ae smirked, "It doesn't matter. But if it does to you, I found out the same way I know that you have a very talented computer hacker lady who can make sure that the story is released without anyone knowing and ensures that it stays on the internet long enough to capture the intended set of eyes. 

Although Linda appreciated and respected Jin Ae, she didn't appreciate the tone and the idea of bringing Jackie into things that could get her tangled up with the Tangs again, "Aunty, I don't respond well to threats." she said with a stern and cold tone,

"Fine, that was uncalled for and I didn't need to say it like that. How about I give you something you want more? Like, let's see... a clue about your parent's death?", she said casually

"How do you know about-, you know what, it doesn't matter but how can I be sure of your information?", Linda was starting to wonder just how much she knew, she seemed to have information on everything and everyone.

"Trust me...what I have will be the biggest puzzle piece, but I can only give it to you if you agree to help me. So...will you do it?"