Chapter 288 This Was Her Last Chance
As the accelerator roared, those who had yet to make it across the road dodged to either side, leaving a woman with a stroller standing in the middle of the road. Without thinking about it, Rachel sprinted forward and reached out to shove the woman and the stroller aside before turning to glance in fear at the oncoming car.
With a screech, the brakes echoed sharply through the air in between the buildings. Due to the friction with the road, the tires of the car were smoking and it left clear track marks on the ground. In the end, the car stopped in front of Rachel just in time.
By now, the surrounding people were frozen in fear and after a short moment of silence, whispers swept through the crowd like a wave.
Meanwhile, the woman who was shoved aside by Rachel had fallen on the ground, but thankfully, the stroller had been caught by someone who appeared to be the husband, and hadn’t tipped over.
After the husband helped his wife up and made sure that his wife and his child were both fine, he immediately ran up to Rachel. “Are you okay, miss?”
Though physically alright, Rachel was still in a state of shock over her latest near-death experience.
After ensuring that she was all right, the father pointed in the direction of the car and shouted, “What kind of a driver are you? Are you mad? Are you trying to kill someone?”
Meanwhile, Amber was still stopped in the middle of the road, and her perfectly still figure that was holding onto the steering wheel resembled a statue.
“Did the car malfunction?”
“Malfunction? No, the car left the flow of traffic on purpose.”
“Is the driver seeking revenge on society?”
In the middle of the whispers, Amber left the car.
“It’s a woman.”
At the sight of Amber, Rachel immediately calmed down. She clenched her fists and strode up to Amber under everyone’s watchful gaze.
Slap! She decked Amber across the face.
Even the man who was yelling was shocked into silence.
“Are you crazy?” Rachel snarled. “If you wanted to kill me, you should have come for me alone. There are so many pedestrians on the road. Did you want everyone to die along with you? What the f*ck is wrong with you? Tell me—what the f*ck is wrong with you?”
With her face turned to the side from being slapped, Amber suddenly fell to her knees with a thump in front of Rachel, bemoaning, “I’m so sorry, sister.”
Sister?
The crowd paused. What on earth was going on?
Was this a family fight?
At the same time, Rachel was also confused by the reference.
After all, Amber had looked down on her their entire lives. Rachel could count on one hand the number of times Amber had acknowledged their familial bond, not to mention that it was bad news whenever that happened.
Sure enough, in the next second, Amber burst into tears. “I know what happened in the past was my fault, but you’re my only family left in Riverdale now that Dad is dead. How am I going to go through life alone if you don’t care about me anymore?”
The change in attitude was so abrupt that Rachel was caught off-guard.
Never before had she seen Amber show weakness in front of her, let alone weep so tragically. If Rachel remembered correctly, Amber didn’t cry like that even on the day of Jefferey’s funeral.
“If you have anything to say, get up and say it properly.”
“No. If you won’t forgive me, I’ll stay here forever,” Amber choked out. “I know that everything that happened was my fault, but even if we’re tenuously related, I’m still your younger sister. Are you truly intending to leave me with no one to defend me from being humiliated and trampled upon all over Riverdale?”
“Who’s humiliating you?”
“The Hudson Family has fallen. I have nothing now. Who from the past wouldn’t want to trample all over me?”
“What does that have to do with me?” Rachel asked impatiently. “What are you up to, acting like this?”
“I need a job. I want to join Hudson Pharmaceuticals’ Research and Development Department.”
“Impossible,” Rachel refused concisely.
The Research and Development Department was a core department. Even the ordinary person would have to go through levels of interviews and selection to be hired, let alone someone as nefarious as Amber.
“Please!” Letting go of decorum, Amber threw her arms around Rachel’s leg and begged, “Please, you have such a large company. Can’t you give me a job? No matter what, Dad raised you for twenty years and we were siblings for so long. Do you want to see me die?”
Since there were many passersby on the road, several people had already raised their cell phones to begin recording the fiasco.
As the whispers fell on Rachel’s ears, she realized that the scene had already become sensationalized.
“Which rich family is making a laughingstock out of us common folk by playing out their grudges in front of us like that?”
“I can’t believe she’s saying she’s poor! That luxury car must cost several million at least.”
“What do you know? To spoiled young princesses like these, several million is no different from several hundred.”
And it went on and on.
The thing was, Rachel didn’t want to cause a scene. After all, she had just taken over Hudson Pharmaceuticals and if the videos surfaced on the Internet, she would have to clear things up with the public once again. That would be too troublesome.
“Get up, Amber. Don’t you find this disgraceful?”
“What do I have to fear now that I have nothing? I’ll stand up once you promise me a job.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“I’m begging you, sister!” Amber shouted shrilly as she tightened her grip around Rachel’s thigh. There was something dark in the former’s eyes that were hidden beneath her fringe, but only Rachel could sense that.
All of a sudden, she scoffed internally.
To think she had underestimated Amber in the past and assumed her little sister was naïve for being pampered. Now, it was turning out that Amber was much more flexible than Rachel anticipated and knew how to play up the drama to get what she wanted.
“Fine, I promise.” Rachel suddenly leaned down and, in front of everyone, laid a hand on Amber’s shoulder. “I don’t simply promise you a job, but I’ll take you on as the director of the Research and Development Department so that you can lead the development team.”
Startled, Amber paused. “Are you serious?”
“Of course. Weren’t you the one who said it? We’re sisters. We might not be wholly related, but we’re still related in some way. Family and all that.”
There was something deep in Rachel’s eyes that gave Amber a sense of unease. Suddenly, the latter shivered.
Nevertheless, this was her last chance. She had to succeed or die trying.
Very soon, the news of Amber joining Hudson Pharmaceuticals’ Research and Development Department spread around the organization.
Even Evan called to ask about it. “I know you and Amber have had your arguments, Rachel. I can understand your hiring her out of consideration for your sisterly relationship, but the R&D Department is a core department. If you feel embarrassed to reject her, I can speak to her on your behalf.”
“It’s okay. The Hudson Family has fallen. She has nowhere to go but here.”
“Have you thought about why she wants to enter R&D, though?”
“Of course, Mr. Holt.” Rachel dodged Evan’s question casually.
There was virtually no possibility that Amber caused such a large scene to enter the Research and Development Department simply because she loved the job. Rachel didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that Amber was up to no good.
However, she intended to beat Amber at her own game and see what the other woman was up to.
At the Burton Residence, Justin glanced at the old-fashioned wall clock above the fireplace. Although it was already 9 PM, Rachel had yet to return.
At this moment, Samuel was curled up on the couch, gaming happily. There was so much junk food next to him that he had practically been swallowed up by the junk food.
Since school was on break for these two days, he and Charlotte were home all day.
“Aren’t you worried about the fact that your mother is back so late these few days?” Justin asked.
Unimpressed, Samuel shot him a glance. “If you miss her, you can call her or go to find her. What’s the point in asking me this?”
