That afternoon, after the incident on the fifth floor, Wulan decided to try her luck another way. She heard from Lina that Bella was in the waiting area near Adrian's office, waiting for the young CEO to finish work.
“Sri, are you sure you want to go there again?” Lina asked anxiously, following behind Wulan. “Bella’s still upset about what happened earlier.”
“I have to try, Lina,” Wulan replied firmly. “There’s something I need to tell her.”
“But—”
“It’s okay. Just wait here.”
Wulan strode confidently toward the waiting area, where Bella sat casually, playing on her phone and occasionally smiling to herself as she read incoming messages.
“Bella,” Wulan greeted her softly.
Bella looked up. Her eyebrows immediately arched with disdain when she saw who had called her. “You again? What do you want? I already told you, stay away from me.”
“Bella, I need to talk to you about something important.” Wulan tried to remain calm, even as her heart pounded.
“What’s so important? Do you want to apologize for getting my shoes dirty earlier? Forget it. I don’t want to hear it.” Bella turned away and focused on her phone again.
“It’s not about that. I... I’m actually Adrian’s mother.”
Silence fell for a moment. Bella looked up and stared at Wulan from head to toe in disbelief before bursting into laughter.
“What? Adrian’s mother? Are you kidding me?” Bella laughed even harder, until several people passing by turned to look at them. “Adrian’s mother is a CEO who lives overseas—elegant and sophisticated. You expect me to believe she’s a cleaner like this?”
“I really am the CEO of Sentosa Corporation. My name is Wulan,” Wulan replied firmly, trying to convince Bella despite looking nothing like someone who could be convincing.
“Oh my God, you really have some nerve.” Bella stood up and looked down at Wulan contemptuously. “A cleaner claiming to be a CEO? Do you think I’m that stupid?”
“I’m serious. Ask Adrian. He’ll recognize me.”
“I’m not going to bother Adrian with something this ridiculous,” Bella snapped, cutting her off. “You’re probably just looking for attention—or maybe you’re trying to blackmail me over what happened this afternoon!”
“That’s not it. I just want to—”
“Enough!” Bella shouted, making several employees passing by stop and stare. “You’re seriously getting on my nerves! I told you to stay away from me, but you’re still shamelessly going on with this ridiculous lie!”
“I’m not lying,” Wulan insisted, her voice beginning to tremble with anger and sadness.
Bella pulled out her phone and quickly tapped a few buttons. “Hello, security? Could you come to the fifth floor right now? There’s a cleaner harassing me and making all kinds of crazy claims.”
“Please, just listen to me first—”
“I told you I don’t want to hear it!” Bella stepped back as if being near Wulan disgusted her. “People like you are only looking for attention. Claiming to be the CEO’s mother—how embarrassing!”
A short while later, two burly security guards hurried over.
“What’s going on, Bella?” one of them asked.
“Please take her away. She’s bothering me and claiming all kinds of impossible things,” Bella said, pointing at Wulan with her haughty chin.
“All right.” The guard approached Wulan. “Ma’am, come with us.”
“Wait, I can explain—” Wulan tried to resist, but the guard had already taken hold of her arm.
“Come on, ma’am. Don’t make this difficult for us. Let’s go,” the second guard said firmly.
Wulan looked at Bella one last time, hoping to find even a flicker of doubt on the woman’s face. But all she saw was a cold, triumphant stare.
“Don’t cause any more trouble next time,” Bella said mockingly. “Stupid cleaner who thinks she knows everything.”
The two guards escorted Wulan toward the exit, her heart filled with anger, sadness, and helplessness. She—the rightful owner of this building—was now being thrown out of her own company like a criminal.
From a distance, Lina, who had witnessed everything, ran toward them. “Sir, wait! Sri didn’t do anything wrong!”
“Sorry, Lina. This is a direct order from Bella,” the guard replied, continuing to escort Wulan.
“Sri, are you okay?” Lina asked anxiously when they reached the building’s front entrance.
“I’m fine, Lina,” Wulan replied softly, though her eyes glistened as she held back tears.
“Why did you say you were Mr. Adrian’s mother? I heard you from a distance,” Lina asked, confused.
Wulan fell silent for a moment, looking at the kindhearted girl in front of her. A major decision churned inside her—was it time to reveal the truth to Lina, or should she keep hiding it for the sake of her larger plan?
“Lina,” Wulan said softly, “there are a lot of things I can’t tell you right now. But trust me, there’s a reason for all of this.”
“I believe you, Sri,” Lina replied sincerely, though her curiosity was clear in her eyes. “But I’m worried. Bella can be dangerous when she feels threatened.”
“I know,” Wulan murmured, staring at the towering Sentosa Corporation building in front of her—the building she had built through sweat and tears alongside her late husband, now a silent witness to her own expulsion.
“Bella still doesn’t know who I really am,” Wulan whispered inwardly, clenching her fists. “But she’ll find out soon enough. And when that time comes, she’ll have to answer for everything she’s done.”