Imprisoned by secrets

Chapter 25

Ten years ago...

Leila was staring at her schedule book in her private home office. Normally, she could hire a secretary or a PA for the menial task but she preferred doing it herself because she believed there would never be anyone capable enough to handle her busy schedule.

She checked the computer for her appointments and penciled them all into the book. She crossed out some appointments and checked her mail as well in case there was a fundraiser or charity to attend.

The entire week was fully booked with back-to-back meetings, appointments, auctions, charity events as well as game night with her gals.

Leila made a face at the game night and wondered if she could wiggle her way out of it. She didn't fancy being in the same room with some of the women there. She was trying to avoid Tiffany whose husband wasted no time flirting with Leila. Tiffany somehow blamed Leila for her husband's inability to control his penis. The woman always made it a point to goad Leila into an argument.

It wasn't that Leila was above having affairs but Tiffany's husband had nothing to offer her. He was boring, bland, and silly. The only thing good about him was the money he inherited when his older brother died in a plane crash.

Leila sighed and decided to leave game night on the list. It was the best opportunity to get first-hand gossip after all.

Contrary to what most people believed, Leila Rivera actually worked equally as hard as her husband, if not even harder. Most people just thought she was the figurehead wife of a rich man who never had to work a day in her life. Leila didn't like to contradict such people.

She wanted them to believe she was nothing but a beautiful face. That way, they'd always underestimate her and wouldn't even know when she was manipulating them into investing money in her private ventures.

Even Hector didn't know the vast extent of his wife's wealth. He knew she was always in touch with potential investors for their joint businesses but he didn't know she also found a way to input her own private firms in every discussion.

She had private businesses that she refused to share with him. She'd even told him point blank never to bother her unnecessarily or to poke his nose into them because she wasn't willing to share what she'd had to sweat blood for.

Hector was uncomfortable about it at first but he realized that he couldn't control Leila no matter how hard he tried.

Leila handled some of their joint businesses but left most of the work to him while she built her own empire.

She wasn't a woman who fancied the idea of being under a man's dominance and control simply because he shoved a ring onto her finger in the name of marriage. She knew that was what would happen if she left her financial life completely in the hands of her husband. She didn't want to be controlled by anybody as she had made abundantly clear from the first day.

For that reason, no one was allowed into her private office where she conducted all her businesses. Even Hector knew that place was off-limits although it was technically his father's house and not hers.

The household staff that cleaned her home had strict instructions never to go two feet near the door of her office or they would find themselves in the streets without a job or reference.

She was replying an important mail from one of her investors when she heard a feeble knock on her door. Leila snarled.

She growled at her door hoping whoever it was would take the hint and leave her alone to work but she didn't have that luck though. The person kept knocking feebly.