Guilty as Gorgeous | Chapter 28
"Took your sweet time. I almost gave up and left."
Methas stepped out from behind the greenhouse—a section not used for filming. His face was etched with irritation, though a twisted sense of satisfaction lingered underneath.
"I have work to do. I can't just waltz out whenever I feel like it," she snapped, her voice as icy as her expression.
"Still haven't forgiven me, Ni?"
"Just get to the point. What do you know about what you told Father that day?"
"What's in it for me if I talk?"
"If you didn't want to talk, you wouldn't have practically begged me to meet you. Stop playing games."
"Do you have any idea how hard your father has been coming for me and my mother since this started?"
"He should. Who would've thought that besides being a junkie, you've become a dealer yourself? Not to mention the human trafficking. You're even more depraved than I imagined, Methas."
Hurled with such blatant contempt, the 'gentlemanly' facade he tried to maintain with the spoiled starlet finally cracked. "Don't get cocky with me, Ni. You're not that different from me. If you were, we wouldn't have lasted this long."
"I don't deal drugs or sell bodies!"
"And what about doing drugs yourself then framing Shanya? Or snatching someone else's man to screw while handing women over to me to sell off? You don't call that 'evil'?"
"I never sent women to you to be sold!"
"Are you sure about that?"
Nisakorn stood dazed for a moment before pointing a finger at him. "You can't possibly mean Namfon."
"Back when you were fooling around with that weakling Sarut, you told me yourself to 'have all the fun you want' with that girl."
When Wansachon had been assaulted by Sia Maitree, she hadn't dared to report anyone, terrified by the death threats and the crushing shame. Fearing for her future in the industry, she had swallowed the trauma, acting as if nothing had happened.
But once she realized Nisakorn was the catalyst, she turned on the leading lady. She had even cornered her in a parking lot, slapping her across the face with a shoe while hurling venomous insults.
Vengeance drove Nisakorn to retaliate by stealing Sarut away and plotting for Wansachon to fall into Methas's clutches next.
Even if she later felt a flicker of pity mixed with contempt for the other woman—who now resembled a broken-winged bird with no one left, virtually erased from the industry—Nisakorn never blamed herself. She lived by a single creed: only the strong survive. The weak simply wait to rot away, worthless.
"You blackmailed your way into her bed. What does that have to do with me?"
"Do you really think a woman like Wansachon would end up a junkie or try to kill herself just because of Sia Maitree's rape? The Sia gave her a massive 'hush money' payout which she refused. He only threatened to kill her later because he was afraid she'd blab."
"What did you do to Wansachon!?"
"You know my taste, Ni. I just recorded a video while we were at it. She was quite a slut when she was high on the gear, so I kept it to watch for fun. Whenever I missed her, I'd call her over for a good time. One threat of leaking the video and she was paralyzed with fear. Women, right?" Methas laughed as he told the tale.
"There was a time I was short on cash because I was hitting the stuff too hard. It just so happened my creditor was a fan of Wansachon..."
"So you used the video to blackmail her into sleeping with your creditor," Nisakorn guessed, her voice low.
"I'm not that heartless. Whatever I got, I split it fifty-fifty with her. I don't like taking advantage of women."
"This is exactly why Father calls you vermin!"
"Do you still really think Sia Bancha is your father, Ni?"
"What the hell are you talking about!?" The actress's face went deathly pale.
"Don't play dumb. I can see the fear in those pretty eyes." Methas waved a hand mockingly, grinning with sheer malice. "You know deep down you're a bastard—not Bancha's real flesh and blood. Why else would you be so terrified?"
"I could sue you for defamation! Why would Father raise me if I weren't his?"
"Because your mother's people begged him to. The Sia took his revenge on your mother by keeping countless mistresses in exchange for acknowledging you as his daughter. But he never loved you like the others. He never told anyone because he didn't want the world to see him as a fool for raising another man's bastard."
"Your imagination is truly pathetic."
The leading lady sneered, but her eyes couldn't hide the mounting dread.
Methas saw right through it. "If it were just imagination, there wouldn't be evidence and witnesses to prove you're a bastard. But sorry, I can't show you yet... not until you finish the job."
"The job?"
"If your father—no, Sia Bancha—is still around, my mother and I are screwed. The police are breathing down our necks. The Sia is using his connections to have them hunt me down out of spite. If I go down, the world finds out the 'top-tier' high-society leading lady is just a bastard. That's why Sia Bancha wants to give the inheritance to his illegitimate daughter—the one you've always assumed was just another one of his mistresses."
"Shanya..." The name escaped her lips as a mere groan.
"The Sia even told you himself that Shanya wasn't a mistress, but you were too pig-headed to believe him," Methas shook his head.
"She's almost the same age as me! If she were really his daughter, why didn't he tell anyone?"
"How could he? At the time, Shanya's mother was still with her ex-husband. The Sia had a massive row with your mother over Shanya's mom—his first love. Your mother slept with another man just to spite him, and you were the unwanted bastard that came out of it. The Sia was forced to accept you as his, while Shanya took the other man's name. Win-win for everyone."
"But Shanya's father is dead," Nisakorn knew that much. "Then why does my mother think Shanya is just another mistress?"
"Because your mother never knew who the woman the Sia truly loved was. She never knew about Shanya. The Sia probably had plenty of reasons to keep it quiet—maybe it has something to do with the rumors that your mother killed his mistress, Lalana."
"What exactly are you planning, Methas?"
"Sia Bancha isn't your father. If he stays alive while you keep causing trouble, you're the one who's going to get cut out of the will for bullying his favorite daughter. Not to mention the business with Panthakant..."
"What are you going to do?"
"I've got hitmen from the border waiting. Once the job is done, they vanish. The cops will never find them."
Nisakorn felt faint, her heart hammering against her ribs, but she forced the question. "What do you want me to do?"
"I have a lead that the Sia is heading out of town for business today. We strike when the timing is right..." Methas explained the rough outline of the plan before concluding. "All you have to do is send me the license plate of the car he's using and his location. Piece of cake, right?"
"Why should I commit such an atrocity when there's no proof I should believe your massive lie?"
"Because I hold all the cards, like I told you. I'm only offering you this deal out of respect for our 'history.' But let me be clear: I won't give you a second chance." Having said that, Methas turned and walked away.
He left the leading lady standing there, fists clenched, her body trembling violently. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the ground the moment he was out of sight.
Almost five minutes passed before Nisakorn could regain her composure and head back into the house the way she came.
However, the 'sole witness' who had been eavesdropping—her face ashen—remained crouched on the stone floor behind the greenhouse for nearly ten more minutes.
Once she gathered her senses, she pulled out her phone to dial out. But Bancha's phone was turned off.