Welcome to the city of Shanghai. A world of designer clothes, chauffeurs, lavish parties, and juicy scandals. Ever since the Chinese economic boom, rich foreigners have inhabited Shanghai and ruled every inch of the electric city, from the sparkling...
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"THE BITCH IS BACK," Dakota Winslow exhaled as she read the last line of the old article over and over again, recalling the day she came out of hiding. She remembered it like it was yesterday, the moment she stepped out to face nosey reporters and the paparazzi's blinding lights. She remembered everything; the surreal feeling of being outside again, the butterflies in her stomach that had to be murdered, even the shade of red lipstick she wore.
As distressed, embarrassed, and fearful as she was, she managed to walk out of the building because her mother had taught her to put her emotions in a box and bury it deep in her. That way, she couldn't be weak. No one could hurt her or exploit her, since they didn't know how she truly felt. That was they key to being who she was.
Even then, Dakota thought the elaborate stories people created during her proclaimed disappearance was laughable. People thought so highly of her, they were convinced Dakota was fabulously dressed in some exotic location, sipping on a Mai Tai as she admired the crystal waters of a private beach... instead of locked in her bedroom in her Cosabella PJ set, wallowing in her pity and stuffing her face with Milano cookies to aid her embarrassment and humiliation as her soft cries filled the empty 35,000 square-foot penthouse.
So not luxurious. Her disappearance became something it wasn't intended to, it because a mystery, a game, about who could come up with the most lavish story of her whereabouts. But now it was all over, she had taken back her throne and vowed to make her 17th birthday party the most memorable event of, not only the season, but of their lives. And even with all the money in the world, that was a hard promise to keep.
Dakota closed the tab to the Shanghai's Elite article, and her reflection appeared on the dark screen. She observed her gorgeous self, the same amount of determination and hunger in her blue eyes as there was three hundred and fifty seven days ago. It was amazing how persistent she was, when Dakota Winslow wanted something, there was no stopping her. It didn't matter how long it took, how impossible it seemed, or who and what was in her way... she was truly unstoppable.
It had been a year since her father's scandal broke out at the height of the #MeToo era, nearly destroying the billion-dollar Winslow Empire. The sexual harassment claims caused a great deal of damage to their reputation. It was hard maintaining the image of a perfect family when the cover of Shanghai Times read "BILLIONAIRE CEO RICHARD WINSLOW ABUSES UNDERAGE EMPLOYEES" in big, bold letters.
But luckily for the Winslow fortune, Richard's team of lawyers quickly conjured up an excuse, claiming he had no hand in recruiting the teenagers and shifting the blame to one of his chief executives. They also managed to get the teens to admit the accusations were false. What can't money do?
In the eyes of the public, Mr. Winslow was another greedy, slime-ball CEO that ignored reports of sexual harassment. Behind closed doors, he maintained his innocence, although admitting he heard whispers... And as any powerful man and woman would know, a whisper, like the spark of a match, is enough to bring down an entire Empire.
