Chapter 4 - The Poisoned Penthouse
The ride back to our luxury hotel suite at the Ritz-Carlton was a suffocating nightmare. Madison cried hysterically in the backseat of our limousine, throwing her phone against the partition, while Victoria stared out the window with murderous detachment. The moment the double doors of our penthouse suite clicked shut, Victoria erupted.
She grabbed a crystal decanter from the wet bar and smashed it against the marble fireplace, sending shards of glass and expensive scotch flying across the room.
""Thirteen years!"" she screamed, her face flushed crimson, tears of pure rage smearing her mascara. ""I introduced you to senators! My father handed you Brookfield Technologies when it was barely a boutique research firm! You made me the laughingstock of our entire social circle tonight! And now some low-class waitress walks out of the shadows with twin bastard children to blackmail us?""
""They are not bastards, Victoria!"" I snapped, my own temper finally breaking beneath the suffocating weight of my guilt. ""They are my flesh and blood! And I didn't plan this! I thought... I thought Rebecca moved back to Oregon and started a new life! I had no idea they even knew who I was!""
""You think this is about sentimentality?"" Victoria mocked viciously, stepping right into my personal space, her breath smelling of bitter adrenaline. ""You heard what she said! She has documents! Do you know what happens to Brookfield’s stock if a massive personal fraud and intellectual property dispute hits the wires on Monday morning? Our share value will plunge fifty percent! My father will remove you from the chief executive chair before the market even opens!""
""Mom, what about my medal?"" Madison wailed from the sofa, clutching a velvet pillow. ""The entire private school watched the livestream! Everyone saw me fail while those two freaks got a standing ovation! You have to fix it! Tell Grandfather to cancel their scholarships!""
""Shut up, Madison!"" Victoria barked, startling her daughter into instant silence. Victoria turned back to me, her eyes cold, calculating, and utterly devoid of mercy. ""Listen to me very carefully, Nathaniel. When that woman arrives tonight, you will offer her whatever hush money it takes. Five million, ten million—I don't care. Brookfield will pay it through an offshore subsidiary. You will make her sign a non-disclosure agreement with a complete forfeit of all parental claims, and you will make her withdraw those girls from the national press circuit.""
""And if she refuses?"" I asked, my voice barely audible.
May you like
Victoria’s gaze became venomously still. ""Then we destroy her. I will hire private investigators to dig up every unpaid bill, every minor infraction, and I will claim she stalked and harassed our family. By Monday afternoon, child protective services will be knocking on her door, and those girls will be in state custody before they ever see that prize money. Do you understand me?""
A heavy knock sounded at the heavy mahogany suite door. It was precisely midnight.
