Chapter 13 - THE SOCIALITE WHO WAS NEVER JUST A SOCIALITE
Victoria held the gun with both hands.
Her black designer dress had been replaced by dark trousers and a coat.
No diamonds.
No makeup.
No arrogance.
She looked terrified.
Charlotte remained behind the conference table.
“Victoria.”
“Move away from the file.”
“You killed your father?”
Victoria flinched.
“No.”
“Then put the gun down.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because Caleb has my sister.”
Charlotte frowned.
“You have a sister?”
Victoria’s eyes filled.
“Half sister. She’s nineteen.”
Alexander slowly raised his hands.
“Where is Caleb?”
“Watching.”
“How?”
Victoria looked toward the ceiling.
Cameras.
Mara glanced up.
Victoria shouted:
“Don’t move.”
Nathan whispered to Charlotte:
“She’s panicking.”
Charlotte nodded.
That made her dangerous.
“Victoria,” Charlotte said calmly, “you humiliated me this morning because Alexander signaled you.”
Victoria looked confused.
“What?”
Alexander frowned.
“I warned you not to approach her.”
“You told me she was a threat.”
“I said she was Charlotte Vale.”
Victoria stared at him.
“I didn’t hear that.”
Charlotte understood.
“Who told you to confront me?”
Victoria swallowed.
“Caleb.”
Nathan muttered:
“Of course.”
Victoria continued.
“He said a woman was coming into the hotel pretending to be part of the Vale family. He said she had stolen access credentials.”
Charlotte almost admired the manipulation.
Caleb had used Victoria’s cruelty as a weapon.
“He knew what you would do,” Charlotte said.
Victoria’s face broke.
“I know.”
“Did you know who I was?”
“Not until the guard said your name.”
“Did you know about Vale Legacy Management?”
Victoria hesitated.
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“My father used the foundation to move money.”
“For the trust?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why did you say the hotel was still mine?”
Victoria looked ashamed.
“Because my father kept saying the Vales were about to lose it.”
Charlotte glanced at Alexander.
“Did Conrad control Founders Preservation Trust?”
“No,” Victoria said.
“Who did?”
“I don’t know.”
Charlotte pointed toward the Eleanor file.
“Maybe the answer is there.”
Victoria tightened her grip on the gun.
“Caleb said nobody opens it.”
“Caleb killed your father.”
Victoria’s eyes flashed.
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“I saw who killed him.”
Everyone froze.
“Who?” Charlotte asked.
Victoria’s breathing became ragged.
“My father called me last night. He said he finally understood what Caleb was doing. He told me to come to the hotel.”
“What happened?”
“I came through the service entrance.”
Her voice broke.
“I saw my father arguing with someone inside this room.”
“Who?”
Victoria looked toward Nathan.
Charlotte followed her gaze.
Nathan’s face went still.
Victoria whispered:
“Him.”
Nathan stared.
“That’s a lie.”
“You were here.”
“No.”
“I saw you.”
Nathan stepped forward.
Victoria raised the gun.
“Stay back.”
Charlotte looked at Nathan.
“Were you here?”
“No.”
Victoria shouted:
“You were standing right there.”
“I was at my apartment.”
“Then who did I see?”
Nathan said nothing.
Charlotte studied him.
Something was wrong.
Victoria continued.
“My father gave you a folder. You shot him.”
Nathan’s face drained.
“I did not.”
“You looked at me.”
Charlotte whispered:
“Victoria, did he speak?”
She frowned.
“What?”
“The man you saw. Did Nathan speak?”
Victoria thought.
“No.”
Nathan suddenly understood.
“Oh God.”
“What?” Charlotte asked.
Nathan looked toward Alexander.
“There’s another man.”
Alexander went pale.
Charlotte felt cold.
“What other man?”
Nathan stared at her.
“My brother.”
Silence.
“You never told me you had a brother.”
“Because I haven’t seen him in twenty-three years.”
Alexander whispered:
“Marcus.”
Nathan nodded.
Mara looked between them.
“Marcus Cole?”
Alexander seemed shaken.
“He worked for Patrick Quinn.”
Mara stopped breathing.
“My father?”
Nathan nodded.
“And Caleb.”
Victoria lowered the gun slightly.
Charlotte used the moment.
“Give me the weapon.”
Victoria’s hands shook.
“Caleb will kill her.”
“We can help your sister.”
“You don’t understand.”
Charlotte stepped forward.
“Victoria, this morning you hit me because you believed I was powerless.”
Victoria flinched.
“You were wrong.”
Another step.
“You’re wrong again.”
Victoria looked at her.
Charlotte held out her hand.
“You are not powerless either.”
Victoria began to cry.
Slowly, she lowered the gun.
Charlotte took it.
Nathan immediately moved toward the door.
Then the speakers in the ceiling crackled.
Caleb Rusk’s voice filled the room.
“Touching.”
Everyone froze.
Caleb continued.
“But Charlotte, you were always going to make the same mistake your father did.”
Charlotte looked toward the cameras.
“What mistake?”
“Believing this is about the hotel.”
May you like
A lock slammed into place behind them.
The emergency lights went dark.
