Chapter 6 - The Unraveling
Victoria felt the floor beneath her feet tilt violently.
This hotel belongs to me.
The words echoed in her brain like a funeral knell. The Sterling family had spent six months negotiating a massive commercial loan with the Vance Financial Group to keep their luxury retail chain afloat. The contract was sitting on Alexander Vance’s desk downtown, awaiting his final signature tomorrow morning.
"Alexander..." Victoria gasped, her eyes wide with a horrifying realization. She dropped her purse onto the floor and took two frantic steps toward him, dropping to her knees right there on the sticky marble. "Please... I beg you! My family... our partnership! Arthur and I are getting married next month!"
As if summoned by the mention of his name, Arthur Vance—Alexander’s younger brother—pushed his way through the crowd near the back of the hall. He took one look at his brother’s icy face, the soaked toddler on his hip, and Victoria kneeling on the floor, and his face turned the color of ash.
"Victoria... what did you do?" Arthur whispered, stopping five feet short of his brother.
"Arthur! Tell him!" Victoria wept, reaching out toward her fiancé. "Tell him it was a mistake! Explain to him!"
Arthur looked at his brother, then down at his niece, Maya, who was watching him with wide, tear-stained green eyes. Arthur took a slow step backward, completely disowning his fiancée with a single motion.
"I have nothing to do with this," Arthur said softly, his voice trembling. "Alexander... I had no idea she was capable of this."
"Arthur, no! You coward!" Victoria screamed, her face twisting into a mask of pathetic betrayal.
Alexander ignored her screeching entirely. He looked at his lead bodyguard, a broad-shouldered man named Vance-Security Director Miller.
"Miller," Alexander commanded smoothly.
"Yes, Mr. Vance?"
"Call our legal team. Cancel the Sterling commercial credit line immediately. Initiate a full forensic audit of all Sterling retail assets by 8:00 AM tomorrow."
Victoria let out a strangled, pathetic gasp, clutching her chest as if she had been shot. "No... no, please! That will ruin us! My father will go to prison!"
"And Miller?" Alexander continued, his voice devoid of a single drop of human warmth.
"Sir?"
"File formal criminal charges against Victoria Sterling for Third-Degree Battery of a Minor and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress. Ensure the local District Attorney receives the unedited security footage from the ballroom ceiling cameras within the hour."
May you like
Alexander turned his gaze down to Victoria, who was now weeping hysterically on the marble floor, her crimson dress smeared with the very orange juice she had poured onto Maya minutes earlier.
"You were right about one thing, Victoria," Alexander whispered softly, leaning down slightly so only she could hear his final words. "This is not where you belong."
