Chapter 3 - THE LOVER WAS A WEAPON
Marcus ended the call and immediately locked the tablet.
Victoria watched him.
“What did he say?”
Marcus slid the phone into his pocket.
“You tell me.”
She looked away.
“Tell you what?”
“How long have you been working for Richard Reed?”
Victoria’s eyes snapped back.
“I don’t work for Richard.”
Marcus stepped closer.
“He says you do.”
“He’s lying.”
“Interesting.”
“What’s interesting?”
“That’s exactly what he said you’d say.”
Victoria’s confidence cracked.
Only for a second.
But Marcus saw it.
He had spent fifteen years reading liars.
Some sweated.
Some looked away.
The dangerous ones smiled.
Victoria smiled.
“Marcus, you’re security.”
“Yes.”
“You open doors. You check cameras. Don’t suddenly pretend you understand this family.”
Marcus’s face remained calm.
“I understand enough to know you just tried to kill an old woman.”
“I didn’t try to kill her.”
“You pushed her down twelve marble steps.”
“She provoked me.”
Marcus laughed once.
“Good luck with that sentence in court.”
Victoria moved toward the window.
“I need a lawyer.”
“You probably do.”
“And my phone.”
Marcus nodded toward the small table near the door.
Her phone was there.
She reached for it.
Marcus stopped her.
“Not yet.”
“You said I’m not being held.”
“You’re free to leave.”
She looked toward the guards.
“With them?”
“They won’t stop you.”
Victoria hesitated.
That was when Marcus knew.
She wasn’t worried about leaving.
She was worried about what was outside.
At the hospital, Alexander stood in a hallway outside the trauma unit.
He called Richard.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
On the third attempt, Richard picked up.
“Alex.”
“Where are you?”
“Downtown.”
“I need to see you.”
“What happened?”
Alexander clenched his jaw.
“Mom fell.”
A pause.
“Is she alive?”
The question was too fast.
Too sharp.
Alexander noticed.
“Yes.”
Richard exhaled.
“Thank God.”
“Did you know Victoria was at my house?”
Another pause.
“Victoria?”
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Pretend.”
Richard became quiet.
Alexander lowered his voice.
“She pushed my mother down the stairs.”
“That’s impossible.”
“There’s video.”
Richard cursed softly.
Alexander’s heart began pounding.
“You knew.”
“No.”
“You knew she was there.”
“Alex, listen.”
“You knew.”
“I knew she was speaking with Evelyn.”
“Why?”
Richard hesitated.
Alexander almost whispered.
“Why was my secret girlfriend speaking to my mother behind my back?”
Richard exhaled.
“This is complicated.”
“No. It’s about to become very simple.”
“Alex.”
“Did Victoria work for you?”
Silence.
Alexander closed his eyes.
“Answer me.”
“Yes.”
The hospital hallway suddenly seemed colder.
“For how long?”
“Before you met her.”
Alexander opened his eyes.
“What?”
“She worked for one of my consulting firms.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Richard lowered his voice.
“Alexander, there are things about your father you were never supposed to learn.”
Alexander gripped the phone.
“Mom told me he was murdered.”
Richard went completely silent.
Alexander waited.
Then he heard Richard breathing.
Slow.
Controlled.
Finally Richard said,
“Your mother should have kept her mouth shut.”
Alexander’s blood went cold.
“Excuse me?”
The line disconnected.
Alexander stared at the phone.
At the mansion, Victoria suddenly grabbed her purse.
“I’m leaving.”
Marcus stepped aside.
“Go ahead.”
She stared at him.
“That easy?”
“That easy.”
Victoria walked toward the door.
Marcus smiled.
She stopped.
“What?”
“You should know something.”
“What?”
“I copied the security footage.”
Victoria’s face changed.
“To three different locations.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Why are you telling me that?”
Marcus looked directly at her.
“So whoever comes to clean up your mess knows killing me won’t help.”
Victoria whispered,
May you like
“You really don’t understand who you’re dealing with.”
Then the lights in the mansion went out.
