Chapter 7 - VICTORIA TAKES OFF THE MASK
Nathan didn’t confront Victoria immediately.
Daniel advised patience.
Grace advised murder.
Nathan chose patience.
Barely.
He returned home pretending he knew nothing about the video.
Victoria waited in the living room.
She was drinking wine.
“You punched my father.”
Nathan poured himself water.
“He earned it.”
“You’ve lost your mind.”
“Probably.”
Victoria watched him carefully.
“Where’s Grace?”
“With Lily.”
“Still here?”
Nathan looked at her.
“Why wouldn’t she be?”
Victoria set down her glass.
“You can’t keep that woman in this house.”
“That woman has a name.”
“She manipulated you.”
Nathan sat across from her.
“Tell me something.”
Victoria crossed her legs.
“What?”
“If Lily becomes controlling beneficiary, what happens to you?”
A tiny pause.
“I don’t know.”
Nathan smiled.
“Wrong answer.”
Victoria’s eyes hardened.
Nathan leaned back.
“You knew the trust.”
“No.”
“You knew Lily existed.”
Silence.
“You knew she was mine.”
Silence.
“You knew before we got engaged.”
Victoria’s jaw flexed.
Nathan waited.
Finally she said, “Yes.”
One word.
No apology.
Nathan felt something inside him die.
“How long?”
“Five years.”
Nathan laughed.
“You met my daughter before I did.”
“I never met her.”
“You knew she existed.”
“Yes.”
“And you still looked me in the face every night.”
Victoria stood.
“What was I supposed to do?”
“Tell me!”
“And lose everything?”
Nathan stared at her.
Victoria realized what she had said.
She stopped.
Nathan nodded slowly.
“There it is.”
Her expression changed completely.
No more performance.
No more sweet voice.
“You think this is about romance?”
Nathan said nothing.
“My father spent twenty-seven years building Sterling Development.”
She walked closer.
“Your father spent thirty-five building Cole Holdings.”
“You weren’t supposed to fall in love with some waitress.”
Nathan’s face hardened.
“She wasn’t a waitress when I met her.”
“She was nobody.”
Nathan stood.
“Careful.”
Victoria laughed.
“What are you going to do?”
“Leave.”
She stared at him.
“You can’t.”
Nathan looked genuinely confused.
“I can walk.”
“You know what I mean.”
Victoria moved closer.
“If you cancel the wedding, the merger collapses.”
“Good.”
“Your stock drops.”
“Fine.”
“The lenders trigger clauses.”
“I’ll survive.”
Victoria stared.
“You could lose hundreds of millions.”
Nathan’s eyes stayed on hers.
“You hit my daughter’s mother with a hockey stick.”
Victoria’s face twisted.
“She’s not your family.”
Nathan said nothing.
Victoria realized too late.
He stepped closer.
“She gave birth to my child.”
“She raised my child.”
“She took a beating protecting my child.”
Nathan’s voice dropped.
“You’re the stranger in this house now.”
Victoria slapped him.
Nathan didn’t move.
She breathed hard.
Then smiled.
“You think Grace is innocent?”
Nathan stared.
Victoria grabbed her purse.
“Ask her what happened the night your father died.”
Nathan’s stomach tightened.
“What?”
Victoria walked toward the door.
He caught her arm.
“What does Grace have to do with my father’s death?”
Victoria looked back.
“You really don’t know?”
Nathan released her.
She smiled.
“Your father called Grace the night he died.”
Nathan’s pulse jumped.
“Why?”
“That’s between them.”
Victoria opened the door.
Nathan spoke behind her.
“I know about the video.”
Victoria stopped.
Her shoulders stiffened.
Nathan continued.
“The restaurant.”
She slowly turned.
Nathan watched her face.
“You asked your mother why she didn’t make Lily disappear.”
Victoria stared at him.
Then something unexpected happened.
She smiled.
Not panic.
Not denial.
Relief.
“You finally found it.”
Nathan felt cold.
Victoria stepped outside.
“You should watch the whole recording.”
“What does that mean?”
She looked back.
“Your father cut the version Daniel saw.”
Nathan’s face tightened.
“Cut what?”
Victoria smiled.
May you like
“The part where Grace agreed to something.”
Then she walked away.
