Chapter 5 - The Queen’s Gambit
Three days later, the rain hammered against the reinforced glass windows of the central holding facility downtown. Inside Visiting Booth 4, the air smelled of industrial disinfectant and stale coffee.
Victoria Lane sat on the metal stool, her hands cuffed to a fixed loop on the table. Her designer clothes were gone, replaced by a coarse orange jumpsuit that made her look washed out and hollow. The arrogance that had once defined her posture was completely gone; her shoulders were hunched, her eyes darting nervously toward the heavy steel door every time a guard walked past.
The door clicked open, and Alexander Reed walked in.
He wasn't wearing his usual sharp business suit. He wore a simple black turtleneck and a long wool coat, his face expressionless as he pulled out the opposite chair and sat down without a word.
Victoria swallowed hard, her voice trembling. "Alex... please. You have to listen to me. Julian tricked me! He told me you would never really commit to me, that you were just using me to piss off your mother! He said if I just... if I just scared her a little bit, made her realize she didn't belong in your world, he would set me up with a trust fund in Europe! I didn't mean to push her down the stairs, Alex! I swear to God, my foot slipped, I panicked—"
"Stop talking, Victoria," Alexander said quietly.
She stopped instantly, her lower lip trembling.
"The security footage has been played for the district attorney three times," Alexander said, resting his elbows on the metal table and staring directly into her bloodshot eyes. "The charges aren't just assault. They're attempted murder in the first degree, compounded by premeditation and conspiracy with Julian Vance."
Victoria let out a muffled sob, burying her face in her cuffed hands. "Twenty years... they're saying I'll get twenty years..."
"Twenty-five, actually," Alexander corrected mildly. "My legal team made sure of that. Your cooperation with the prosecution regarding Julian’s bribery schemes might shave off five years, but don't expect to see the outside of a federal penitentiary before you're forty."
She looked up, her face twisted in a mask of pure desperation and hatred. "You cold-hearted bastard! You never loved me! You just kept me around like a pet for your parties!"
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"You were right about one thing, Victoria," Alexander said softly, standing up and buttoning his coat. "This was never my home. It was my mother's. And anyone who tries to hurt her... doesn't just lose the house. They lose everything."
He turned and walked toward the door, leaving her screaming empty threats into the empty, sterile room.
