Chapter 19 - The Echo of BetrayalI didn't stand up. I didn't offer her a seat. I simply crossed my arms and looked at the woman who had tried to destroy my life, my name, and my sanity.
"How are you out of prison, Vanessa?" I asked, my voice devoid of emotion. "Did your lawyers manage to buy another appeal?"
Vanessa shook her head, bitter tears spilling over her eyelashes. "No. My lawyers abandoned me the moment my offshore accounts were seized. I'm out on a forty-eight-hour compassionate furlough to testify in a secondary federal deposition regarding Harold’s hidden assets."
She took a hesitant step closer, her hands clasped tightly together in front of her.
"I came here because... because I wanted to see you," she choked out. "To tell you that I was wrong. Harold lied to me. He promised me we would be safe, that your empire was already doomed—"
"Stop right there, Vanessa," I cut her off sharply, standing up from my desk. The sound of my leather chair scraping against the hardwood floor echoed loudly in the quiet office.
"Don't blame Harold for your greed," I said, my voice rising with suppressed fury. "You didn't fall into a trap, Vanessa. You built it. You sat across the breakfast table from me every single morning while I was working myself to exhaustion, smiling in my face while you and your accomplices drained my life's work behind my back."
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Vanessa burst into silent, racking sobs, collapsing into a chair near the desk. "I lost everything, Edward! The money, the mansion, my friends, my freedom! Look at me!"
"So did I," I said softly, stepping around the desk and standing right beside her. "The difference is, when my world collapsed, I didn't let it destroy my soul. I had someone by my side who showed me what true loyalty looked like."
