Chapter 3 - The Woman in White
Victoria Harrington sat alone in Nathan’s mansion when the television report changed.
She had replaced the white dress stained during the attack with a charcoal silk blouse and black trousers.
The hockey stick was gone.
So were the kitchen security recordings.
At least she believed they were.
On television, a reporter stood outside the hospital.
“We are receiving conflicting information regarding allegations against Grace Miller.”
Victoria’s father paced behind the sofa.
Charles Harrington was sixty-three, silver-haired, and still handsome in the ruthless way powerful men often were.
“You should have left the child alone.”
Victoria’s head snapped toward him.
“She called Nathan Daddy.”
“And because you panicked, you attacked them in his house.”
Victoria stood.
“You told me she would never come back.”
“I told you Grace had been managed.”
“You failed.”
Charles slapped his palm against the table.
“And you nearly killed the mother of Nathan Cole’s child with a hockey stick.”
Victoria’s face tightened.
“She threatened everything.”
“No.”
Charles moved closer.
“You threatened everything when you lost control.”
Victoria stared at him.
“What happens if Nathan accepts Lily legally?”
Charles did not answer.
He did not have to.
Their entire plan changed.
The merger agreement required Nathan to have no recognized heir before marriage.
If Lily was legally established as his child, several trust provisions activated immediately.
Voting shares Richard Cole had kept locked away would pass into a protected generational trust for Lily.
The Harringtons would lose their path to control.
Victoria’s phone rang.
She answered.
It was Detective Pike.
“We have a problem.”
Victoria turned away from her father.
“What kind?”
“The warrant didn’t hold.”
“You said Reese signed it.”
“He did.”
“But somebody failed to enter it properly.”
Charles closed his eyes.
Amateurs.
Victoria lowered her voice.
“Then enter it now.”
“Too late.”
“Cole’s attorney photographed it.”
Victoria’s grip tightened.
Pike continued.
“And the kid recognized me.”
Victoria went silent.
Charles walked closer.
“What happened?”
Pike repeated himself.
“The kid remembered me from four years ago.”
Victoria ended the call.
Charles stared at her.
“You used Pike personally?”
“He was supposed to frighten Grace.”
Charles looked genuinely furious now.
“I told you never to let anyone connect the Harrington name to her disappearance.”
Victoria crossed her arms.
“You’re the one who taught me that fear works.”
“Fear works when the person applying it understands restraint.”
Victoria’s eyes hardened.
Her father had spent her entire life praising her ambition until the moment it became inconvenient.
“You wanted Nathan.”
Charles corrected her.
“I wanted Cole Holdings.”
Victoria smiled bitterly.
“There’s the truth.”
A notification appeared on the television.
BREAKING: COLE HOLDINGS ANNOUNCES EMERGENCY MIDNIGHT BOARD MEETING.
Charles stopped breathing for a moment.
Victoria looked at the screen.
Nathan’s photograph appeared.
Charles whispered.
“He found something.”
Victoria stared at him.
“What?”
Charles moved toward the fireplace.
For the first time that night, he looked nervous.
“Richard.”
Victoria frowned.
“What about Richard?”
Charles said nothing.
She stepped closer.
“Dad.”
“What did Richard leave Nathan?”
Charles finally looked at her.
“A confession.”
Victoria’s face lost its color.
“You said he destroyed it.”
“I believed he did.”
Victoria stared at the television.
Nathan’s calm face filled the screen.
She remembered his expression in the kitchen.
Not rage.
Not shock.
Something worse.
Disappointment turning into certainty.
Victoria grabbed her purse.
“Where are you going?”
“To the board meeting.”
Charles blocked her path.
“You are not a board member.”
“I’m his fiancée.”
Charles gave her a cold look.
“Not for much longer.”
Victoria stepped around him.
“If Nathan burns me publicly, I burn Grace first.”
Charles grabbed her arm.
“No more improvising.”
Victoria pulled free.
“You’re scared.”
“Yes.”
The answer surprised her.
Charles looked toward the television.
“Because Nathan has something you don’t.”
“What?”
“A reason stronger than money.”
Victoria thought about Lily.
Then she smiled.
“Every reason has a weakness.”
She walked toward the door.
Charles called after her.
“What are you planning?”
Victoria opened the door.
“The only thing Nathan cannot survive.”
May you like
She looked back.
“I’m going to make his daughter afraid of him.”
