Chapter 4 - The Visit from the Fallen
A week later, I was cleared for discharge.
As I was preparing to leave the suite, a knock sounded at the door. I expected it to be the nurse with the discharge papers, but when the door opened, a woman stood there.
It was Vanessa Whitmore.
She looked nothing like the elegant, untouchable consultant who had stood in my kitchen six months ago. Her designer clothes were gone, replaced by a simple, wrinkled trench coat. Her blonde hair was messy, and her eyes were red and swollen from crying.
"Grace," she whispered, her voice trembling as she took a tentative step into the room.
My security guard immediately stepped in front of her, but I raised a hand, signaling him to wait.
"Let her speak," I said, my voice cool and steady.
Vanessa looked at me, then at the double bassinet where Christian and Victoria were sleeping. A flash of raw, desperate envy crossed her face before it was replaced by pure terror.
"I... I came to apologize," she sobbed, dropping to her knees on the polished floor. "I didn't know, Grace. I swear, I didn't know Ethan was stealing from the company. He told me you were unstable! He told me the marriage was over and that you were trying to ruin him!"
"And you believed him because it was convenient for you, Vanessa," I said, not even rising from my chair. "You wanted my life. You wanted my husband's title. You even wanted my cashmere robe."
"Please," she wept, reaching out a hand toward me. "The feds are threatening to take everything I own. My apartment, my savings... they're saying I'm a co-conspirator. If you talk to your father... if you tell the prosecutors that I was just an employee—"
"You were never just an employee, Vanessa," I said, leaning forward. "You were the distraction Ethan used while he tried to drain my family's trust. You showed me exactly where he was weak. For that, I suppose I should thank you."
I stood up, wrapping my coat around myself.
May you like
"But as for your future... I suggest you find a good public defender. Because the Vales do not negotiate with thieves."
With a final, desperate cry, Vanessa was escorted from the room by security, her high-society dreams officially turning to dust in the sterile hospital corridor.
