Chapter 17 - Victoria’s Choice
Richard canceled the transfers with eight minutes to spare.
Then he went to the hospital.
Maya was asleep in a private room, a stuffed blue rabbit tucked under one arm.
Richard stood beside her bed until his breathing slowed.
Victoria was being held for questioning two floors below.
He did not want to see her.
He went anyway.
She looked smaller without the red gown, diamonds, and perfect lighting. She wore hospital scrubs under a blanket. Her hair was tied back. No makeup.
No performance left.
“Why?” Richard asked.
Victoria looked at her hands.
“I wanted control.”
“Over my company?”
“Over my life.”
“That’s not an answer.”
She swallowed. “My father controlled everything. My money. My friends. My career. Graham offered me a way to become untouchable.”
“So you terrorized a two-year-old.”
Her eyes filled.
“I told myself I wasn’t hurting her.”
“You locked her in a dark closet.”
“I know.”
“You drugged her.”
“I used the medicine twice. Graham said it would make her seem disoriented during evaluations.”
Richard stood so quickly the chair scraped backward.
Victoria flinched.
He stared at her.
For a moment, he understood something terrible.
She knew what fear looked like.
She had simply chosen to create it in someone smaller.
“That’s what I can’t forgive,” he said.
Victoria wiped her face. “I’m not asking you to.”
“Where are the original papers?”
“I told you.”
“Why should I believe you?”
She looked through the glass wall toward the hospital corridor.
“Because Graham doesn’t know about the letter.”
“What letter?”
Victoria’s face tightened.
“One Eleanor wrote before she died.”
Richard went still.
“You never told me there was a letter.”
“I didn’t know until I found it with the trust papers.”
“What does it say?”
May you like
Victoria looked at him.
“It says she was afraid someone inside your company was watching your family before Maya was even born.”
