Chapter 28 - THE MIDNIGHT CONFESSION IN CELL BLOCK FOUR
Twenty-four hours later, the Metropolitan Detention Center was quiet.
Elena sat behind the reinforced partition of the high-security visiting room in Cell Block Four. Across from her, separated by thick acoustic glass, sat Victoria Sterling. The dowager was dressed in standard-issue orange jumpsuit, her silver hair unwashed, her face stripped bare of cosmetics. Yet, the arrogance in her posture had not diminished by an inch.
“Why did you agree to see me, Victoria?” Elena asked into the heavy plastic telephone receiver. “The trial won't begin for months. You have nothing left to negotiate.”
Victoria picked up her receiver, a low, dry chuckle scraping through the earpiece. “You think this is over, don't you, little girl? You think putting old Victoria in a concrete box means the game is finished.”
“Your empire is dismantled,” Elena said coldly. “The assets are in federal receivership. Daniel is recovering. He’s taking over the legitimate holdings, and the Vance name has been cleared on every major news network in the world.”
“The Vance name,” Victoria repeated with mocking sweetness. “Tell me, Elena... did you ever wonder why your father, a humble merchant captain, had access to Arthur Sterling’s private subterranean vault? Did you ever ask yourself why my late husband left the controlling interest of a multi-billion-dollar empire to a man who was supposed to be nothing more than an employee?”
A cold knot tightened in Elena’s stomach. “Arthur Sterling was an honorable man who wanted to right your wrongs.”
“Arthur was a coward,” Victoria snapped, her eyes narrowing into slits. “And he was a hypocrite. Your father didn't discover my maritime fraud by accident, Elena. He discovered it because he was Arthur’s illegitimate son.”
The room seemed to tilt on its axis. The air vanished from Elena’s lungs.
“What did you say?” Elena whispered, her fingers locking onto the plastic receiver until they ached.
“Thomas Vance was Arthur’s firstborn,” Victoria said, her smile widening into a terrifying rictus of malice. “Born before Arthur ever married me. Which means, my dear Elena... you are not the brave little outsider who took down the corrupt dynasty. You are Arthur Sterling’s eldest living grandchild. Daniel is not your savior. Daniel is your half-cousin.”
Elena stared through the glass, her heart hammering violently against her ribs. “You’re lying. You’re trying to poison my mind.”
“Check the sealed probate records in Arthur’s personal safe in London,” Victoria whispered, her breath fogging the partition glass. “Why do you think I had your father drowned, Elena? It wasn't about the insurance money! The insurance was pennies! I killed him because Arthur was going to publicly acknowledge Thomas and strip my children of everything! And now... you’ve brought that bloodline straight back into the light.”
Victoria leaned forward, her eyes burning with insane intensity. “And the Board knows it. The real Board.”
“What real Board?” Elena demanded, her voice shaking.
May you like
“The Syndicate,” Victoria whispered. “The men who funded Arthur’s ships. The men who actually own the transatlantic routes. They don't care about federal court orders, Elena. And tonight... they are liquidating the family.”
***
