Chapter 6: The Mistress’s Panic
Late that afternoon, my cell phone rang with an unknown caller ID originating from a Chicago area code. I let it ring twice before swiping the screen to accept, holding the phone away from my ear to capture the audio recording app running in the background.
“What the hell is going on?” a frantic, breathless voice shrieked the moment the line connected. It was the brunette from the airport—identifying herself through sheer panic as Victoria Lane, Julian’s VP of Marketing and secret partner.
“All our business accounts are frozen by federal marshals!” Victoria yelled, her composure completely shattered as background noises of a hotel lobby echoed through her receiver. “Julian is locked in a conference room in Chicago screaming at his bankers, and the board is threatening an internal audit! Did you do this?”
I kept my voice low, steady, and dripping with icy detachment. “You and Julian should have checked who actually owned the roof over your heads before you decided to steal a dead man’s legacy, Victoria.”
May you like
There was a sharp gasp of absolute horror on the other end of the line before the connection went dead with a harsh click. Victoria finally realized that their secret conspiracy had been fully exposed, and the panic was officially setting in.
I placed the phone facedown on the wooden desk, feeling a profound sense of poetic justice wash over my soul. They had wanted to leave me with nothing in the cold, and now they were tasting the bitter pill of total ruin.
