Chapter 12 - Victoria Finally Tells the Truth
Victoria did not deny knowing Anna.
That was the first surprise.
She sat in Dominic’s library with two attorneys beside her.
Grace sat across from her.
Dominic remained standing.
“Marcus says you ordered surveillance on my mother,” Grace said.
Victoria nodded.
“Eight years ago.”
“Why?”
“Because Anna contacted me.”
Grace’s anger flickered into confusion.
Victoria continued.
“She knew Julian was using me.”
Dominic’s voice hardened.
“You told me you barely spoke to him.”
“I lied.”
“At least we’re making progress.”
Victoria flinched.
“I was eighteen when Julian pulled me into his business.”
Grace stared.
“He used your identity?”
“My accounts. My name. Later my relationships.”
Dominic understood.
“Me.”
Victoria looked at him.
“Yes.”
The word hurt.
She did not soften it.
“At first.”
Dominic looked away.
Victoria continued.
“Julian wanted access to Vale systems. I dated you because he pushed me toward you.”
Grace watched Dominic absorb it.
“But you stayed four years,” she said.
Victoria’s eyes filled.
“That stopped being for Julian.”
Dominic laughed once.
“You don’t get to decide which years were real for me.”
“I know.”
Grace returned to the question.
“My mother.”
Victoria nodded.
“Anna discovered I was connected to Julian. She contacted me secretly and offered to help me get away.”
“Then why surveil her?”
“Because Julian was watching me too. I had to make it look like I was watching Anna for him.”
Grace stared.
“Did you hurt her?”
“No.”
“Did you poison her?”
Victoria’s face broke.
“No.”
“Who did?”
“I think Julian did.”
“Marcus says he doesn’t know.”
“Marcus never knew everything.”
Dominic folded his arms.
“The necklace.”
Victoria touched her bare throat.
“I knew it transmitted.”
Grace inhaled.
Dominic’s expression hardened.
Victoria continued quickly.
“But not to Julian.”
“To whom?”
“Federal investigators.”
Silence.
One attorney slid a document across the table.
Victoria had been a confidential cooperating witness for eleven months.
Dominic read it twice.
“You were recording me?”
“I was recording Marcus.”
“In my home.”
“Yes.”
“At my table.”
“Yes.”
Dominic’s anger sharpened.
“You could have told me.”
“No. Marcus had access to your phones, your security, your office.”
“You could have trusted me.”
Victoria looked at him sadly.
“That’s what everyone in this story keeps saying after learning how many systems were compromised.”
Dominic hated that she had a point.
Grace leaned forward.
“Why did you panic when I found the chair device?”
“Because Marcus had told me if anything disrupted the dinner, he would know I was cooperating.”
“You were afraid of him.”
“Yes.”
“Then why scream at me?”
Victoria’s eyes filled.
“To make him believe I still thought you were lying.”
Grace sat back.
The humiliation had been theater.
Cruel theater.
But theater nonetheless.
“I’m sorry,” Victoria whispered.
Grace did not answer.
Dominic looked at the cooperation agreement.
“Did federal investigators know about the chair?”
“No.”
“Did they know Grace was being used?”
“No.”
Victoria turned to Grace.
“I didn’t know who you were until tonight.”
Grace believed her.
That did not mean forgiveness.
Then one attorney cleared his throat.
“There is something else.”
Dominic looked at him.
“Of course.”
He placed a toxicology report on the table.
Anna Bell had not been poisoned.
Grace stared at the page.
The substance found in her medical records was part of an experimental treatment.
Grace looked at Victoria.
“My mother really had cancer?”
Victoria nodded.
“Yes.”
“Julian lied.”
“Yes.”
Grace closed her eyes.
Julian had used even her mother’s natural death as leverage.
Dominic watched the anger leave Grace’s face.
Not because she forgave anyone.
Because one ghost had finally been allowed to rest.
Then Victoria spoke again.
“Anna left one message for you.”
Grace opened her eyes.
Victoria slid a small recorder across the table.
“I’ve kept it eight years.”
Grace pressed play.
Her mother’s voice filled the room.
“Grace, if you ever hear this, remember something important.”
May you like
Grace began crying before the next sentence.
“You were never the secret. You were the reason I survived as long as I did.”
