Chapter 20 - THE MOTHER'S DESPERATE PLEA
Later that afternoon, the private lobby of the Vance-Sterling skyscraper echoed with frantic, desperate shouting.
Evelyn Vance, disheveled and wearing a plain black coat, rushed past the security desk toward the private elevator bank.
"I demand to see Mariana! I am her mother-in-law! Let me through right now!" Evelyn shrieked hysterically at the guards.
Two security personnel gently but firmly blocked her path, their expressions completely devoid of sympathy.
"Mrs. Vance, you are not on the approved visitor registry. Please leave the premises immediately," the lead guard instructed.
Mariana stepped out of the private elevator on her way to a conference, pausing gracefully as she spotted the older woman.
She walked over slowly, her white pantsuit rustling softly against the marble floor as she stopped a few feet away.
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Evelyn stared at Mariana, her eyes wide with a mixture of hatred, humiliation, and desperate submission.
"Mariana... please. Have mercy on Richard. He's your husband; family doesn't destroy family," Evelyn begged, her voice cracking.
