Chapter 15 - The First Strike
Vanessa stood over Emily like a predatory bird, her white designer suit glowing under the cabin’s recessed LED lights.
“Do you really think you’ve won, Emily?” Vanessa asked, her voice dropping into a harsh, venomous hiss.
Emily pulled her hands back toward her chest, pressing herself deeper into the leather cushions.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Vanessa,” Emily said, her voice trembling slightly despite her best efforts.
“You trapped my son,” Vanessa snarled, stepping closer until her pointed white heels were inches from Emily’s feet.
“You let him knock you up like a stray dog so you could sink your claws into fifty generations of wealth.”
“That is not true!” Emily whispered, tears stinging her eyes. “I love Daniel!”
“Love?” Vanessa laughed, a short, ugly, barking sound. “You don’t even know the meaning of the word.”
A young flight attendant, Hannah, pushed open the galley curtain carrying a silver tray with warm chamomile tea.
The moment Hannah saw Vanessa looming over the heavily pregnant woman, she froze in her tracks.
“Ma’am? Is everything alright?” Hannah asked hesitantly, her eyes darting between the two women.
“Get out,” Vanessa commanded without even turning her head.
“Ma’am, Mr. Sterling instructed me to bring—”
“I said GET OUT!” Vanessa snapped, her voice cracking across the cabin like a gunshot.
Hannah turned pale, pulled the curtain shut, and retreated into the forward galley, trembling.
Emily’s heart hammered violently against her ribs.
The baby kicked hard—a sharp, sudden pain that made Emily gasp and instinctively curl her arms over her belly.
“Look at you,” Vanessa sneered, pointing an accusing, manicured finger straight at Emily’s face.
“Disgusting. Pathetic. A gutter rat pretending to be a queen.”
Emily squeezed her eyes shut, trying to breathe through the contraction-like cramp tightening across her abdomen.
“Please, Vanessa,” Emily begged quietly, not wanting any confrontation at forty thousand feet.
“Please just leave me alone. Think about your grandchild.”
That word was the trigger that shattered the last shred of Vanessa’s sanity.
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“Grandchild?” Vanessa whispered, her face contorting with blinding rage.
“That thing inside you will never carry the Sterling bloodline with my blessing!”
