Chapter 8: Echoes of Ruin
Across the city, in a dimly lit, overpriced hotel bar, Victoria Sterling stared venomously at the television screen hanging above the liquor shelf. Clara’s face was everywhere. The caption at the bottom of the screen read: The Billionaire's Cinderella: Clara Vanguard Wins America's Heart.
Victoria gripped her martini glass so hard her knuckles turned white. Her phone had stopped ringing three days ago. Her so-called friends had blocked her numbers, and her country club membership had been discreetly but firmly revoked. Julian Vanguard had made good on his promise; she was financially and socially ruined.
A man in a sharp charcoal suit slid onto the barstool next to hers. He ordered a scotch neat before turning his head slightly. "You look terrible, Victoria."
Victoria scowled, recognizing the arrogant profile of Arthur Vanguard, Julian’s uncle and Eleanor’s husband. "What do you want, Arthur? Come to gloat? Your nephew completely destroyed my life."
"My nephew is currently holding a loaded gun to my head, too," Arthur muttered, taking a sip of his scotch. "He has documents. Financial records. If he releases them, Eleanor and I lose the trust."
"Then why are you talking to me?"
"Because Julian has a weakness now," Arthur said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "He was untouchable before, a machine. Now, he has a pregnant wife he's desperate to protect. The public loves her because she plays the humble, working-class saint. But nobody's past is that spotless."
Victoria’s eyes narrowed, a spark of malicious hope igniting in her chest. "You want to dig into her background."
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"I can't be seen doing it. Julian has my accounts monitored," Arthur said, sliding a thick, unmarked envelope across the polished mahogany bar. "But you... you have nothing left to lose. There's fifty thousand in cash in there. Find a ghost from her past. An ex-boyfriend, a distant relative, a juvie record. Find the dirt, Victoria, and bring it to me. We shatter her saintly image, we break Julian's focus, and we take our lives back."
Victoria’s hand slipped over the envelope. For the first time in days, a predatory smile touched her lips. "Consider it done."
