Chapter 14 - THE SISTER'S LAST LIE
Sloane had not known about the proxy.
At least, that was what she claimed.
Vivienne no longer accepted claims.
She accepted evidence.
Victor had signed the document three months earlier.
Long before the poisoning.
Long before Sloane's arrest.
He had positioned her as emergency successor.
"Why you?" Vivienne asked.
They sat opposite each other in a secured hospital room.
Sloane looked exhausted.
"I don't know."
"Wrong answer."
"I don't."
"Victor doesn't give power accidentally."
Sloane closed her eyes.
Then she whispered, "Mom."
Vivienne went still.
"What about her?"
"Victor contacted me after Dad died."
Evelyn stood behind Vivienne.
Her face hardened.
"What did he say?"
"He told me Mom was alive."
Vivienne stared at her sister.
"You knew?"
"Not exactly."
"You knew."
"He said there were rumors."
"For how long?"
Sloane began crying.
"Seven years."
Vivienne felt something inside her finally tear.
"You let me mourn her."
"I didn't know if it was true."
"You could have told me."
"He said if I did, she'd die for real."
Evelyn stepped back.
Sloane continued.
Victor cultivated her for years.
Small favors.
Investment opportunities.
Introductions.
He fed her resentment.
Told her Vivienne would always own everything.
Told her Charles had never trusted Sloane because she was "too emotional."
Then Adrian arrived.
Different voice.
Same poison.
Sloane had been manipulated.
But she had also chosen.
Again and again.
"Why did Victor give you his proxy?"
"I think he expected Adrian to kill you."
"Then?"
"I would inherit part of the family trust."
"And he believed he controlled you."
Sloane nodded.
Vivienne leaned back.
The board meeting was no longer a threat.
It was an opportunity.
"If you use Victor's proxy with mine, we control the vote."
Sloane looked at her.
"You still trust me with that?"
"No."
The answer landed hard.
"But I trust what you're afraid of."
Sloane frowned.
Vivienne leaned closer.
"Prison."
For the first time, Sloane almost smiled.
"Fair."
The plan formed.
Sloane would appear by secure video.
Vivienne would attend in person.
They would force the board to vote on an independent investigation.
But an hour before the meeting, federal agents arrested Evelyn.
Vivienne arrived at the lobby just as her mother was placed in handcuffs.
"What is this?"
An agent presented a warrant.
Identity fraud.
Obstruction.
Falsification of death records.
Evidence tampering.
Conspiracy.
Victor had filed everything before disappearing.
Evelyn looked at Vivienne.
"Go to the meeting."
"I'm not leaving you."
"Yes, you are."
"Mom—"
"Charles and I spent fifteen years making decisions for you."
Evelyn's eyes filled.
"Don't let me do it again."
The elevator doors opened behind Vivienne.
Board members waited upstairs.
Her mother stood in handcuffs.
Her sister controlled Victor's proxy.
Her husband sat in jail.
And Hartwell Medical Group was about to decide whether Vivienne Hartwell was competent to control her own life.
May you like
Vivienne turned toward the elevator.
"Then let's make them regret asking."
