Chapter 14 - Vanessa’s Final Attack
The next morning, Vanessa appeared on television.
I watched the interview from Alexander’s office.
And I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
My sister.
The woman who came to my apartment crying.
The woman who apologized.
The woman who claimed she wanted the truth.
She was sitting beside a reporter.
Looking devastated.
“I never wanted this situation to become public.”
Her voice trembled perfectly.
Too perfectly.
“My family has always been private.”
I stared at the screen.
Alexander stood beside me.
“She’s lying.”
I looked at him.
“How do you know?”
“Because she’s performing.”
And he was right.
I knew Vanessa.
She had spent her entire life performing.
The perfect daughter.
The perfect wife.
The perfect family image.
The reporter leaned forward.
“Vanessa, there are claims that your sister was secretly planning legal action against your father before Thanksgiving.”
Vanessa looked down.
A pause.
Perfect timing.
“I don’t want to accuse my sister of anything.”
That sentence alone told me everything.
Because people who didn’t want to accuse someone…
usually didn’t put the accusation on television.
“But?”
The reporter asked.
Vanessa sighed.
“I just wish she had talked to us.”
There it was.
The manipulation.
Not a direct lie.
A suggestion.
A shadow.
Enough to make people doubt.
Within hours, public opinion shifted.
Again.
The internet loved a family scandal.
Especially one involving money.
People who supported me yesterday questioned me today.
Alexander watched the reports.
“She’s following a strategy.”
“What strategy?”
“Make you look emotional.”
A pause.
“Make them look like victims.”
I clenched my fists.
“She knows exactly what she’s doing.”
“Yes.”
He looked at me.
“And that means someone taught her.”
That evening, Vanessa called.
I almost didn’t answer.
But I did.
“Emma.”
Her voice was different.
Not confident.
Not calm.
Afraid.
“What do you want?”
A long silence.
“I’m sorry.”
I closed my eyes.
“Vanessa.”
“I know what you’re thinking.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
Her voice cracked.
“You think I betrayed you.”
“You did.”
The silence afterward was painful.
Because it was true.
“I was scared.”
I said nothing.
“She told me if I didn’t cooperate, everything would collapse.”
My eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
Vanessa didn’t answer.
“Vanessa.”
“She promised she could fix everything.”
“Who?”
Finally…
she whispered:
“Mom.”
I froze.
My mother.
Of course.
But then Vanessa said something else.
Something I never expected.
“Emma…”
Her voice trembled.
“Mom wasn’t working alone.”
The room suddenly felt cold.
“Who else?”
Vanessa hesitated.
“I don’t know.”
“Then why are you calling me?”
“Because I found something.”
“What?”
“A file.”
I stood.
“What file?”
“A file Dad kept hidden.”
My heartbeat increased.
“Where?”
“In his office.”
“Vanessa, what’s inside?”
Silence.
Then:
“Your name.”
Twenty minutes later, Vanessa arrived at Alexander’s office.
She looked terrified.
Not guilty.
Terrified.
She handed me a small black folder.
I opened it.
Inside were photographs.
Documents.
Emails.
And one name repeated over and over.
A person I had never heard of.
Someone connected to both families.
Someone who had been moving pieces behind the scenes for years.
Alexander read the name.
And his expression changed.
For the first time since I met him…
he looked shocked.
“Impossible.”
I looked at him.
“Who is it?”
He stared at the document.
Then at me.
“Someone who should have been dead.”
My blood went cold.
“What?”
Alexander slowly closed the folder.
“Emma…”
A pause.
“My father spent his entire life trying to stop this person.”
May you like
The room went silent.
“Because they are the reason both our families were destroyed.”
