Chapter 11 - Planning the Revenge
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The revelation of my mother’s absolute, sociopathic deception bonded Arthur and me together with a fierce, undeniable intensity. The grief over the lost time morphed quickly into a calculated, dangerous determination. We weren't just going to survive Evelyn Vance; we were going to utterly annihilate her.
Later that afternoon, Marcus entered the sitting room, carrying a secure laptop.
"Mr. Sterling," Marcus reported, his tone strictly professional. "The FBI raided Evelyn Vance's home at 6:00 AM as planned. However, she wasn't there."
Arthur stood up, his eyes narrowing. "Explain."
"She fled after the altercation in the alley," Marcus said, pulling up a digital map. "She cleared out her local accounts and boarded a private charter flight to New York early this morning. She’s currently hiding out at the Waldorf Astoria under a maiden name."
I scoffed bitterly. "Of course she is. She thinks she can use her high-society connections to hire a fixer and spin this entire situation to her advantage."
Arthur leaned over the table, staring at the blinking red dot representing my mother's location. A slow, terrifying smile spread across his handsome face. It was the smile of an apex predator who had just trapped its prey.
"She wants to play high society?" Arthur mused, his voice dropping into a lethal register. "Then we will destroy her in front of them."
He turned to me. "Sarah, my company’s annual New Year’s Eve Gala is in three days at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. Every major power player, politician, and media outlet in the country will be there."
"You want to invite her?" I asked, my heart pounding.
"I want her to think she’s crashing it," Arthur corrected smoothly. "Evelyn thrives on public spectacle. She will try to corner me at the gala, likely planning to cause a scene to force me into a quiet, lucrative settlement to protect my reputation."
"She thrives on making me look weak and unstable," I added, remembering years of public humiliation at family dinners.
"We are going to let her walk into that ballroom thinking she holds all the cards," Arthur promised, gently brushing a stray lock of hair behind my ear. "And then, my brilliant, beautiful Sarah, we are going to burn her empire to ash."
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I looked into Arthur’s dark, commanding eyes. I felt a surge of absolute power coursing through my veins. The frightened single mother in the freezing apartment was gone. I was standing beside a king, and I was ready to become a queen.
"Tell Marcus to prepare my dress," I said firmly. "We have a party to attend."
