Chapter 8 - Vanessa's Fury|
Meanwhile, across town at the penthouse suite of the Cole Tower, Vanessa Cole was screaming.
She threw a glass vase against the marble fireplace, sending shards of crystal exploding across the room.
"He threw me out!" Vanessa shrieked, her silver gown ruined, her makeup smeared with tears of pure rage. "In front of everyone! He ended the engagement for a maid!"
Her father, Richard Cole—a brutal, white-haired billionaire developer in his late sixties—sat in a leather armchair, sipping scotch. His expression was dark, calculating, and cold.
"Quiet down, Vanessa," Richard growled.
"Quiet down?!" Vanessa spat, turning on him. "Father, he humiliated us! The news is already spreading on social media! Everyone is talking about it!"
"I don't care about social media," Richard said, setting his glass down with a heavy thud. "I care about the fifty million dollars I invested in Hastings Development yesterday. And I care about the fact that Adrien Hastings just made a fool of my family."
"What are we going to do?" Vanessa sobbed, dropping onto the sofa. "We can't let him get away with this!"
"We won't," Richard replied, his pale eyes narrowing. "Adrien thinks he can stand alone. But he doesn't know what I know. Twelve years ago, when his sister Clara vanished, I helped his father cover up the real reason she left."
Vanessa looked up, startled. "What cover-up?"
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"Clara Hastings was supposed to sign over her twenty-percent share of the Hastings estate to me on her eighteenth birthday," Richard revealed, a cruel smile touching his lips. "When she ran away, her father and I forged her signature to keep the company's stock stable. If Adrien breaks our alliance now, I’ll release the forged documents to the SEC. I'll destroy Hastings Enterprises, and I'll take his company out from under him."
Vanessa’s eyes flared with malicious joy. "Do it, Father. Tear him down."
