Chapter 11 - Unmasked in Public
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I looked past Daniel's smirking face and met Vanessa's eyes.
"Does she?" I asked quietly.
Vanessa stared at me, her brow furrowing in concentration. She looked at my face, then down at the custom sapphire ring on my right hand, and finally at Nathan Cole sitting across from me.
Gradually, blood drained from Vanessa’s face.
"Oh my God," Vanessa gasped, taking a step backward. "You're... you're Rebecca Whitmore Lane."
Daniel chuckled, completely oblivious. "What are you talking about? Her name is Rebecca Lane. She was a middle-management secretary before I met her."
"Daniel, shut up!" Vanessa snapped, her voice trembling with embarrassment. "She’s the CEO of Stonebridge Meridian Partners! She bought out my uncle's development firm last year!"
Daniel’s smile froze. "What?"
"She controls over two billion dollars in assets, you idiot!" Vanessa hissed. She grabbed her designer clutch from the table. "I don't know what kind of pathetic lie you're running here, but leave me out of it!"
She turned on her high heels and marched straight out of the restaurant.
Daniel stood frozen beside our table, his mouth opening and closing as his brain struggled to process the information.
Before he could speak, his phone chimed furiously in his jacket pocket. He pulled it out and answered with a shaky hand.
"Hello? ... What do you mean, suspended?!" Daniel’s voice cracked into a panic. "The trade publication ran a story on our audit?! Who leaked that?!"
I took a slow sip of my water.
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Judith marched over, her face twisted in rage. "I don't know what kind of dark witchery you're using, girl, but my son will survive you!"
"I hope he does, Judith," I replied smoothly, looking her dead in the eye. "Because surviving the truth is much harder than surviving a lie."
