Chapter 19 #2
She let out a harsh, bitter laugh. "Removed?
You already removed me from existence, Reid!
You stripped away everything I had. My condo, my accounts, my equity.
" She took a clumsy, aggressive step forward.
The surrounding guests watched in stunned fascination.
"You single-handedly ruined my life!" Her face flushed an angry red, with spit flying from her lips.
"You took a match to my career and burned me to the ground just to prove a point to a woman who doesn't even appreciate you!
I bled for Mitchell Energy. I knew your mind, Reid.
I knew exactly what you needed to succeed.
I would have been a far better wife to you than she ever was! "
She shot a venomous glare at me, her upper lip curling in deep disgust. "She just sat in your expensive house and complained about your ambition. She dragged you down. I actually matched it."
Victoria turned her attention back to Reid, her voice escalating into a frantic rant.
"You destroyed me to save a pathetic, failing marriage.
And I am going to make you both pay for it.
I will tell every media outlet in this city exactly what happens behind the closed doors of your company. I will tear your reputation apart."
Reid absorbed the threat without a flinch. The muscles in his jaw tightened, but his expression remained a mask of cold corporate detachment. He didn't engage with her hysteria. He didn't defend his marriage. He simply dismantled her entire narrative with surgical precision.
"My reputation is entirely secure," Reid informed her quietly. His low voice commanded the absolute silence of everyone in the vicinity. "And your downfall was entirely your own fault."
Victoria opened her mouth to argue, but Reid cut her off, his words hitting her like heavy stones.
"I did not ruin your life," he stated, stepping closer, forcing her to look up at him.
"I merely applied a little pressure to a life built entirely on lies and debt.
You fabricated your background. You falsified your credentials.
You leveraged massive lines of credit you could never repay to fake a social standing you did not earn. "
Victoria’s face paled beneath the smudged makeup.
"You attempted to siphon capital from my accounts to bail yourself out of a financial collapse you created," Reid continued relentlessly.
"You targeted my wife because you were desperate for a lifeboat.
I didn't destroy you, Victoria. You let your own house of cards collapse.
I simply refused to be your safety net."
As he spoke, laying her secrets bare for the Seattle elite to hear, I watched Reid subtly shift his line of sight. He looked past Victoria’s trembling shoulder, caught the eye of the venue's head of security, and gave a short, definitive nod of authorization.
Victoria stared at him, her chest heaving. The reality of his words, the absolute exposure of her grift in front of the exact demographic she had spent her life trying to infiltrate, finally seemed to penetrate the haze of alcohol. She prepared to launch into another screaming tirade.
I didn't wait for her to start.
I didn't shrink behind Reid. I didn't let my husband fight the battle for me, and I didn't hide from the public spectacle.
The days of me fading into the background were over.
I stepped out from behind the protective barrier of Reid's shoulder and moved up beside him, planting my heels firmly into the carpet.
I looked directly into the eyes of the woman who had stood on my porch and tried to dismantle my reality.
A month ago, Victoria Albright had terrified me. She had represented a flawless, untouchable ideal that I felt I could never match. She had possessed the corporate savvy and ruthless ambition my husband had seemed to value above all else. She had made me feel entirely replaceable.
Looking at her now, I felt absolutely no fear. I didn't even feel the hot sting of anger. I just saw a desperate, empty con artist who had finally run out of targets.
"You want to know why you lost, Victoria?" I asked, keeping my voice steady, clear, and level.
She blinked, momentarily derailed by my intervention. She glared at me, her jaw working as she tried to formulate a cutting insult, but her brain was too clouded to move fast enough.
"You lost because you don't know how to actually build anything," I told her, holding her chaotic gaze.
"You look for wealthy men to siphon off of.
You look for established foundations to exploit.
You spent your entire career trying to insert yourself into the margins of other people's success because you lack the substance and the intellect to create your own. "
She opened her mouth, her face twisting into an ugly mask of rage, but I refused to yield the floor to her.
"If you want to fix your ruined life, you need to stop looking for shortcuts and stop looking for husbands to steal," I suggested, delivering the words with a cold, unyielding finality.
"Try putting in some honest work. Try learning how to give something of value to the world, rather than just taking from it until there is nothing left but ash. "
Two large security guards materialized behind her. One guard clamped a heavy hand onto her raised wrist. The other guard grabbed her opposite arm, locking her into a firm, inescapable hold.
"Hey!" Victoria shrieked, struggling violently against their grip. "Take your hands off me! Let me go!"
"Ma'am, you need to come with us right now," the head guard instructed gruffly.
They turned her around and began marching her toward the exit.
She dragged her heels against the carpet, shouting incoherent, vile threats back at us.
Her voice echoed off the massive glass windows, a humiliating display that forced the remaining guests to turn their heads away in secondhand embarrassment.
They dragged her through the grand double doors, and the wood swung shut behind them with a definitive click, sealing her out of our lives for good.
The room remained breathlessly silent for a long, heavy moment. The Seattle elite stood frozen in place, processing the brutal, unscripted drama that had just unfolded.
I stood next to Reid, my pulse slowly returning to a normal rhythm. I didn't feel the overwhelming urge to flee the venue or hide in the restroom until the gossip died down. I had faced the ghost of my failed marriage head-on, in the middle of Reid's world, and I had emerged unscathed.
Slowly, the ambient chatter of the room began to resume.
A waiter cleared his throat awkwardly and offered a silver tray of appetizers to a nearby couple.
The hum of networking picked back up, far more animated than before as the guests transitioned into gossiping about the scene they had witnessed.
I took a measured sip of my sparkling water, letting the cool liquid soothe my dry throat. I lowered the glass, turned my head, and looked up at Reid.
"Well," I commented mildly, keeping my tone perfectly casual. "All things considered, we handled her rather well this time."
Reid let out a low breath. The formidable tension bled entirely out of his posture. The cold corporate armor vanished. He looked down at me, a profound mixture of deep respect, overwhelming relief, and fierce affection lighting up his dark eyes.
"We did," Reid agreed quietly, a proud smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
He didn't make a scene to assert his dominance over the room. He simply leaned in, his hand finding the small of my back once more, and pressed a warm, chaste kiss against my temple.
The touch was a steady promise. It was an acknowledgment of the united front we had just presented to the world, and a reaffirmation of the boundaries we were actively building together.
He pulled back, his hand remaining firmly anchored to my waist. We turned in unison, stepping away from the entryway, and walked back into the event.