CHAPTER THIRTEEN #2
“You built your importance there.”
“Children built their lives there.”
“Don’t become noble. It doesn’t suit you.”
“You stole money intended for them.”
Vanessa’s face sharpened.
Below, applause began. The master of ceremonies had reached the stage.
“I moved money Charles had already hidden,” Vanessa said. “Your signature made it easier.”
There.
A confession, though incomplete.
Alyssa looked at the phone.
Vanessa laughed quietly. “You think I’ll keep that part?”
“I think the building has cameras.”
“Not on the landing.”
Alyssa’s eyes shifted toward the ceiling.
The nearest camera covered the corridor entrance. The decorative arch blocked the center of the landing. She had approved that position because guests in the bridal suite deserved privacy.
Vanessa had studied the plans.
Of course she had.
Alyssa moved toward the stairs.
Vanessa blocked her again.
“Damian will introduce me in four minutes,” she said.
“He will read a prepared statement.”
“He’ll stand beside me.”
“He has stood beside hundreds of people.”
“He stood in front of you at the foundation office.”
The memory struck cleanly.
Damian placing his body between them. Vanessa crying. Alyssa holding the useless recording.
“You arranged that,” Alyssa said.
“Yes.”
The answer held no apology.
“And the bracelet?”
“Yes.”
“The medical records?”
Vanessa smiled.
“You already know.”
Alyssa reached for the stair rail to move around her.
The brass cap shifted beneath her palm.
A small metal sound came from the base.
She looked down.
One fastening screw sat an eighth of an inch proud of its housing. The next had been loosened enough to expose the thread.
Alyssa released the rail.
Vanessa watched her notice.
“What did you do?”
“Careful,” Vanessa said. “You’re being recorded.”
Alyssa stepped away from the railing. “You loosened it.”
“Why would I do that?”
“To stage another accident.”
The phone rose between them.
“Are you threatening me?” Vanessa asked, her voice suddenly louder.
“No.”
“You followed me up here.”
“Sophie brought me.”
“She came because you told her you had a gift.”
Alyssa moved toward the corridor instead.
Vanessa caught the chain at her throat.
The necklace Damian had given Alyssa on their fifth anniversary snapped against the back of her neck. Small diamonds scattered across the carpet.
Pain stung beneath her hair.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Vanessa staggered backward.
Her free hand struck the weakened railing.
Metal groaned.
Alyssa lunged forward, grabbing for her arm.
Vanessa twisted away.
For one suspended second, they faced each other beside the failing rail.
No fear showed in Vanessa’s eyes.
Only decision.
She threw her body against the brass.
The railing tore free.
Vanessa fell through the gap.
Her shoulder hit the first step. Her body rolled across the next four before landing against the wall below.
A scream ripped through the lobby.
Alyssa stood above the broken rail, one hand extended into empty air.
Blood appeared at Vanessa’s hairline immediately.
Too much blood.
A dark stream crossed her temple and ran onto the white marble floor.
Guests crowded the foot of the staircase.
Damian reached Vanessa first.
He dropped beside her and placed a hand near her neck without moving her. “Call an ambulance.”
Security officers pushed people back.
Sophie broke through them.
“Mom!”
Damian caught her before she reached Vanessa.
“Don’t touch her, Sophie.”
The child screamed and fought his arms.
Alyssa started down the stairs.
Damian looked up.
His face stopped her.
“What happened?”
“Vanessa loosened the railing.”
A security officer glanced toward the broken fittings.
“She pulled me toward it,” Alyssa continued. “She tore my necklace and threw herself through.”
Vanessa made a weak sound from the floor.
“She pushed me.”
The words barely carried.
Every phone in the lobby seemed to turn toward Alyssa.
Damian stared at his former fiancée, blood covering one side of her face.
“No,” Alyssa said. “Check the screws.”
Sophie clung to Damian’s jacket.
“Mrs Vader pushed her,” the child cried.
Silence spread through the nearest guests.
Alyssa looked at Sophie.
The girl’s face had crumpled with terror. She repeated the sentence more loudly.
“She pushed Mom. I saw.”
“You were downstairs,” Alyssa said.
Sophie shook her head hard. “I saw.”
“Don’t question her,” Damian snapped.
Alyssa’s gaze returned to him.
“I’m not questioning her. I’m telling you what happened.”
“Step away from the stairs.”
“Inspect the railing.”
“Alyssa, step away.”
One of the security officers climbed toward her.
Alyssa descended on her own.
The broken necklace caught beneath her shoe. Diamonds pressed into the carpet.
She stopped three steps above Damian.
“Vanessa admitted the foundation fraud. She admitted editing the recording and arranging the office scene. Her phone may contain part of it.”
Vanessa’s hand lay open beside her.
The phone was gone.
Alyssa searched the floor.
No device.
“She recorded me,” she said. “Find it.”
Damian looked at the blood on Vanessa’s face.
“She needs an ambulance.”
“Both facts can exist.”
“You need to leave.”
Alyssa stared at him.
Cameras flashed beyond the security line.
“Leave the hotel?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“This is my gala.”
“There are hundreds of people here. I will not allow another confrontation.”
“Another confrontation?”
“You are standing over an injured woman.”
“She staged this.”
“Sophie says you pushed her.”
“Sophie says what Vanessa taught her to say.”
The child made a wounded sound.
Damian rose.
His hand remained on Sophie’s shoulder.
“Stop.”
One word.
Quiet again.
Enough again.