Chapter 5 - The Confession
The boardroom fell into a suffocating silence, broken only by the hum of the HVAC system and the distant sirens wailing down on Fifth Avenue far below.
Victoria slowly lowered her arms. The panic in her eyes flickered out, replaced by a cold, venomous defiance. She walked over to the mahogany table, leaned down until her face was inches from Ethan’s, and let out a sharp, bitter laugh.
“You really think you’re the hero of this story, don't you, Ethan?” she whispered, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.
Ethan didn't flinch. “You ruined a woman’s life. You stole ten years of a mother and daughter’s existence. You lied to my face every single day we built this company together.”
“I built this company with you!” Victoria hissed, her voice vibrating with suppressed fury. “When you were a broke college dropout sleeping on a cot in a damp garage, who brought you the venture capital? Who introduced you to my father? Who made you a billionaire? I did! You were supposed to marry into the Hale family, Ethan! You were supposed to be mine! But the moment some art student with big eyes batted her eyelashes at you, you were ready to throw it all away!”
“She was pregnant with my child, Victoria,” Ethan said, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous growl.
“She was a liability!” Victoria straightened up, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder with a haughty flick of her neck. “If you had been tied down with a baby and a penniless wife ten years ago, Pierce Technologies would never have gotten past its first funding round. I cleared the board. I cleared your life. I did what was necessary to make you great!”
“By destroying my soul?” Ethan stood up slowly, towering over her. “You didn't make me great, Victoria. You made me a prisoner in a life built on a foundation of stolen bones.”
Marcus Thorne stepped forward, clicking a pair of cold steel handcuffs onto the table.
“Victoria Hale, you are under arrest for federal wire fraud, embezzlement, kidnapping by proxy, and criminal conspiracy,” the federal agent stated crisply. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
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As the cold metal clicked around her wrists, Victoria didn't scream. She didn't cry. She just stared at Ethan with a look of pure, unadulterated hatred as the federal agents escorted her out of the boardroom, her heels clicking a rhythmic, final march down the hallway.
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