CHAPTER 10 THE SECOND BETRAYAL
Andrew called Margaret while I listened.
“Mariana is falling apart,” he said.
“She’ll transfer the trust.”
Margaret sounded pleased.
“I knew she was weak.”
Andrew’s jaw tightened.
“She wants proof Elena will be released.”
“She will be.”
“Where?”
“Old Whitmore estate.”
“Midnight.”
Andrew paused.
“And after the transfer?”
“You come home.”
He looked at me.
“To you?”
“To your family.”
The call ended.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he whispered, “I’m sorry.”
I did not answer.
We built the plan around Margaret’s arrogance.
She believed Andrew wanted his old life back.
She believed I would trade everything for my mother.
She was right about one thing.
I would.
But not in the way she expected.
At 11:50 p.m., we arrived at the abandoned Whitmore estate.
I wore a recording device beneath my coat.
Andrew carried false transfer documents.
Federal agents waited two miles away.
We could not risk the judge connected to Dane learning about the operation.
Inside the ballroom, Margaret stood beside Senator Dane.
My mother sat in a chair between two guards.
The moment she saw me, her face broke.
“Mariana.”
I wanted to run to her.
I forced myself not to.
Margaret held out her hand.
“The documents.”
Andrew gave them to her.
She read the first page.
Then she smiled.
“At last.”
Dane stepped forward.
“You should have stayed ignorant, Ms. Escalante.”
I looked at my mother.
“What did she discover?”
Dane’s smile faded.
“Too much.”
Margaret signed the document.
Andrew moved toward me.
For one terrible second, the scene looked exactly like the mansion.
Him beside his mother.
Me alone.
Margaret laughed.
“You see, Mariana?”
“He always chooses us.”
Andrew took my hand.
“No.”
He pulled me behind him.
Then he struck the nearest guard.
The room erupted.
Agents entered through the side doors.
Dane ran.
Margaret grabbed my mother.
She pressed a knife near her throat.
“Stop!”
Everyone froze.
Margaret dragged Elena toward the balcony.
“You ruined everything,” she hissed at me.
My mother met my eyes.
Then she did something no one expected.
She drove her heel down on Margaret’s foot.
She threw herself sideways.
Andrew caught Elena.
Margaret stumbled through the broken balcony railing.
I grabbed her wrist.
She hung above the stone courtyard.
Her eyes widened.
“Save me.”
I looked at the woman who had destroyed my family.
Then I tightened my grip.
Because I was not her.
Agents pulled her up.
As they handcuffed Margaret, Dane’s car crashed through the front gate.
May you like
He had escaped.
And Brenda was in the passenger seat.
