Chapter 3 - THE DEVIL’S BARGAIN
Elena sat on the cold steel bench inside the precinct lobby.
Her wedding gown was soaked, ruined, and covered in mud.
No one looked at her with pity.
The police officers walked past her as if she were invisible.
Every officer in this precinct knew who paid their extra bonuses.
The Vance family ruled the city from the shadows.
A tall man in a tailored charcoal suit walked into the lobby.
His leather shoes clicked sharply against the tile floor.
He stopped directly in front of Elena.
He carried a leather briefcase and an umbrella.
"Ms. Miller?" the man asked in a calm, baritone voice.
Elena looked up, her red eyes filled with desperation.
"Are you from legal aid?"
The man gave a sharp, unsmiling nod.
"My name is Marcus Kane."
"I am a defense attorney."
"Did Julian send you?" Elena asked bitterly.
"Julian Vance does not have the courage to hire me," Marcus replied coldly.
He opened his briefcase and pulled out a clean towel, handing it to her.
"I was hired by someone who wants to see the Vance empire burn as much as you do."
Elena stared at the towel, then at his sharp gray eyes.
"Who?"
"That doesn't matter right now," Marcus said.
"What matters is that Victoria Vance just filed an emergency petition in family court."
"She claims you are mentally unfit."
"She claims you have a history of violent delusions."
"She is using your slap in the ballroom as evidence of unprovoked assault."
Elena stood up instantly, her body shaking with anger.
"She locked my daughter in a dark cellar!"
"The little girl had bruises on her arms!"
"Where is the proof?" Marcus asked plainly.
"Do you have photographs?"
"Do you have medical reports?"
"Do you have witnesses from that ballroom who will dare testify against Victoria Vance?"
Elena’s mouth opened, but no sound came out.
There were two hundred people in that room.
All of them owed their wealth to Victoria.
Not a single person would speak for her.
"They took everything from me..." Elena whispered, tears overflowing.
"They took my daughter."
"They will take her," Marcus corrected her sharply.
"Unless you stop playing the victim and start playing their game."
Elena wiped her eyes with the back of her muddy hand.
"What game?"
Marcus leaned down, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"Victoria Vance has a secret."
"A secret so massive that if it reaches the public, the Vance stock will plunge to zero overnight."
"Julian is not Victoria’s biological son."
Elena gasped, her breathing catching in her throat.
"What?"
"Twenty-eight years ago, Victoria’s real child died at birth," Marcus explained softly.
"She bought a baby from an impoverished orphan girl to keep her husband’s inheritance."
Marcus pulled a small USB drive from his pocket and pressed it into Elena’s hand.
"On this drive is the hospital record."
"Use it."
"Blackmail her?" Elena asked, terrified.
May you like
"No," Marcus smiled darkly.
"Destroy her."
