Chapter 2 - The Estate of Emeralds
I didn't leave in a rusty sedan. I left in a black Sikorsky helicopter that touched down right on the roof of the courthouse.
Within an hour, I was being escorted into the Vance Estate—a sprawling, palatial mansion nestled on a private cliffside overlooking the ocean. For a girl who had spent her life bouncing between cramped foster homes and Marcus’s sterile, modern apartment, the sheer scale of the estate was dizzying.
Maids in crisp uniforms drew a warm bath for me, and a private chef prepared a nutrient-rich meal for the baby. For the first time in months, the heavy, suffocating knot of anxiety in my chest began to loosen.
Later that evening, Victoria found me in the solarium. We sat on plush velvet sofas under a canopy of stars.
“I didn't want to overwhelm you,” Victoria said softly, handing me a cup of chamomile tea. “But I needed you out of that toxic environment immediately.”
“How did you survive it?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper. “Losing me?”
“I almost didn't,” she admitted, a tear escaping her eye. “But I built my empire on the promise that one day, I would have the power to protect you from anyone and anything. And I will, Maya. I swear it.”
As we talked late into the night, sharing pieces of the lives we had missed, my phone began to vibrate violently on the glass table.
It was Marcus. He had called forty-seven times.
May you like
Victoria picked up the phone, her perfectly manicured finger hovering over the screen. Without a word, she dropped it into a silver pitcher of iced lemon water on the table. We watched it spark and die.
“Tomorrow,” Victoria said, her eyes flashing with a dangerous light. “We ruin him.”
