Chapter 7 - The Poisoned Apple
Maya burst into Veronica’s penthouse apartment at 2:00 AM, holding the printed financial ledgers. Elias tried to intercept her, but Veronica waved him off from the balcony.
"You lied to me!" Maya screamed, throwing the papers onto the glass coffee table. "She’s alive! You’ve been paying her to stay away from me my entire life!"
Veronica looked at the papers, her face draining of color. "Maya... it’s not what you think."
"You monster! You let me grow up in the foster system! You let me think she burned to death, all to protect your precious brand!"
"I didn't know you existed!" Veronica yelled back, her voice echoing in the massive penthouse. She walked over to the table, her hands shaking. "I didn't pay her to stay away from you, Maya. I paid her to stay away from me."
Maya froze. "What?"
Veronica collapsed onto the sofa, the regal ice queen finally breaking under the weight of a twelve-year lie. "The fire wasn't an accident. I didn't start it, Maya. Serena did."
Maya shook her head violently. "No. No, she wouldn't do that."
"She was brilliant, but she was unstable," Veronica whispered, tears finally streaking her flawless makeup. "When I told her I was going to sell the formula to a mass distributor, she snapped. She poured ethanol over the lab. She lit the match. She wanted to destroy the formula, me, and herself. I barely made it out."
Veronica looked up, her eyes filled with a haunting sorrow. "A week later, she contacted me. She survived. But she was severely burned. She said if I didn't pay for her reconstructive surgeries and fund her life, she would go to the police and tell them I started the fire to steal the patent. It would have been my word against a burn victim."
"You're lying," Maya stepped back, her world spinning. "This is another manipulation."
"Is it?" Veronica pulled out her phone and unlocked a hidden folder. She tossed the phone to Maya.
May you like
Maya looked at the screen. It was a video file, dated two days ago. It showed Serena—older, her face partially scarred but undeniably her—meeting with Damian Sterling in a dark parking garage in Geneva.
"Serena is the one who tipped Damian off," Veronica said quietly. "She sent you to me. She orchestrated this entire hostile takeover. She doesn't want justice, Maya. She wants the company. And she’s using you as the pawn to get it."
