Chapter 3 — The Socialite Who Thought She Was Untouchable
Chapter 3 — The Socialite Who Thought She Was Untouchable
Vivienne Hart had never been told no.
Not by men.
Not by women.
Not by hotel managers.
Not by politicians.
And certainly not by people who worked for the Solmere Empire.
She had spent fifteen years turning her surname into a weapon.
If a restaurant refused her reservation, the owner received a phone call.
If a journalist wrote something she disliked, an attorney appeared.
If a rival socialite embarrassed her at an event, that woman somehow stopped receiving invitations.
Vivienne didn't need to threaten people.
She simply reminded them what happened to those who crossed her.
That was why, when the hotel security team told her Charlotte Vale had escaped the thirty-second floor, Vivienne didn't panic.
She laughed.
“She won't get far.”
Daniel Cross stood across from her.
“You don't understand.”
Vivienne slowly turned.
“No.”
She smiled.
“You don't understand.”
She walked toward him.
“That girl has no legal authority.”
“She has copies of the ownership papers.”
“Copies.”
Vivienne emphasized the word.
“Not originals.”
Daniel said nothing.
Vivienne looked at the security monitors.
Charlotte was gone.
So was Mr. Bennett.
The elevator doors were closing on an empty hallway.
Vivienne smiled.
“Let her run.”
Daniel's expression remained cold.
“You should be afraid.”
Vivienne laughed.
“Of her?”
“Yes.”
“You know who I am?”
“I know exactly who you are.”
“Then you know I can't be touched.”
Daniel stared at her.
“Everyone can be touched.”
Vivienne's smile faded.
“What did you say?”
He walked away.
“Eventually.”
Charlotte had no idea what Vivienne was doing downstairs.
She was running through the service corridors beneath the hotel.
Mr. Bennett followed closely behind.
Daniel was several steps ahead.
“Where are we going?” Charlotte asked.
“The parking structure.”
“We can't use the main entrance.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because Vivienne has locked the building.”
Charlotte looked at him.
“You said you were trying to protect me.”
“I am.”
“Then tell me everything.”
Daniel didn't answer.
Charlotte grabbed his arm.
“I'm done being lied to.”
He stopped.
“You want the truth?”
“Yes.”
“Your mother knew she was being watched.”
Charlotte nodded.
“I know.”
“She knew Thomas wanted the company.”
“I know.”
“She knew Adrian wanted control.”
“I know.”
“She knew Vivienne was involved.”
Charlotte frowned.
“Then why did she trust you?”
Daniel looked at her.
“Because I was the only person she believed could get you out alive.”
Charlotte stared.
“And yet you let me get dragged across the lobby.”
“I wasn't there.”
“You were watching.”
“I arrived too late.”
“Convenient.”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“Believe what you want.”
Charlotte stared at him.
She wanted to trust him.
But after everything that had happened, trust felt dangerous.
Then Mr. Bennett spoke.
“Charlotte.”
She turned.
“There is something you need to know about Vivienne.”
“What?”
“She isn't simply Adrian's fiancée.”
Charlotte frowned.
“I know she owns part of the hotel.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“She owns something much more dangerous.”
They reached the underground garage.
A black sedan waited.
Daniel opened the door.
Charlotte hesitated.
“Where are we going?”
“The old Vale estate.”
Charlotte looked at him.
“My mother's house?”
“Yes.”
“I thought it was abandoned.”
“It is.”
“Then why would the papers be there?”
“Because nobody searches places they believe no longer matter.”
Charlotte entered.
Mr. Bennett followed.
Daniel got behind the wheel.
The car pulled away.
Charlotte looked back at the hotel.
She could still see Vivienne standing inside the glass entrance.
Watching.
Smiling.
Charlotte felt something cold settle in her stomach.
That woman wasn't afraid.
Not yet.
Twenty minutes later, Vivienne entered a private conference room.
Adrian was waiting.
He looked furious.
“Where is she?”
“Gone.”
“You let her escape?”
Vivienne poured herself champagne.
“She escaped.”
“Do you understand what she's carrying?”
“Copies.”
“Copies that can be authenticated.”
Vivienne shrugged.
“Then destroy the originals.”
Adrian stared at her.
“They're hidden.”
“Where?”
“We don't know.”
Vivienne took a sip.
“Then find them.”
“I've been trying.”
“And?”
“Nothing.”
Vivienne placed her glass down.
“Then use your brain.”
Adrian glared.
“You're enjoying this.”
“A little.”
“You know what's at stake.”
“Yes.”
“Billions.”
“No.”
Vivienne smiled.
“More than billions.”
Adrian frowned.
“What?”
“Power.”
She stepped closer.
“Once Charlotte is declared legally incapable of managing the Solmere estate, everything changes.”
Adrian looked at her.
“What are you planning?”
Vivienne smiled.
“I don't want your hotel.”
“What?”
“I want the entire empire.”
Adrian froze.
“You promised me the company.”
“I promised you a future.”
“You said—”
“I said what I needed to say.”
Vivienne walked past him.
“You were useful.”
Adrian grabbed her wrist.
“Don't play with me.”
Vivienne looked down at his hand.
Then back at him.
“Let go.”
He didn't.
She smiled.
“You really think you're in control?”
Adrian released her.
Vivienne adjusted her sleeve.
“You're not.”
She walked toward the door.
“None of us are.”
At the old Vale estate, Charlotte stood before the gates.
The property had been empty for years.
The gardens were overgrown.
The windows were covered.
The house looked abandoned.
But Charlotte remembered it differently.
This had been where her mother had raised her.
Where Eleanor had taught her to ride a bicycle.
Where Charlotte had celebrated her tenth birthday.
Where her father had once promised to build her a treehouse.
She walked inside.
Dust covered the furniture.
The air smelled old.
Mr. Bennett followed.
“Where would she hide something this important?”
Charlotte thought.
“My mother never trusted obvious places.”
She walked toward the library.
Books lined every wall.
She ran her fingers across them.
Nothing.
Then she stopped.
One book was slightly different.
A copy of The Count of Monte Cristo.
Her mother had always hated the book.
Charlotte pulled it.
A section of the wall opened.
Mr. Bennett stared.
“Your mother never showed me this.”
Charlotte smiled sadly.
“She never showed anyone everything.”
Inside was a small room.
And on the table sat a wooden box.
Charlotte opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Her mother.
Her father.
Charlotte as a child.
And behind them…
Thomas Vale.
Charlotte turned pale.
“Why is he here?”
Mr. Bennett looked at the photograph.
“He was your father's brother.”
“I know.”
“No.”
He pointed.
“Look at the date.”
Charlotte read it.
The photograph had been taken two years after her father supposedly died.
Her blood turned cold.
“He was alive.”
“Yes.”
“And my mother knew.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did she hide it?”
Mr. Bennett looked toward the box.
“Because your father didn't die.”
Charlotte couldn't breathe.
A sound came from outside.
A car.
Then another.
Daniel looked through the window.
“We have company.”
Charlotte stepped closer.
“How many?”
“At least six.”
Mr. Bennett whispered:
“Thomas.”
Charlotte stared outside.
Black vehicles were surrounding the estate.
Then the front door opened.
A man walked inside.
Thomas Vale.
Older.
Gray-haired.
Elegant.
Calm.
Charlotte had not seen him in years.
He looked at her.
And smiled.
“Hello, Charlotte.”
She stepped backward.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“You've been hiding.”
“Yes.”
“You killed my mother.”
His smile disappeared.
“No.”
“Then where is she?”
Thomas looked at Daniel.
Then Bennett.
Then Charlotte.
“Your mother is alive.”
Charlotte's heart pounded.
“Where?”
Thomas took a step forward.
“You have something I need.”
“The ownership papers?”
“Yes.”
“I don't have them.”
He smiled.
“You have the key.”
Charlotte looked at the wooden box.
There was a small metal key inside.
She hadn't noticed it before.
Thomas pointed.
“That.”
Charlotte closed her hand around it.
“What does it open?”
“The original Solmere vault.”
“Where?”
Thomas smiled.
“Under the hotel.”
Charlotte stared.
“You lied.”
“To everyone.”
“Why?”
“Because the papers were never kept in the estate.”
He stepped closer.
“They were hidden beneath the Solmere Hotel before you were born.”
Charlotte's mind raced.
“Then why did my mother send me here?”
“Because she knew you would find the key.”
“What does the key unlock?”
Thomas's expression changed.
“The room where your mother has been kept.”
Charlotte froze.
“She's under the hotel?”
“Yes.”
Alive.
For three months.
Held beneath the building she legally owned.
Charlotte's hands shook.
“Why didn't you kill her?”
Thomas smiled.
“Because she refused to tell me where the original papers were.”
“And now?”
“Now she doesn't need to.”
“Why?”
“Because you found the key.”
A gunshot suddenly shattered the window.
Charlotte ducked.
Daniel pulled her behind the wall.
Mr. Bennett screamed.
Thomas stepped backward.
More shots followed.
The room exploded into chaos.
Daniel shouted:
“Move!”
Charlotte ran toward the rear corridor.
“Where?”
“Basement!”
They raced downstairs.
Charlotte held the key tightly.
Behind them, footsteps thundered.
She could hear Thomas shouting.
“Don't let her leave!”
Daniel kicked open a steel door.
A tunnel appeared.
“Go!”
Charlotte ran.
The tunnel led beneath the property.
Cold air rushed past her.
She looked at Daniel.
“Where does this go?”
“To the hotel.”
Charlotte stopped.
“What?”
“The old Solmere underground railway.”
Her heart pounded.
“So my mother built a tunnel between the estate and the hotel?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To move valuables during emergencies.”
Charlotte stared.
“People?”
Daniel didn't answer.
She understood.
The tunnel had been designed for more than money.
It had been designed for escape.
They reached the other end.
A metal door opened.
Charlotte stepped into darkness.
Then lights flickered on.
A huge underground chamber appeared.
Steel walls.
Security cameras.
Computer terminals.
And at the center…
A glass room.
Someone was sitting inside.
Charlotte stopped breathing.
“Mom?”
The woman inside slowly stood.
Her face was thinner.
Her hair was shorter.
But it was her.
Eleanor Vale.
Alive.
Charlotte rushed toward the glass.
“Mom!”
Eleanor pressed her hand against it.
Tears filled her eyes.
“Charlotte.”
Charlotte began crying.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you let me think you were dead?”
“I had no choice.”
“You always had a choice!”
Eleanor shook her head.
“They were watching you.”
“Who?”
Before Eleanor could answer, every screen in the chamber suddenly activated.
Vivienne appeared.
She was smiling.
“Family reunion.”
Charlotte turned.
“Vivienne.”
Vivienne laughed.
“You finally found the vault.”
Eleanor's expression changed.
“No.”
Vivienne smiled.
“Yes.”
She looked directly at Charlotte.
“You have no idea what you've just unlocked.”
Charlotte clenched her fists.
“Let my mother go.”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because the ownership papers are inside the vault.”
Charlotte looked around.
“Where?”
Vivienne smiled.
“Right behind your mother.”
Charlotte turned.
A steel panel slowly opened.
Inside was a safe.
Vivienne's voice came through the speakers.
“Open it.”
Charlotte looked at the key.
Then at her mother.
Eleanor shook her head.
“Don't.”
Vivienne laughed.
“Go ahead.”
Charlotte stepped toward the safe.
“What happens if I don't?”
Vivienne's smile disappeared.
“Your mother dies.”
Silence.
Charlotte's fingers tightened around the key.
Then Eleanor whispered:
“Charlotte…”
Charlotte looked at her.
Her mother's eyes were full of fear.
Not for herself.
For Charlotte.
And suddenly Charlotte understood.
The ownership papers weren't the only thing inside that safe.
There was something else.
Something Vivienne was terrified of.
Charlotte inserted the key.
The lock clicked.
The safe opened.
Inside was a thick black folder.
A silver flash drive.
And one handwritten letter.
Charlotte picked up the letter.
Her mother's handwriting.
She opened it.
The first sentence made her blood freeze.
Charlotte, if you are reading this, Vivienne has already betrayed Adrian.
Charlotte looked toward the screen.
Vivienne was still smiling.
But now…
her smile was gone.
Because she realized Charlotte had found something she couldn't control.
Something that could destroy all of them.
Charlotte looked at her mother.
Then at the folder.
Then at the camera.
And for the first time that night, Charlotte smiled.
“Your turn to be afraid.”
Vivienne's face went pale.
Charlotte opened the folder.
And discovered the name of the person who had ordered her mother's death.
It wasn't Thomas.
It wasn't Adrian.
It wasn't Vivienne.
It was someone Charlotte had never suspected.
Someone who had been beside her from the beginning.
Someone who had spent months pretending to save her.
Someone who had known exactly where Charlotte would run.
Daniel Cross.
Charlotte slowly turned.
Daniel stood behind her.
May you like
His gun was raised.
And his expression had changed completely.
