Chapter 8 - The Shadow of Vengeance
A month passed like a beautiful dream.
Autumn reached its peak in Chicago, painting the city in vibrant shades of crimson, gold, and orange.
Maddie’s life had stabilized into a rhythm of joy and purpose. Under her leadership, the Carter Educational Foundation had already granted fifty medical scholarships to underprivileged youth. Leo had been officially discharged from the hospital, his health completely restored, and was now attending a prestigious private school in the city.
She and Elliot were inseparable. They attended galas together—not as a publicity stunt, but as a couple whose genuine devotion to one another was plain for everyone to see. The high-society circles that had once bowed to Brianna Whitmore now welcomed Maddie with deep admiration and respect.
However, envy is a disease that rarely dies quietly.
In a small, dingy motel on the outskirts of Gary, Indiana, Brianna Whitmore sat on a stained bed, staring at a tabloid magazine. The cover featured a gorgeous photograph of Elliot and Maddie walking arm in arm out of a charity gala in Paris, both beaming with radiant happiness.
Brianna’s eyes were bloodshot, her hair unkempt, her expensive clothes replaced by cheap sweatpants. Her father had been formally indicted and was awaiting trial in a federal detention center. All their property had been seized. She was living on a tiny allowance provided by a distant uncle who pitied her.
"It should have been me," Brianna spat, her voice raspy and unhinged, her fingernails digging into the magazine cover, tearing Maddie’s face to shreds. "That maid took my life! She took my fortune! She took my man!"
Sitting in an armchair across the room was Greg Vance—the former lead security guard at the Whitmore estate who had been fired by Elliot after the scandal.
"The news says Carter is planning to propose to her next week," Greg said, taking a sip from a cheap beer can. "He bought a forty-carat pink diamond from a jeweler in London. He’s hosting a private party at the lake estate."
Brianna stood up, her face twisting into a terrifying mask of malice. "He thinks he can give her my ring? He thinks he can bring her back to that estate where I was supposed to be queen?!"
"What are you gonna do about it, Brianna?" Greg grunted. "You're broke. Carter has twenty armed guards surrounding that place."
Brianna walked over to her vanity table, pulling out a small, heavy black object from her leather purse. It was a silver snub-nosed revolver she had taken from her father’s private collection before the federal marshals seized the estate.
"He ruined my life," Brianna whispered, her voice trembling with dangerous insanity. "If I can't have Elliot Carter’s fortune... then that maid is going to pay the ultimate price."
May you like
Greg stared at the gun, a dark, greedy grin spreading across his face. "If we pull this off... Carter will pay millions to get her back. We can get out of the country."
"I don't want his money, Greg," Brianna said coldly, her eyes burning with lethal hatred. "I want to watch her bleed on the same marble floor where she served me tea."
