Chapter 7 - The Reckoning
Victoria’s face turned chalky white. "That's... that's ridiculous! They're five years old! They're confused! They're making it up because they're attached to the maid!"
"My daughters do not lie," Franklin said, his voice dropping into a tone so cold it chilled the warm air of the ballroom.
He stood up slowly, turning to the hotel manager who was hovering nervously near the door. "Bring me the hallway security footage from the West Wing corridor. Now."
"Sir," the manager stammered, "the VIP wing cameras are private—"
"I OWN THIS HOTEL!" Franklin roared, his voice shaking the crystal chandeliers. "BRING ME THE FOOTAGE!"
Three minutes later, the hotel’s chief security officer rushed into the room holding a tablet. With trembling hands, he cued up the high-definition security feed from the West Wing hallway and held it out for Franklin, Arthur Vance, and the surrounding reporters to see.
The video was crystal clear.
It showed Victoria Vance slipping a heavy stack of cash to a young catering waiter. It showed the waiter deliberately spilling wine on Valerie’s dress. And most damningly, it showed Victoria opening Valerie’s unattended purse on the hall table and dropping the three-million-dollar Buchanan Star Sapphire Necklace inside before locking the door from the outside!
Shocked gasps and camera shutters exploded across the room. The reporters began furiously typing on their phones, taking photos of the tablet screen.
Arthur Vance looked at his daughter in absolute horror. "Victoria... what have you done?!"
Victoria backed away, trembling, looking around at the hostile faces of Manhattan’s elite. "Franklin... please! I did it for us! She was coming between us! She’s just a nobody! A maid!"
Franklin stepped toward Victoria, his presence imposing and terrifying.
He reached into his coat pocket, pulled out the six-carat diamond engagement ring he was supposed to give her next month, and dropped it into Victoria’s champagne glass with a sharp CLINK.
"The engagement is canceled," Franklin said softly. "The merger is canceled. And by eight o'clock tomorrow morning, Buchanan Capital will file criminal charges against you for evidence tampering, extortion, grand larceny, and defamation."
"Franklin, no!" Victoria sobbed, falling to her knees as two NYPD officers stepped forward, pulling her arms behind her back and clicking steel handcuffs around her manicured wrists.
"You're making a mistake!" Victoria shrieked as she was dragged down the carpeted hallway in front of fifty news cameras. "She's a nobody! She's a maid!"
Franklin didn't even look back at her. He turned toward Valerie, who was hugging Emma and Lily tightly against her chest.
He walked over, dropped to one knee before her, and took her hand in his.
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"Valerie," Franklin said, his voice thick with emotion, tears glittering in his eyes. "Can you ever forgive me for letting you be put through this?"
Valerie looked down at him, her heart swelling with an emotion she could no longer deny. "You believed your daughters, Franklin. That's all that matters."
