Chapter 4 - The Venom of the Matriarch
The realization that Beatrice Briggs was involved changed the entire geometry of the conflict. This wasn't a messy domestic dispute anymore; it was an organized criminal enterprise operating within the state’s healthcare infrastructure.
The next afternoon, while Lisa was at the clinic cooperating with the internal investigators, I returned to my bungalow to find a luxury black sedan parked in my driveway. Sitting on my porch steps, looking perfectly manicured and entirely unbothered by the cold wind, was Beatrice Briggs.
She wore a cashmere coat, gold earrings, and a pleasant, grandmotherly smile that didn't reach her dead, grey eyes.
"Evelyn," Beatrice said smoothly as I approached the porch, keeping my distance. "I think it’s time we had a civilized conversation between adults."
"You have exactly thirty seconds to get off my property, Beatrice, before I introduce you to the security system I had installed this morning," I said, my hand resting firmly inside my coat pocket, where my fingers were wrapped around a personal pepper spray canister.
Beatrice let out a soft, musical laugh. "Oh, Evelyn. Always so dramatic. Just like that little brat Mia. My son is currently sitting in a cell because of your family’s hysterical overreactions. He has a black eye and a broken nose because of you."
"He has a broken nose because he tried to assault my granddaughter," I retorted. "And he’s sitting in a cell because he’s a thief and a drug dealer."
Beatrice stood up, her smile vanishing instantly, replaced by a cold, aristocratic venom that made her look twenty years older. She stepped down from the porch, her designer boots clicking against the concrete.
"Listen to me carefully, you old fool," she whispered, leaning in close enough for me to smell her expensive perfume. "You think that little flash drive you stole makes you safe? You think your high-society lawyer friend can protect your daughter? If Darren goes down, he takes Lisa with him. I still have access to the master database. I can alter the system logs to show that Lisa authorized every single one of those transactions from her personal login at home. I can make her look like the mastermind of the entire operation."
"You’re threatening an auditor with data manipulation, Beatrice?" I asked, a slow, dangerous smile spreading across my face. "That’s a rookie mistake."
May you like
"It’s not a threat, it’s a promise," Beatrice hissed. "Tell your lawyer to negotiate a dismissal of all charges against Darren. We will leave the state, and your daughter keeps her career. If you refuse... I will personally ensure Lisa spends her thirties in a federal penitentiary, and those two children will end up in state custody."
She turned and walked back to her sedan without waiting for a reply, the heavy doors slamming shut with a metallic finality. I stood in the driveway, my heart pounding, but not out of fear. Beatrice had just confirmed exactly what Marcus Vance needed: they were terrified of what was on that flash drive, and they were desperate enough to expose their own hand to protect it.
