Chapter 5 - The Mastermind
The next morning, the sun rose over a house that felt entirely different.
It was quiet, peaceful, and entirely mine.
I sat at the kitchen island, sipping black coffee while reviewing a stack of legal documents my lawyer, Diane, had dropped off.
My phone rang; it was an unknown number.
"Hello?" I answered cautiously.
"Sarah, it's Brooke," a sharp, venomous voice replied on the other end.
I felt a spike of adrenaline but forced my breathing to remain steady.
"I'm surprised they let you have a phone in holding," I replied smoothly.
"I made bail," she snapped.
"Adam liquidated his secret crypto wallet to get me out."
Even now, after knowing she had faked a pregnancy, Adam was still trying to save her.
"How touching," I noted dryly.
"I didn't call to trade insults," Brooke snarled.
"I called to tell you that you haven't won."
I flipped a page in my legal binder.
"You're facing federal charges, Brooke. I think my definition of winning is different from yours."
"Your father ruined my father," she suddenly hissed, her tone shifting from arrogant to deeply furious.
I paused, my coffee cup freezing halfway to my lips.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, my brows furrowing in confusion.
"My real last name isn't Davis," Brooke revealed.
"It's Vance. Richard Vance was my father."
The name hit me like a physical blow to the chest.
Richard Vance had been my father's former business partner twenty-five years ago.
He was caught embezzling company funds and went to prison, where he died of a heart attack a few years later.
"This wasn't just about the money, was it?" I realized aloud.
"It was about revenge," she confirmed.
"I wanted to dismantle your family the way your father dismantled mine."
"My father held yours accountable for a crime," I corrected her firmly.
"Just like I am holding you accountable for yours."
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I hung up the phone before she could say another word.
This wasn't just a dirty affair anymore; it was a generational vendetta.
