Chapter 5 - The Reckoning Begins"Victoria! Thomas!" Richard called out with a bright, fake smile, completely unaware of the disaster. "The press is arriving at the front gate! Is everything ready for the—"
Richard stopped dead in his tracks.
He saw the overturned purse on the floor. He saw Thomas standing guard like a shield. And then, his eyes landed on the woman sitting in the wheelchair.
The color drained from Richard’s face so fast he looked like a ghost. The champagne bottle slipped from his fingers, crashing onto the marble and splashing sparkling wine over Victoria’s pristine white suit.
"E-Elena?" Richard choked out, his knees visibly trembling. "What... what are you doing here?"
"Your fiancé just threw me out of my own house, Richard," Elena said calmly, her tone devoid of all warmth.
Richard turned toward Victoria, his eyes wide with horror and unadulterated fury. "You did what?!"
"Richard, I didn't know!" Victoria cried out, tears of embarrassment and terror ruining her makeup. "She was wearing a nurse's outfit! She didn't say who she was!"
"Shut up! Just shut up!" Richard screamed, trembling as he turned back to Elena, instantly dropping to his knees on the wet marble floor, ignoring the wine soaking through his trousers.
"Elena, please," Richard begged, clasping his hands together. "She’s an idiot! I’ll break off the engagement right now! Please don't cancel the management contract! If you pull the funding, the firm will collapse!"
Elena looked down at the man begging on his knees, then at Victoria, who was hyperventilating in horror, and finally at the gathered guests who were now filming the entire catastrophe on their phones.
Elena placed her hands on the wheels of her chair.
"Thomas," Elena said quietly.
"Yes, Miss Vance?"
"Freeze all corporate accounts associated with Vance Real Estate immediately," Elena commanded, her voice steady and absolute. "Terminate Richard's position as project manager. And give everyone in this room five minutes to leave my house."
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She turned her wheelchair around, facing the rain-slicked doors.
"As for you, Victoria," Elena added without looking back, "you wanted to see who really owned this home. Now you know."
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