Chapter 5

The thick carpet in the Ware Group's top-floor boardroom absorbed the sharp clicks of Annabelle's high heels.

She wore the perfectly pressed black suit. She walked in and scanned the massive room.

Julian wasn't there. Sitting across the oval mahogany table was Jocelyne. And next to her, the twins.

Jocelyne wore a pure white cashmere sweater. Her left wrist was wrapped in a thick white bandage. She looked small, fragile, and terrified.

Leo immediately jumped out of his leather chair. He stood in front of Jocelyne, glaring at Annabelle like a protective guard dog.

Annabelle pulled out the heavy leather chair opposite them. She sat down, her posture completely relaxed.

She tossed her briefcase onto the polished wood table. It landed with a heavy, intimidating thud.

Jocelyne's eyes welled up with tears. "Annabelle, how could you do this?" Her voice trembled perfectly. "You're destroying this family. You don't care about the company's reputation at all."

Annabelle let out a short, sharp laugh. It cut through the room like a blade. She didn't let Jocelyne finish her pathetic script.

She snapped her briefcase open. She pulled out a stack of glossy 8x10 photographs and slid them hard across the smooth table.

They stopped right in front of Jocelyne.

The photos showed Jocelyne at a private underground club in Soho, exactly one hour before the hit-and-run. She was chugging champagne straight from the bottle, grinding against a male model.

Jocelyne's face drained of all color. She lunged forward, her bandaged hand clawing at the photos to hide them.

Annabelle was faster. She slammed the tip of her metal pen down hard, pinning the corner of the top photo to the table.

She leaned forward. Her voice was low and lethal. "Your estimated blood alcohol content at the time of the crash was 0.18. More than double the legal limit."

Theo frowned. He stood up on his tiptoes, trying to see the photos. Jocelyne frantically pushed them under her arms, her chest heaving.

Annabelle shifted her gaze to the twins. There was no motherly warmth left. Only the cold, calculating stare of a boardroom executive.

"If she goes to trial," Annabelle said clearly, using the exact corporate tone Julian used, "the scandal will cause the Ware Group's stock to plummet by at least twelve percent. Your trust funds will bleed millions. Is that the logical choice, Theo?"

The boys froze. They were completely stunned by the flawless, ruthless logic. They had no counter-argument.

Jocelyne realized she was losing her grip on her audience. The tears spilled over.

"You're lying!" Jocelyne screamed hysterically. "You photoshopped these! You're trying to frame me!"

Annabelle leaned back in her chair. She watched Jocelyne's meltdown with the detached amusement of someone watching a bad play.

"I've already set a delayed send on the digital copies," Annabelle said casually. "If I don't cancel it by noon, they go straight to TMZ and Page Six."

Jocelyne broke. She jumped up from her chair. Her elbow knocked into her porcelain coffee cup.

The dark brown liquid splashed violently across her pure white cashmere sweater. She looked pathetic. Ruined.

She covered her face with her hands and ran out of the boardroom, sobbing loudly.

"Aunt Jocelyne!" Leo yelled, chasing after her.

Theo stayed behind. He stared at his mother, his young face contorted with confusion and a new, unfamiliar fear.

Annabelle ignored him. She looked down and started organizing her papers.

In the corner of the ceiling, a small security camera blinked with a faint red light.

In the CEO's office next door, Julian sat frozen in front of his monitors. He had watched the entire thing.

He stared at the screen. He didn't recognize the ruthless, terrifying woman sitting in that chair.

The yellow No. 2 pencil in his hand snapped in half. The jagged wood dug into his palm.

He stood up so fast his chair hit the wall. He stormed out of his office, heading straight for the boardroom.