Chapter 2 - The Skeleton in the Family VaultThe shock on Victoria Vance’s face vanished as quickly as it had appeared, replaced instantly by the cold, calculated survival instinct of a woman who had spent decades burying scandals under millions of dollars.
“Julian,” Victoria snapped, her voice cutting through the tense silence like broken glass. She grabbed her son’s arm, pulling him back from us. “Get a grip on yourself. You’re hallucinating. This is just a caterer who looks... uncomfortably similar to past mistakes.”
“Mother, look at the boy!” Julian yelled, his voice cracking, pointing a shaking finger at Leo, who was still buried safely against my neck. “He has my face! He has my exact age! And she’s... she’s standing right here! Who was in that grave, Mother? Who did you bury under Evelyn’s name?!”
Victoria flinched, a tiny micro-expression of guilt flashing across her powdered face before she locked her features back into stone.
“Lower your voice, Julian,” she hissed, casting a frantic glance down the service corridor to ensure no hotel executives or journalists were within earshot. “You are the CEO of Vance Global. You have a wife—Chloe—and a legitimate heir. You cannot afford a public spectacle over a kitchen ghost.”
I set Leo down gently, keeping him behind me, and turned to face the woman who had tormented my marriage and tried to erase my existence.
“You staged a funeral,” I said, my voice dangerously low, vibrating with a rage I had kept locked away for six years. “You found a body, forged a death certificate, and buried an innocent person just to make sure Julian’s divorce was finalized without a hitch.”
Victoria turned her cold, aristocratic gaze toward me. Up close, the lines around her mouth were tight with malice.
“We did what was necessary, Evelyn,” Victoria said, her tone devoid of remorse. “You were a barren, useless burden dragging Julian down. When you ran away into the night like a stray dog after we threw you out, we simply tied up a loose end. The coroner in Los Angeles owed us a favor. A nameless unfortunate from the county morgue was slipped into a mahogany box and buried in the family plot upstate. Case closed. Legal death. Clean slate.”
Hearing her admit it so casually—turning murder and identity theft into paperwork—made my stomach heave.
Julian stared at his mother, horror dawning in his dark eyes. “You... you murdered someone? You put an innocent person in the ground just to cover up throwing my wife into a storm?!”
“I protected your inheritance!” Victoria hissed back. “I protected this family! And if this little stunt gets out—if the press finds out that Evelyn Carter is alive and carrying a Vance heir—our stock will plummet, our board will oust you, and everything we built will burn to the ground!”
Julian looked from his mother to me, then down at Leo, who was staring at them with wide, intelligent eyes.
“Evelyn,” Julian whispered, taking a slow, pleading step forward, his hands raised palms-up in supplication. “Please... let’s talk. Privately. In my suite upstairs. We can fix this. Whatever you need—money, shares, a penthouse in Manhattan—I’ll give it to you. Just... don't go to the police. Don't ruin us.”
I let out a cold, humorless laugh.
“Fix this?” I echoed, my eyes locking onto his with absolute fury. “Julian, six years ago, you watched your mother throw me into a freezing storm while I was breaking my heart trying to please you. You said you never loved me. You told me to get off your property while your mistress smiled from your car.”
Julian flinched as though I had struck him across the face.
“And now?” I continued, stepping closer until I towered over his illusions of control. “You think you can buy me off with a penthouse? You think my son—our son—is a loose end you can tidy up with a checkbook?”
Before Julian could answer, I turned to my assistant, who stood frozen near the catering cart. “Sarah, take Leo down to the service exit. Get into the town car and wait for me at the apartment.”
“Mommy, I want to stay with you,” Leo whispered, his small fingers tugging at my apron.
“Go with Sarah, sweetheart,” I said, softening my voice instantly as I knelt to kiss his forehead. “Mommy just has a little business to finish with some very rude people. I’ll be home in an hour.”
Leo nodded obediently, casting one last suspicious glare at Julian and Victoria before letting Sarah lead him toward the freight elevator.
The heavy doors closed, sealing my son away from the monsters of his father’s family.
May you like
I stood back up, smoothing down my white chef’s jacket, and looked dead into the eyes of the former husband who had tried to bury me.
“The ghost you put in that grave?” I whispered, my voice chilling the air between us. “She’s coming back for every single thing you own.”
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