Chapter 4: The Viper in the Grass
Across town, in the penthouse suite of a luxury hotel, Vanessa smashed a crystal champagne flute against the wall.
The glass shattered into a thousand glittering pieces, raining down onto the plush white carpet.
"He kicked me out!" Vanessa screamed, pacing the floor like a caged animal. "Me! He chose a pathetic, dirt-poor maid over the heiress to the Sterling fortune!"
Sitting calmly on the white leather sofa, sipping his own glass of champagne, was a man with slicked-back hair and a sharp, predatory smile. Marcus Vance, Daniel’s older cousin and bitter rival for the CEO position.
"Calm down, Vanessa," Marcus drawled, swirling the golden liquid in his glass. "Hysterics will get you nowhere. My cousin has always had a soft spot for charity cases. It makes him feel like a god."
"I am going to destroy her, Marcus," Vanessa hissed, her eyes wild and bloodshot. "I want her reputation burned to the ground. I want Daniel crawling back to me, begging for my family's backing."
Marcus chuckled softly. "Well, you played your hand too early with that stupid necklace stunt. Daniel has security cameras in every corner of that mansion. You were reckless."
"I was angry!"
"And anger makes you sloppy," Marcus replied, setting his glass down. He pulled a thick manila folder from his briefcase and tossed it onto the glass coffee table.
Vanessa stopped pacing and stared at the folder. "What is that?"
"I have eyes inside Daniel’s estate," Marcus said, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "While you were busy throwing tantrums, I was doing opposition research on the little maid. Emily Thorne."
Vanessa snatched the folder and ripped it open. Inside were photographs. Emily walking into a rundown apartment building. Medical bills. A photo of a sickly ten-year-old boy in a hospital bed.
"Her brother," Marcus explained lazily. "Severe congenital heart defect. She's drowning in debt. And guess what? Just an hour ago, two million dollars was anonymously transferred to the boy's hospital, paying his account in full."
Vanessa’s jaw dropped. "Daniel paid it?"
"Daniel bought her," Marcus corrected. "My cousin is a smart man. He knows the board is panicking about the broken engagement. I guarantee you, by tomorrow, he’s going to parade Emily around as his tragic, beautiful, secret lover. It’s the perfect PR spin to save his CEO seat."
Vanessa’s manicured nails dug into the photographs, crinkling the paper. A slow, venomous smile began to form on her lips.
"Tomorrow is the Vance Foundation Charity Gala," Vanessa whispered, the wheels in her dark mind turning quickly.
"Exactly," Marcus said. "All the press will be there. The board of directors. The elite of the city. If Daniel shows up with her, he’s trying to sell a fairy tale."
Vanessa looked at Marcus, her eyes flashing with pure malice. "Then we need to remind everyone that she's just the help. I know exactly how to ruin her tomorrow night. Daniel wants a fairy tale? I’m going to give him a tragedy."
Meanwhile, back at the Vance estate, Emily was living a completely different kind of chaos.
A team of six high-end stylists, rushed in via helicopter by Daniel, had taken over the guest wing. Emily was being scrubbed, buffed, measured, and pinned.
"Hold still, darling!" a flamboyant stylist named Antoine commanded, pinning a swath of emerald-green silk against her waist. "You have the waist of a runway model, but you slouch like a tired waitress. Shoulders back! Chin up! You are going to be a queen tomorrow."
Emily looked at herself in the massive gilded mirror. Her tangled brown hair had been treated and blown out into cascading, shiny waves. Her skin was glowing. She didn't look like herself.
Daniel leaned against the doorway, watching the transformation. For the first time since she met him, he looked genuinely speechless.
"Will she be ready?" Daniel asked Antoine, though his eyes never left Emily.
"She will be breathtaking, Mr. Vance," Antoine beamed.
Daniel stepped into the room, walking up behind Emily so his reflection stood tall beside hers in the mirror. He placed a warm, heavy hand on her bare shoulder. The heat of his touch sent a shiver straight down her spine.
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"Tomorrow night, the wolves will be circling," Daniel whispered, leaning down so only she could hear. "Don't show them fear, Emily. Show them you belong here."
Emily met his gaze in the mirror, her heart pounding. "I'll try."
