Chapter 13 - VICTORIA'S DESPERATION
The federal holding facility visiting room was cold,
sterile,
and smelling faintly of industrial disinfectant.
Victoria sat behind a thick glass partition,
wearing a standard orange holding jumpsuit without a speck of makeup.
Her blonde hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail,
completely devoid of the polished elegance she had weaponized for years.
She picked up the heavy plastic telephone receiver with shaking hands.
I sat on the other side of the glass,
holding my own receiver with calm composure.
“You did this,
” Victoria hissed through the audio speaker,
her eyes burning with pure hatred.
“You orchestrated every single federal charge,
you leaked the documents to the press,
you ruined my entire life!”
“No,
Victoria,
” I replied calmly into the mic.
“I simply stopped protecting you from the consequences of your own actions.
”
“You thought you could steal my money,
sleep with my husband,
and humiliate me with that photograph.
”
“You miscalculated.
”
“You assumed I was weak because I chose to keep the peace.
”
Victoria pressed her face closer to the glass,
her voice dropping to a venomous whisper.
“I will get out of this,
” Victoria threatened.
“I have friends in high places,
I have offshore contacts who—”
“Who blocked your number the second your accounts were frozen,
” I interrupted smoothly.
“Victoria,
your offshore accounts were seized by federal authorities yesterday afternoon.
”
“Your mother's Mercedes is next on the asset forfeiture list because it was bought with foundation funds.
”
“You have no money,
no allies,
and no defense.
”
Victoria’s breath hitched in her throat.
The arrogant facade finally shattered entirely,
leaving behind a terrified,
desperate woman.
“Please,
” Victoria whimpered,
tears spilling down her cheeks.
“Drop the civil charges,
sign an affidavit saying it was all a misunderstanding,
help me get out of here.
”
“I’ll leave the country,
you’ll never see either of us again.
”
I stared at her through the thick glass for a long,
silent moment.
“When you sent me that photograph of you and my husband in my bed,
what did you expect me to feel,
Victoria?” I asked softly.
“Despair?”
“Humiliation?”
“Submission?”
“Well,
you achieved your goal of waking me up.
”
“And now,
you get to live with the masterpiece you created.
”
I hung up the phone receiver,
May you like
stood up smoothly,
and walked out of the visiting room without looking back once.
