Chapter 7 - the woman in room four
Jonathan felt a cold knot tighten in his stomach. "What are you talking about?"
Eleanor gestured toward Victoria, who was cowering near the door. "Tell him, Victoria. Tell him where Clara Jenkins has been for the last three years."
Victoria burst into fresh tears, covering her face. "I didn't want to! Mother made me!"
Sarah stood up from her chair, her eyes wide with sudden, terrifying hope. "Clara is alive? My sister is alive?"
"She was alive three years ago," Eleanor said coldly, devoid of any empathy. "When Clara realized her baby had been taken from the hospital, she spent two years searching for Victoria. Three years ago, she tracked Victoria down to our private summer estate in upstate New York."
"And what did you do to her?" Jonathan demanded, stepping around the desk, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"We couldn't let her go to the press," Eleanor explained smoothly, as if discussing a business transaction. "It would have destroyed the Carter-Vance stock value. So my private security team detained her. We placed her in a private, high-security psychiatric facility in Vermont under an assumed name."
"You locked my sister in an asylum?" Sarah screamed, lunging forward, but Marcus gently held her back.
"She was emotionally unstable!" Eleanor insisted, her eyes flashing with cold arrogance. "She was claiming a billionaire's child was hers! Any doctor would certify her as delusional!"
Jonathan pulled his phone from his pocket, dialing a direct line to his chief legal counsel. "David. Prepare an immediate federal emergency habeas corpus writ for the Green Valley Psychiatric Facility in Vermont. I want state troopers at those gates in one hour."
Eleanor stood up, her cold face finally showing a flicker of anger. "Jonathan! Think about what you're doing! If this story hits the news, the Carter Enterprise stock will plummet by forty percent by morning! You will ruin us all!"
Jonathan walked right up to Eleanor, leaning down until his face was inches from hers. His dark eyes burned with pure, unadulterated disgust.
"I don't care about the stock, Eleanor," Jonathan whispered, his deep voice carrying a lethal promise. "I care about my daughter. And by morning, I am going to tear your entire empire down to the ground."
Jonathan turned to Marcus. "Take Eleanor and Victoria into the private holding room downstairs. Guard them until the state troopers arrive."
"No! Jonathan, please!" Victoria sobbed as Marcus and another guard escorted them out of the office. "I love Emily! I raised her!"
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"You lived a lie," Jonathan said, turning his back on her as the heavy doors slammed shut.
Jonathan turned to Sarah, whose face was illuminated by the golden lamp on the desk. "Get your coat, Sarah. We're flying to Vermont tonight."
