Chapter 9
Security guards started to move toward Alice, but she didn't back down. She took a step toward Estelle.
Benito stood up, blocking her. "Stay back! Don't you dare come near her."
"Why?" Alice asked, her voice cutting through the murmurs of the crowd. "Are you afraid I'll tell them what she whispered to me right before she threw herself on the floor?"
Estelle, still on the floor, looked panicked. She tried to scramble up, but her hand landed on the broken stem of the wine glass she had dropped.
"Ow!" she cried out for real this time.
She lifted her hand. Blood-real blood-welled up from a cut on her palm. It dripped onto the white dress, mixing with the wine.
"She's bleeding!" someone screamed.
"You monster!" Benito lunged at Alice. He raised his hand to shove her.
Alice sidestepped. He stumbled, catching himself on the pillar. He looked foolish.
"Enough!"
Her father, Richard Stafford, pushed through the crowd. His face was purple with rage. He looked at Estelle bleeding on the floor, then at Alice.
"Alice!" he roared. "On your knees! Apologize to your sister immediately!"
Alice looked at her father. The man who had asked her to sign the fraudulent documents three years ago.
"Apologize for what?" she asked. "For her clumsiness? For her lies?"
"For disgracing this family!" Richard raised his hand. "I should have left you in that cell to rot!"
He swung.
Alice didn't flinch. She took a step closer, invading his personal space, her voice a venomous whisper meant only for him. "If you hit me," she said, her voice low and clear enough that the tremor in it was his alone to hear, "I will recite the exact account numbers of the offshore shell companies you used to hide the assets during the SEC investigation. I'll say them right here, right now, for every reporter with a recording device."
Richard's hand stopped inches from her face.
The silence in the room was absolute. You could hear a pin drop.
"What did she say?" a guest whispered. "Offshore accounts?"
Richard's eyes bulged. He looked terrified. He knew she knew. She was the one who had memorized the ledgers before she took the fall.
"You wouldn't," he hissed.
"Try me," Alice said. "I have nothing left to lose, Father. You took my freedom. You took my reputation. You took my life. Do you really think I care about your stock price anymore?"
Estelle was clutching her hand, staring at Alice in horror. She realized, perhaps for the first time, that Alice wasn't playing by their rules anymore.
Benito looked between Alice and Richard. He looked confused. He saw the fear in Richard's eyes.
"Alice," Benito started, his voice uncertain.
"Shut up, Benito," Alice said without looking at him. "This is between me and the man who sold me out."
Alice held her father's gaze. She had the power. For the first time in her life, she was the one holding the gun.
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