Chapter 5 - The Confession of a Climber
"You poisoned her," I said.
It wasn't a question. It was a mathematical conclusion.
Vivienne let out a hysterical, broken laugh, sliding down against the sideboard until she was half-kneeling on the rug, her expensive sapphire gown crumpled around her legs like spilled ink.
"I didn't mean to kill her!" Vivienne shrieked, the thin veneer of her sophistication shattering entirely. "I just wanted her out of the way! She found out about my debts, Damian! She found out I was bleeding my accounts dry trying to keep up with the women in your circle! She was going to tell you everything before we signed the prenuptial agreement!"
"So you stole from her," I said, my voice dangerously calm. "And when she refused to be bribed or silenced, you slipped a cardiac glycoside into her water."
"It was supposed to look like a stroke!" Vivienne sobbed, burying her face in her manicured hands. "A medical emergency! The coroner ruled it natural causes! Nobody questioned it! Nobody was supposed to care about an ordinary housekeeper!"
"She wasn't ordinary," I whispered, remembering Sofia’s quiet dignity, her gentle patience with my chaotic life, the way she used to leave fresh jasmine flowers on my desk every Monday morning. "She was a human being. And you murdered her for a signature."
"We're getting married!" Vivienne screamed, looking up at me with wild, desperate eyes, her mascara running down her cheeks in black streaks. "We're a power couple! We belong together! You can't throw all of this away over a dead servant and a piece of cheap metal!"
I looked down at the platinum band resting in the palm of my hand. The hand-carved star seemed to burn against my skin.
"We are not getting married, Vivienne," I said. "In fact, by the time the state police arrive in five minutes, you won't even be able to legally say my name."
She lunged forward, grabbing the hem of my trousers. "Damian, please! Think of the scandal! The tabloids will rip your company apart! The merger will collapse! Think of your reputation!"
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I reached down and gently peeled her fingers away from my clothing, stepping back out of her reach.
"My reputation can survive a broken engagement," I said. "Your freedom, however, will not survive a murder charge."
