Chapter 3 - The Panic Room
Back at the estate, the silence in the ballroom was deafening.
Richard Hale stood by the glass doors, his phone pressed against his ear. His hand shook so violently he nearly dropped it.
“What do you mean the plates match?” Richard hissed into the receiver.
Vanessa paced the floor, her veil torn. “Dad! Do something! He just left! Daniel just left me at the altar!”
“Shut up, Vanessa!” Richard barked.
Lorraine gasped, clutching her pearls. “Richard! Do not speak to our daughter that way. Daniel is just throwing a tantrum. He’ll be back crawling for her forgiveness.”
Richard slowly lowered the phone. He turned to his wife and daughter, his face as pale as a ghost.
“That wasn't a tantrum,” Richard whispered. “That was Thomas Mercer.”
Vanessa frowned. “Who?”
“The owner of those SUVs,” Richard said, his voice trembling. “My private investigator just ran the plates. They are registered to the executive fleet of Mercer Global Industries.”
Lorraine rolled her eyes. “So what? Daniel's father rented a fancy car to look tough.”
“Lorraine, you idiot!” Richard shouted, finally snapping. “The guards called him Mr. Mercer! Daniel's last name is Mercer. Do you know who Thomas Mercer is?”
Vanessa stopped pacing. “The real estate tycoon? The one who disappeared twenty years ago?”
“Yes,” Richard breathed out. “He is a ghost. A ghost worth forty billion dollars. And you just called him garbage in front of five hundred people.”
The color drained from Lorraine’s face. She collapsed into a nearby chair. “No. No, that’s impossible. He works construction.”
“It’s a cover,” Richard said, pacing frantically. “It has to be. And we just handed him the perfect reason to destroy us.”
“Dad, our company is fine,” Vanessa said, trying to sound confident.
“No, it’s not!” Richard yelled, grabbing his hair. “We are thirty million in debt! I was going to use the wedding photos to convince the creditors we were stable. Now? The whole city saw the groom walk out!”
Lorraine looked at Vanessa, her eyes wide with desperation.
“You have to fix this, Vanessa,” Lorraine said. “You have to find Daniel. Cry. Beg. Tell him I was drunk. Tell him anything!”
Vanessa’s expression hardened. She looked at the platinum ring sitting on the table.
“He loves me,” Vanessa said, her voice turning cold and calculating. “He’s a soft guy. I can win him back. I just need to get him alone.”
May you like
“Do it,” Richard ordered. “Because if Mercer calls in our debts tomorrow, we lose the house, the cars, everything. We will be exactly what you called his father.”
Trash.
