Chapter 9
I stared at the photo of Hope.
My blood ran cold.
Someone was in my penthouse.
Watching my daughter.
I called the security team immediately.
"Someone is in the penthouse! They took a photo of Hope! Get to her room now!"
I could hear them running through the phone.
"We're on it, Mrs. Halloway. Stay on the line."
My heart was pounding.
Hope was in there.
With a stranger.
"We checked the nursery, Mrs. Halloway. The baby is fine. Sleeping peacefully. Nobody is in here."
"The photo was just sent to me! Someone was there!"
"We're checking all the cameras. All the entrances. Nobody has breached security. The photo... it looks like it was taken from the hallway camera. Someone hacked into the security system."
I breathed a sigh of relief.
Hope was safe.
But someone had hacked into my security system.
Someone was watching me.
Watching my daughter.
And they knew about my deal with Margot.
Who was it?
Eleanor Finch?
Bennett?
The cartel?
I drove back to the penthouse as fast as I could.
I ran to Hope's nursery.
She was still sleeping peacefully.
I picked her up and held her tight.
She stirred and opened her eyes.
She smiled at me.
My heart broke.
She was so innocent.
So pure.
And people were still trying to use her to hurt me.
I called my lawyers.
I told them about the photo.
About the hack.
They said they'd investigate.
They'd bring in cybersecurity experts.
They'd find out who was responsible.
But I knew who it was.
Eleanor Finch.
She was the only one who would benefit from this.
The only one who wanted to scare me.
To intimidate me.
To make me back off.
Well, it wasn't going to work.
I was going to fight back.
Harder than ever.
The next day, the trial resumed.
The courtroom was even more packed than before.
The story about the photos of me and Uncle Robert had been everywhere.
The public was divided.
Some people believed I was an adulteress.
Some people believed it was all lies.
But the damage was done.
The jury was looking at me differently.
With suspicion.
With judgment.
Bennett's lawyer called Eleanor Finch back to the stand.
She was even more composed than before.
More confident.
"Mrs. Finch," the lawyer said. "Do you have any other evidence of Tessa Halloway's inappropriate behavior?"
"I do," she said. "I have evidence that Tessa has been planning to leave Bennett and take his money for years. Evidence that she's been manipulating him. Using him. And evidence that she's not fit to be a mother."
She pulled out another folder.
"These are psychiatric reports, Your Honor. Reports from Tessa's therapist. Reports that show she suffers from severe depression and anxiety. That she has anger issues. That she's emotionally unstable. And that she's not fit to care for a child."
The reports were projected onto the screen.
I stared at them, shocked.
They were real.
They were my therapy records.
From when I was struggling with Bennett's emotional abuse.
From when I was depressed and lonely.
From when I'd needed help.
They'd been stolen.
Twisted.
Taken completely out of context.
And now they were being used to prove I was an unfit mother.
"Objection!" my lawyer shouted. "These records were stolen! They're privileged! And they're taken completely out of context!"
"Your Honor," Bennett's lawyer said. "These records are relevant to the question of Tessa Halloway's fitness as a mother. And they were obtained legally from a source who had every right to share them."
"Who?" my lawyer demanded.
"Dr. Sarah Jenkins," Eleanor said, smiling.
I froze.
Dr. Sarah Jenkins.
My best friend.
The woman who'd been my therapist.
The woman who'd been spying on me for Bennett.
She'd given them my therapy records.
She'd betrayed me in the worst possible way.
The judge looked at the reports.
He looked at the jury.
And I could see the doubt in their eyes.
The doubt about me.
About my fitness as a mother.
The judge allowed the reports into evidence.
Eleanor stepped down from the stand.
She looked at me as she walked back to her seat.
And she smiled.
A cold, victorious smile.
I felt sick.
Eleanor was winning.
She was destroying me.
Piece by piece.
And I was helpless to stop her.
Until the courtroom door opened.
Everyone turned to look.
Margot walked in.
She was wearing a prison jumpsuit.
Her hands were cuffed.
She was flanked by two guards.
She looked directly at Eleanor.
And she smiled.
A cold, dangerous smile.
"Your Honor," my lawyer said, standing up. "The defense has called Eleanor Finch. The prosecution would like to call her as a hostile witness. And we have a new witness who has evidence that will prove everything Eleanor Finch has said is a lie."
The judge nodded.
"Proceed."
Margot was led to the witness stand.
She took the oath.
She looked out at the courtroom.
And she began to speak.
"Everything Eleanor Finch has told you is a lie. Every word. She's not the grieving mother of a misunderstood son. She's the mastermind behind everything. She's the one who taught Bennett how to manipulate people. How to steal. How to lie. She's the one who chose Tessa for him. Who planned the whole marriage. Who planned to use Tessa's family to launder even more money."
The courtroom erupted.
Eleanor stood up, her face white with rage.
"Liar! You're lying! You're just bitter because Bennett chose Tessa over you!"
Margot looked at her, her eyes cold.
"Am I? Then why do I have emails between you and me? Emails where you told me to stay with Bennett. To keep him happy. That once Tessa was out of the way, I could have him. That we'd run the company together."
She paused.
"And why do I have bank records showing you've been stealing from the company for years? Even more than Bennett. You're the one who's been embezzling the most. You're the one who's been working with the cartel. Bennett was just your puppet. Your fall guy."
Eleanor was screaming now.
"She's lying! She has no evidence! These are all lies!"
But Margot was already pulling out a USB drive.
She handed it to the judge.
"Everything is on here. All the evidence. All the emails. All the bank records. Everything that proves Eleanor Finch is the real criminal here."
The USB drive was plugged into the computer.
The evidence was projected onto the screen.
Emails between Eleanor and Margot.
Emails between Eleanor and the cartel.
Bank records showing Eleanor had stolen more than fifty million dollars from the company.
Plans to frame Bennett for everything.
Plans to frame me.
Plans to take over the company and disappear with the money.
The courtroom was dead silent.
Everyone stared at the screen.
Shocked.
Horrified.
Eleanor stood frozen.
Her face as white as a sheet.
Her perfect mask had finally cracked.
Margot looked at her.
"You thought you could use everyone, didn't you? Bennett. Me. Tessa. The cartel. You thought you were the smartest person in the room. But you made a mistake. You underestimated me. And you underestimated Tessa."
She turned to the jury.
"Bennett Finch is guilty. He's a thief and a liar and a criminal. But he's not the mastermind. His mother is. She's the one who taught him everything. She's the one who planned everything. And she's the one who deserves to spend the rest of her life in prison."
Eleanor started screaming.
She was shouting about lies.
About conspiracies.
About how everyone was against her.
The guards rushed forward and restrained her.
She was led out of the courtroom, still screaming.
The judge banged his gavel.
"Order! Order in the court!"
The courtroom slowly quieted.
The judge looked at the jury.
He looked at the evidence.
He looked at Bennett, who was staring at his mother in shock and horror.
He'd had no idea.
He'd been his mother's puppet.
Her fall guy.
And now he knew.
The judge called another recess.
I stood up.
Uncle Robert came over to me, smiling.
"You did it, Tessa. You really did it."
But I knew it wasn't over yet.
Eleanor was down.
But Bennett was still fighting.
And the cartel was still out there.
They'd lost their money launderer.
And they were going to want their money back.
My phone buzzed.
It was a text from an unknown number.
But this time, I knew who it was from.
The cartel.
May you like
The text said:
"Eleanor was our partner. Now she's gone. You owe us fifty million dollars. You have seven days. Or we take what's ours. Starting with your daughter."
