Chapter 29 Cries for Retribution
Valenticias POV~
The video of Clara, bound and gagged, played repeatedly in my brain, Natasha’s venomous hiss, you step down, or she pays, twisting in my gut.
I hesitated in the library back at the estate, the trembling in my hands worsening as I held onto my phone. It was my fault all my fault. I’d been suspended from the board, Natasha’s forged emails calling me a thief had weakened me, and now she’d hit me where it hurt most, the people who worked for us. Gideon’s USB, covered in his blood, was the only thing I had, but it was also my curse, bringing me closer to Victor Galden and the threats he carried.
Grandmother's voice cut through my confusion, “Valenticia, we must act. Inform Stefan of the wedding and let him announce it to the public. It’s a shield between Natasha and Galden as they will not so readily aim at a unified Clawford and New Dream.”
My heart revolted, and I counted the contract marriage as a shackle I’d slowly let be tied around my ankle.
“Grandmother, it’s a threat,” I began speaking unsurely. “What if it only escalates their attacks?”
Rosanna’s eyes went cold. “Power deters power. Your suspension weakens us. This announcement will prove to Seryne that we’re smart.”
My suspension caused a desperate craving for control, and I nodded. Natasha's video weakened my heart, but my grandmother was right. Standing by Stefan might delay the death of Clara. My heart hammered in my throat as I dialed Stefan’s number. His low, steady voice cut through the static. “Valenticia, what’s wrong?”
“Natasha’s got Clara,” I managed to get out through the tears. “We need to move faster. Let's host a press conference and announce the engagement. Can you arrange it?”
“I will take care of that,” he said, a softness in his voice I hadn’t anticipated. “Tomorrow, noon. We’ll face them together.”
The call cut off, and I held on to what he’d said, a glimmer of hope in the dark. Elaine arrived, alongside Marcus, at the mansion later that morning, looking grim. Marcus plugged the USB drive into his secured laptop, his fingers nimble. “There’s more there,” he said, as he clicked on a file. “A memo, encrypted, from Galden to a fixer. It describes the smash that killed off your parents. It was a sabotage, with their car the objective, to win Clawford’s AI patents.”
I felt a sudden grief wash over me.
A grief that left me gasping for air.
Galden had killed them. Tears scorched my eyes, but I pushed them back, fire in my voice. “He’ll pay for this. I’ll make sure of it.”
Elaine gripped my shoulder. “We will get justice, Valenticia. This memo is proof. Use it at the press conference.’”
I agreed, with determination. Galden’s empire would fall, and I would take Natasha and Gregor down with him. But there were doubts. Dmitri might have more information.
Disregarding Elaine’s counsel, I set up a meeting with him in a dim café on the edge of Seryne. Dmitri cowered in one corner; his face was wasted into nothing, and his eyes, were rapid and watchful as the eye of a wild beast chased into a corner.
“Valenticia,” he murmured, leaning in. “I didn’t know about Clara. I swear.”
I looked at him, and my heart was in knots of old hurts and new distrust. ”What do you make of Galden? His schemes, his deals with Gregor?"
His hands were shaking, fear filled his eyes. “Victor’s ruthless. He plays with people — Natasha, Gregor, me. But I never wanted you hurt. I loved you.”
The words were echoes of the past, hollow and so beneath his treachery. “Love didn’t stop you from assisting Natasha,” I said coldly. “If you are not telling the truth, Dmitri, I will destroy you.”
He shook his head, desperate. “I’m out, Valenticia. Galden’s too dangerous. Be careful.”
I didn't take his word for it, his fear was proof that Galden wasn't all that far away.
The press conference had been set as a source of hope and fear. A chance to show them who I was. I stood by Stefan at noon in a glass conference hall, Seryne’s skyline shining under the sunlight. The ring on my finger was there for the observative eyes, to aid our bargain. Stefan looked sharp in his suit; his hand brushing mine as we positioned ourselves in front of the reporters sent a warmth I didn’t anticipate up my arm.
The cameras clicked, and reporters’ questions flooded in. “Ms Clawford, what about the audit? Are you in on the fraud?”
There ceased to be movement in the group and Stefan's voice came out authoritatively. “Valenticia has an amazing record of integrity. These are groundless assaults against Clawford’s memory. Our relationship will join both companies, and we’ll find the truth.”
His defence steadied me, his eyes locking with mine, and the briefest flicker of something passed through them. Pride, perhaps, or trust. I spoke next, my voice firm. “Clawford stands in sisterhood with New Dream. We will defend our legacy and expose those who threaten it.”
The room was buzzing, but a reporter persisted: “Is this marriage a business deal?”
I froze, but Stefan’s hand clasped mine, a still point. “It’s commitment,” he said, “commitment to one another and our future.”
Even though the words were scripted, they caused a stir in my chest. When we emerged, the hum of the crowd had hushed, but my phone buzzed, bearing the news that shattered my fragile hope. A photo downloaded and in it, Clara lay unconscious, a bruise blooming on her cheek, a countdown timer ticking "24 hours" I felt my knees go numb, tipped worlds, but Stefan caught me, his eyes burning with rage.
“We will get her,” he said, a vow in his voice. “Come with me.”
We raced to his office at New Dream. My mind whirred with the image of Clara’s life, Gideon’s blood, and my parent’s death, all connected to Galden’s desire. Stefan's determination reflected my own. But I sucked in my breath as we walked into his office. The room was turned upside down, drawers dumped, and monitors smashed. Gideon’s USB drive, which he’d left here for safekeeping, was missing.
A note was on the desk when I opened it, it read, “Run, or he dies too.”