Chapter 61 STRANGER DANGER PART 2
Vivienne pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it.
She'd done it. But at what cost. They didn't even say anything.
Maybe that was worse.
She set the phone on her nightstand and ran her hands through her hair, trying to calm down and think.
Whoever this was, they knew too much. About Elara. About her past with Alexander. About where she lived.
But they were still hiding. Playing this sick game.
Why?
What did they actually want?
Her phone vibrated against the nightstand, making her jump.
A new message. The same number.
Her hands were shaking so badly she almost dropped the phone when she picked it up.
The message was short.
"Brave words, Elara. Let's see if you mean them. Attend the Gala and I will show myself."
Vivienne stared at the screen until the words blurred.
The gala. Of course it came back to the gala.
Everything came back to that one night. But Victoria would be there. And Alexander's entire future is riding on it. And now her blackmailer want her there.
They're going to reveal themself.
It felt like a trap. Like walking into a room full of people who wanted to destroy her and handing them the weapons to do it.
But what choice did she have?
If she didn't go, they'd expose her anyway. At least this way, she'd know who she was dealing with. At least this way, she could look them in the eye and curse them out as they try to ruin her life again.
Vivienne set the phone down and stood up, walking to her window. She pulled back the curtain just enough to look down at the parking lot.
The lot was almost empty now. Mrs. Chen's minivan was still there, and a few other cars she recognized from the building. But there was no black sedan anywhere.
She let the curtain fall back into place and turned away from the window.
In the hallway, she could hear Noah humming to himself in his room, probably still working on his drawings. He was safe and happy.
Unaware of the threat to their carefully constructed lives.
Vivienne leaned against her bedroom wall and closed her eyes.
She had five days.
Five days until the gala.
Five days to figure out who was threatening her.
Five days to face Victoria Hunt and pretend she wasn't terrified.
She opened her eyes and looked at her phone one more time.
"Attend the Gala and I will show myself."
Fine.
If they wanted a confrontation, she'd give them one.
She'd survived Victoria Hunt trying to kill her. She'd survived losing everything and rebuilding from nothing. She'd survived ten years of hiding and fear and loneliness.
She could survive this too.
She had to.
For Noah.
Vivienne pushed herself out of bed and walked to Noah room, pushing the door open wider. He looked up from his drawing, his face lighting up when he saw her.
"Want to see what I made?"
"Always baby," she said, sitting down on the edge of his bed.
He showed her the new picture. Alexander and Lily at the park, stick figures with big smiles. And off to the side, two more figures. Her and Noah, holding hands.
"We look happy," Noah said. "Don't we?"
Her throat went tight. "We do."
"Are we happy, Mom?"
She pulled him close, breathing in the smell of his shampoo and the faint scent of crayons.
"We are," she said. "We're very happy."
And that was the truth. Despite the fear and the secrets and the constant looking over her shoulder.
She had Noah. And that made everything worth it.
Even if it all fell apart on Friday night. Even if Victoria recognized her. Even if the blackmailer exposed her to everyone.
She had five days with her son before the world possibly came crashing down.
She'd make them count.
Noah pulled back and looked at her seriously. "Mom? Are you going to that fancy party?"
Vivienne hesitated. "I think so. Why?"
"Because if you are, you should wear something really pretty. Like a princess."
She smiled. "How do you know about the party?"
"Rebecca told me. You have to tell me all about it when you get home. Every single detail."
"Deal," she said, ruffling his hair.
He grinned and went back to his drawing, already absorbed in adding more details to his stick figures.
Vivienne watched him, then stood up and walked back to her room.
Her phone sat on the nightstand, the screen dark now.
She picked it up and read it one more time.
"Attend the Gala and I will show myself."
She set the phone face-down on the nightstand and got ready for bed, going through all the normal motions.
But when she finally climbed into bed and turned off the light, she couldn't sleep.
She lay there in the dark, staring at the ceiling, listening to the sounds of the city and counting down the days until Friday night.
When all her secrets will finally come to light.