Chapter 44 CHAPTER 44
An Unholy Proposal
“Why is she here?” Ayisha whispered, peering through the lace curtains as the sleek black car rolled to a stop outside the apartment complex.
Tessa looked up from the cup of tea in her hands. Her stomach tightened when she recognized the frail figure emerging from the car, assisted by a driver. Lady Bianca draped in a deep emerald silk shawl, her posture regal despite her weakened state.
“She can’t possibly be here…” Tessa murmured.
But she was.
A few knocks, sharp and deliberate, rattled the door.
Ayisha squared her shoulders. “I’ll handle it.”
When she swung the door open, her jaw dropped. “Lady Bianca?”
The matriarch’s eyes, though rimmed with fatigue, gleamed with something cold and deliberate. “Are you going to keep me standing here, Ayisha?”
Ayisha hesitated, then stepped aside reluctantly. Tessa rose to her feet, confusion flashing across her face as Lady Bianca entered the modest apartment with the air of someone inspecting foreign territory.
“Lady Bianca,” Tessa greeted quietly, her voice taut. “I didn’t expect…”
“That I would come to you again? After you scammed me?” Lady Bianca’s lips curved into a thin smile. “Neither did you, I’m sure.”
Ayisha closed the door with a wary snap, folding her arms. “If you’re here to beg us to drop the lawsuit, save your breath. Tessa isn’t backing down.”
“Not for all your money, not for your name, not for anything,” Tessa added, steady but nervous.
Lady Bianca gave a low chuckle, settling into the couch as though she were still in her mansion and not in their modest living room. “Lawsuit? My dear girls, do you think I dragged myself from my bed to discuss something as trivial as that? No. I came here for something far more… delicate.”
Both women exchanged a look.
“What do you mean?” Tessa asked cautiously.
Lady Bianca leaned forward, her hands clasped together, eyes narrowing on Tessa. “I came with an offer. One that benefits you, the children, and my family’s name. Listen carefully before you refuse.”
Ayisha bristled. “You can keep your offer…”
But Tessa raised a hand. “Let her speak.”
Lady Bianca’s smile deepened. “Wise. You’ve always been the clever one, Tessa. That’s why I chose to come here instead of wasting my breath on Ares or Chloe. They are blind with pride. You, however, know how to seize an opportunity.”
Tessa’s pulse quickened. “Go on.”
Lady Bianca’s next words were a dagger wrapped in silk.
“Take your children and disappear. Leave this city, leave the mess behind. I will fund everything—the travel, the new home, the security. You’ll never have to worry about a penny again.”
Ayisha blinked. “You what?”
Lady Bianca ignored her, eyes fixed on Tessa. “In exchange, we frame Chloe for attempted murder. The drowning incident, the neglect, her violence—it won’t take much to tip public opinion. With the right evidence, the courts will believe Chloe tried to kill one of your children. She will be ruined, disgraced, locked away, and this family will finally be free of her, you and your children.”
Tessa’s mouth fell open. “You… you want me to frame her? To lie about my children’s lives?!”
Lady Bianca’s tone was icy calm. “Not lie. Enhance the truth. Chloe is careless, reckless. We all know she is a danger. But the law loves spectacle. They need drama to move quickly. If you help me craft it, everyone wins. You protect your children. I protect the Langford name. Chloe gets what she deserves for assaulting you and trying to kill one of your kids.”
Ayisha’s hand flew to her mouth, her eyes blazing with disbelief. “Are you insane? Do you even hear yourself? You want us to…”
“Yes,” Lady Bianca cut her off sharply. “I do. Because unlike you, I am not sentimental. I do what is necessary to protect what belongs to me.”
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Tessa rose slowly from her chair, her hands trembling at her sides. “Those children… they’re not just pieces on a board for you to move around. They’re my babies. You want me to uproot their lives and vanish, just so you can stage your little theater? What happens when they grow up and ask why I lied? Why I let them believe their stepmother tried to murder them?”
Lady Bianca tilted her head. “Would you rather they grow up under Chloe’s care? Exposed to her negligence? Scarred by her selfishness? Think, Tessa. A mother protects her children at all costs. Even if it means dirtying her hands. Even if it means making alliances she doesn’t like.”
Tessa felt her knees weaken. Her chest ached at the manipulation curling around every syllable.
Ayisha slammed her palm against the wall. “Enough! You’re vile. Do you hear yourself, Lady Bianca? You’ve reduced children to pawns and lies to strategies. You think money can make us accomplices to your madness?”
Lady Bianca’s composure never cracked. “I think money makes survival easier. And I think both of you know survival is all that matters.”
Tessa shook her head, whispering more to herself than to the room. “No… this isn’t right. This isn’t who I am. My children deserve truth, not this.”
Her voice gained strength. “And if you think I’ll let them grow up believing lies, you’ve gravely underestimated me, Lady Bianca. I won’t poison their future with your schemes.”
Lady Bianca’s eyes glittered with disdain. “Then you are a fool. And fools rarely survive long in wars like this.”
Ayisha took a step forward, her voice sharp and final. “You’ve overstayed your welcome.”
When Lady Bianca didn’t move, Ayisha stormed to the door, yanked it open, and pointed. “Out. Take your blood money, take your schemes, and get out of this house. Now.”
For the first time, Lady Bianca’s mask slipped. Her lips tightened, her nostrils flared. She rose slowly, gathering her shawl with an elegant flick.
“So be it,” she murmured, sweeping toward the door. “But don’t come crying to me when Chloe destroys you both. Remember, I gave you a way out.”
Ayisha’s glare was unflinching.
The door slammed shut behind her with a final, echoing crack.
The apartment fell into silence, broken only by the sound of Tessa sinking back into her chair, her hands covering her face as Ayisha leaned against the door, breathing hard.
“What the hell was that?” Ayisha whispered.
Neither of them had an answer.