Chapter 77 The Price of Warning
Tuesday Evening - 7:30 PM
Viviana's House
Marcus sat at the dinner table, moving food around his plate.
Viviana watched him from across the table. Fork poised. Eyes sharp.
"You're quiet tonight."
"Just tired."
"You've been tired a lot lately."
"Work has been stressful."
"Mm." She took a sip of wine. "Felicia, pass the salt."
Felicia handed it over without looking up from her phone.
"Put that away at dinner," Viviana said.
"I'm just checking—"
"I said put it away."
Felicia set down her phone. Sullen.
They ate in silence.
Marcus felt sweat collecting at his collar.
Three days since he'd warned Elena. Three days of waiting for Viviana to find out.
She always found out.
"I had an interesting conversation today," Viviana said suddenly.
Marcus's fork froze halfway to his mouth.
"With who?"
"An old friend. She mentioned seeing someone who looked like you. Near Elena's neighborhood. Sunday night."
The room felt smaller.
"I wasn't—"
"Don't." Her voice was ice. "Don't insult me by lying."
Felicia looked up. Interest sparking.
Marcus set down his fork. "I went for a drive. I needed to clear my head."
"A drive. To Elena's neighborhood. At nine o'clock at night."
"It was on the way—"
"On the way to where, Marcus? There's nothing in that direction except her house and the highway."
He didn't answer.
Viviana stood. Walked slowly around the table.
"You warned her, didn't you?"
"Viviana—"
"About our plans. About what we were doing. You went to her house and you warned her didn't you?"
"I didn't—"
"STOP LYING!"
Her hand slammed down on the table. Plates rattled.
Felicia jumped.
Marcus stared at his plate.
"How did you know?" he asked quietly.
"Because Elena moved. Very suddenly. The day after you took your little drive. Moved into Alexander Thorne's apartment." Viviana leaned close. "That's not a coincidence. That's someone who was warned."
"Maybe she just—"
"Don't. Don't make excuses. You betrayed this family."
"She's my daughter—"
"She stopped being your daughter the day she got pregnant and embarrassed us all!"
"She was young—"
"She was irresponsible! Careless! And you were supposed to stand with your wife. With the family you chose. Not run to her the moment things got difficult."
Marcus looked up. "You're destroying her. Using reporters and blogs and lies. She's a single mother trying to survive and you're—"
"Teaching her a lesson. That actions have consequences. That you don't cross this family."
"She didn't cross anyone! She fell in love with the wrong man and had his baby. That's not a crime."
"It is when that man is a Thorne. When her choices make us look cheap. Make Felicia look foolish." Viviana moved back to her seat. "You warned her. You undermined everything we've worked for. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Marcus met her eyes. "I'd do it again."
Silence.
Felicia's eyes went wide.
Viviana's expression was unreadable.
"Excuse me?"
"I said I'd do it again. She's my daughter. I abandoned her once. I won't do it again."
"So you're choosing her. Over me. Over this family."
"I'm choosing not to destroy her for something she didn't do."
Viviana laughed. Sharp. Humorless.
"You think you're being noble. Brave. The father finally standing up for his child." She sat back down. "You're pathetic."
"Maybe I am."
"You absolutely are. Because you think warning her changes anything. It doesn't. The articles are still out there. The damage is still done. All you've accomplished is betraying the people who actually matter."
"Elena matters—"
"Elena is nothing. A single mother with a bastard child who got lucky enough to trap a billionaire. She doesn't matter. She never mattered."
"She's your stepdaughter—"
"She's a mistake. Your mistake. From your first marriage. I took her in. Fed her. Put a roof over her head. And she repaid us by getting knocked up and humiliating Felicia."
"That's not what happened—"
"That's exactly what happened! Felicia was supposed to marry Alexander Thorne. Was supposed to secure our family's future. And Elena destroyed it."
Marcus shook his head. "Felicia was never going to marry Alexander. He didn't love her. He barely knew she existed."
Felicia flinched.
"That's not true—"
"It is true," Marcus said. "I saw how he looked at you at company events. He was polite. Nothing more Felicia."
"He was interested—"
"He was bored. And you convinced yourself it was more because Mother told you it was more." He looked at Viviana. "You convinced her she had a chance when she never did. And now you're destroying Elena because Felicia's fantasy didn't come true."
Viviana's hand tightened on her wine glass.
"Get out."
"What?"
"Get. Out. Of my house."
Marcus stood. "Fine. I'll pack my things—"
"No." Her voice was calm now. Controlled. "You misunderstand. You're not leaving. You're sleeping in the guest room tonight. To think about what you've done."
He stared at her. "You just told me to get out—"
"I told you to get out of my sight. Not out of my house." She smiled. Cold. "You see, Marcus, you're not leaving me. Because if you leave me, I take everything. The house. The cars. The savings account. Your business connections. All of it."
"That's not—"
"Check the prenup. The one you signed when we got married. It says if you abandon this marriage for any reason—infidelity, separation, whatever—you leave with nothing. Not even the business you built before we met."
"You can't—"
"I can. And I will. Unless you stay. Unless you remember your place. And you stop undermining me."
Marcus's face went white.
"So here's what's going to happen," Viviana continued. "You're going to stay in this house. You're going to be a good husband. And you're going to stop helping Elena. Stop warning her. Stop interfering."
"And if I don't?"
"Then I destroy you. Professionally. Financially. Socially. I tell everyone you had an affair. That you've been gambling. That you're mentally unstable. Whatever story I need to tell to ruin you completely."
"People won't believe—"
"People believe what I tell them. You know that now." She sipped her wine. "So you have a choice. Stay here. Shut up. Do what you're told. Or lose everything' and still not be able to help your precious Elena."
Marcus stood frozen.
"What's it going to be?" Viviana asked.
He looked at Felicia. She stared at her plate.
Looked at Viviana. She smiled.
He thought about his business. His savings. Everything he'd built.
Thought about Elena. Already destroyed in the media. Already losing.
What would his help even accomplish now?
"I'm going to bed," he said quietly.
"Guest room," Viviana reminded him.
He left without answering.
Upstairs, in the small guest room, he sat on the edge of the bed.
His phone was in his pocket.
He could call Elena. Warn her again. Tell her to be careful.
But Viviana was probably monitoring his phone. And everything.
One more warning and he'd lose everything.
And for what?
Elena was already living with Alexander. Already protected as much as she could be.
His warning had helped her escape the reporters at her house. That was something.
Maybe that was enough.
Marcus lay down on the unfamiliar bed.
Stared at the ceiling.
Thought about the moment he'd failed Elena the first time. When Viviana kicked her out and he said nothing.
He'd thought he could make up for it. Be better. Stand up.
But he was still the same man.
Still weak. Still controlled. Still choosing his own comfort over his daughter.
Some people never changed.
He was one of them.
And Elena strong, brave Elena would have to survive without him.
Like she always had.
Downstairs
Viviana poured herself another glass of wine.
"That was harsh," Felicia said quietly.
"It was necessary."
"He's your husband—"
"He's a tool. Like everyone else. And tools need to remember their purpose."
"What if he leaves anyway?"
"He won't. He's too afraid. Too comfortable. Men like Marcus don't leave. They just go quiet and pretend everything's fine."
Felicia twisted her napkin. "Do you think Elena knows? That he warned her?"
"Of course she knows. But it doesn't matter. She can't prove we're behind the articles. Or Christopher leaked information. She can't prove anything."
"What if Victoria finds out? Alexander's sister is smart—"
"Victoria can suspect all she wants. Without proof, she has nothing." Viviana smiled. "And we're far too careful to leave proof."
"What's next?"
"Next?" Viviana considered. "Next we let the media keep destroying her. Keep the pressure on. Make her life so unbearable that Alexander starts to question whether she's worth it."
"You think he'll actually leave her?"
"Eventually. When the cost gets too high. When his reputation is completely destroyed. And his father threatens to cut him off entirely." She sipped her wine. "Everyone has a breaking point. Even love."
"And if they don't break?"
"Then we make sure they do. There are always more leaks. More stories. More ways to hurt them." Viviana set down her glass. "Your uncle taught me something important. If you want to destroy someone, you don't attack them directly. You attack everything they love until they have nothing left."
Felicia looked uncomfortable. "I wanted Alexander to regret choosing her. I didn't want—"
"What? You didn't want her destroyed? Too late for that, darling. She humiliated you at that dinner. Made you look foolish in front of the Thornes. This is the price she pays."
"But the kid—"
"Is collateral damage. And frankly, if she cared about her kid, she wouldn't have trapped a man she barely knew."
"The DNA test proved—"
"The DNA test proved biology. Not intent. She knew what she was doing. Getting pregnant. Waiting three years. Getting a job at his company. All calculated."
"You don't actually believe that."
Viviana looked at her daughter. "It doesn't matter what I believe. It matters what everyone else believes. And right now, everyone believes she's exactly what we've painted her to be."
Felicia nodded slowly.
"Now go to bed. Tomorrow we have that charity luncheon. We need to look perfect. Untouchable."
"While Elena falls apart."
"Exactly."
Felicia went upstairs.
Viviana sat alone in the dining room.
Finished her wine.
Thought about Marcus upstairs. Defeated. Controlled.
And Elena Hiding in Alexander's apartment. Terrified.
Thought about the articles spreading. The comments multiplying. The narrative solidifying.
Everything going exactly according to plan.
She smiled.
Stood.
Turned off the lights.
Went to bed.
And slept perfectly.
Because guilt was for people with conscience.
And Viviana Moreno had learned long ago that conscience was a luxury she couldn't afford.
Not if she wanted to win.
And she always won.
Always.