Chapter 119 *
Scarlett's POV
I walked into the private dining room at The Colony Club at exactly two PM.
The same room as last time. But the people waiting inside made my stomach drop.
Viviana sat at the head of the table. Zelda was beside her. And across from them sat Madison Park and her mother, Zinnia.
I stopped in the doorway. This was an ambush.
"Come in, Scarlett." Viviana's voice was tight. Controlled. "Close the door."
I walked to the table. Pulled out the chair farthest from everyone else. Sat down.
Then I pulled out my phone. Set it on the table. Opened the timer app.
"Thirty minutes." I hit start. "Say what you need to say."
The timer started counting down. Twenty-nine fifty-nine. Twenty-nine fifty-eight.
"Scarlett." Viviana's jaw clenched. "Put the phone away. We're having a conversation."
"No." I leaned back in my chair. "I'm giving you thirty minutes. Use them or don't."
Zinnia Park cleared her throat. She was dressed in Chanel. Her makeup was perfect. "Thank you for coming, Scarlett." Her voice was soft. Practiced. "I know this must be difficult."
I didn't respond. Just watched the timer tick down.
"I ordered the tasting menu for you," Viviana said. "The one you wanted to try last time. Remember?"
I looked at her. "I'm not interested in that anymore."
Her face flushed. "Scarlett, don't beâ€""
"Twenty-eight minutes left." I gestured at the phone. "Get to the point."
Zinnia reached into her Hermès bag. Pulled out a black credit card. Slid it across the table toward me.
"This has a five million dollar limit." Her voice was steady. Professional. "Consider it an apology. From our family to you."
I stared at the card. Didn't touch it.
"Madison is young," Zinnia continued. "She made terrible choices. But she's just a girl. She doesn't deserve to have her entire future destroyed over a mistake."
"A mistake." I repeated the word slowly.
"Yes." Zinnia leaned forward slightly. "A very serious mistake. But still a mistake."
I picked up the credit card. Turned it over in my fingers. Then I set it back down on the table. Pushed it toward her.
"Do I look like I need your money?"
The words came out flat. Bored.
Zinnia's composure cracked slightly. "Then what do you want? Name your price."
"There is no price."
"Everyone has a price." Her voice got sharper. More desperate.
I looked at Madison. She was staring at her hands. Her face was blotchy. Red. Like she'd been crying for days.
"You're enjoying this." Madison's head snapped up. Her voice shook. "You're sitting there enjoying watching us beg."
"Madison." Zinnia's voice was a warning.
"No!" Madison stood up. Her chair scraped against the floor. "I'm not going to sit here and grovel to this bitch!"
She took a step toward me. Her hands were clenched into fists.
"This is your fault! Everything that's happening to me is because of you!"
The slap came so fast I barely saw it.
Zinnia had stood up and hit her daughter across the face. Hard.
The sound echoed in the quiet room.
Madison stumbled back. Her hand flew to her cheek. Her eyes were wide with shock.
"Apologize." Zinnia's voice was ice cold.
"Momâ€""
"Now."
Madison's face crumpled. Tears started streaming down her cheeks.
She turned to me. Her voice came out broken.
"I'm sorry." She was shaking. "I'm sorry. I was wrong. Please forgive me."
I looked at her. Really looked at her.
She was terrified. Completely terrified.
I felt nothing. "Sorry doesn't cut it," I said quietly.
I picked up my phone. Checked the timer.
Twenty-five minutes left.
Zinnia looked at Viviana. Some silent communication passed between them.
"Scarlett." Viviana's voice had that edge. That tone that said she was done being patient. "You need to drop this. Stop listening to whatever people online are telling you."
I raised an eyebrow. "People online?"
"The ones calling for Madison to be prosecuted." Viviana waved her hand dismissively. "They don't understand how these things work. Young people make mistakes. They learn. They move on."
"Do they?"
"Yes." Viviana's voice got firmer. "And you need to move on too. The Park family and the Romano family have been doing business together for over a decade. We don't throw that away over a misunderstanding between girls."
My chest went cold.
A misunderstanding.
That's what she was calling it.