Chapter 98 Confessing
Chapter 98 Confessing
“Don't get in.”
Beck's voice was low, urgent, his hand locked around my wrist. “Don't get in that car.”
“She has proof.”
“She has lies.”
Margaret leaned forward, her face ghostly under the streetlight. “Tick tock, Ivy. The media will have the recording by morning.”
“Then let them.” I pulled my arm free. “I'm not negotiating with a dying woman.”
Her eyes flashed. “You'll regret this.”
“I already regret giving you my time.”
Beck pulled me toward the hotel entrance. Margaret's sedan peeled away, tires screeching. Inside the lobby, the draft afterparty was in full swing—music, champagne, laughter. None of it reached me.
“What if she's right?” I whispered.
“She's not.”
“You don't know that.”
Beck stopped walking. He turned me to face him, his hands on my shoulders. “I know you. You didn't help your mother hide money. You didn't know about her network. You were a kid trying to survive.”
“That won't matter to the press.”
“Then we'll fight it together.”
He kissed me, hard and quick, right there in the middle of the lobby. A few people whistled. I didn't care.
We found a quiet corner near the bar. Beck ordered two waters. I gripped mine like a lifeline.
“We need to call Elena.”
“Already on it.” He pulled out his phone. “She's been monitoring Margaret's communications. If there's a recording, she'll find it.”
The phone rang. Elena picked up on the second ring.
“I heard about the draft. Congratulations.”
“There's a problem.” Beck put her on speaker. “Margaret says there's a recording of Ivy's mother claiming Ivy helped hide money.”
Elena was quiet for a moment. “That's not possible. I've gone through every piece of evidence from your mother's case. There's no recording.”
“Margaret says Vanessa has it.”
“Vanessa is a journalist, not a prosecutor. She can't release anything without corroboration.”
“She can leak it anonymously.”
Elena sighed. “I'll make some calls. Stay where you are. Don't talk to anyone.”
She hung up. Beck set the phone on the table.
“Now we wait.”
“I hate waiting.”
“Same.”
An hour passed. Two. The party thinned out. Beck's agent found us.
“Beckett, the press wants a word. Just a quick interview.”
Beck looked at me. “Come with me.”
“I'll be here.”
He kissed my forehead and walked away. I watched him go, then turned back to my water.
A shadow fell over the table. Vanessa.
“Mind if I sit?”
“I'd rather you didn't.”
She sat anyway. “Your grandmother is furious.”
“She's not my grandmother. She's a woman who shares my DNA.”
Vanessa's smile was thin. “You have her fire. I'll give you that.”
“What do you want?”
“To warn you.” She leaned closer. “Margaret isn't dying. That was a lie to get you to the hospital. She's buying time. Building something.”
“Building what?”
“I don't know yet. But she's desperate. And desperate people do desperate things.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because she cut me out. After all my work, all my loyalty, she tossed me aside.” Vanessa's voice cracked. “You were right. I'm not her daughter. I'm her tool.”
“And now you want revenge.”
“I want freedom.” She stood up. “The recording is real. But it's not your mother's voice. It's Margaret's. She's planning to frame you for something you didn't do.”
My blood went cold. “Why?”
“Because you're the only loose end she can't control.” Vanessa walked away.
Beck returned ten minutes later, his face tight. “Elena called. The recording is fake. Margaret hired a voice actor to mimic your mother.”
“Vanessa just told me.”
He blinked. “She was here?”
“She left.” I stood up. “We need to go public. Beat Margaret to the punch.”
“How?”
“I'll do an interview. Tomorrow morning. Tell the world what she's been doing.”
“That's dangerous.”
“So is waiting.”
He pulled me into a hug. “I love you.”
“I know.”
The next morning, we sat in a hotel conference room across from a reporter from a major news network. Beck held my hand under the table.
“Ivy, you're accusing your grandmother of attempted blackmail. That's a serious claim.”
“It's the truth.”
“Do you have proof?”
“Elena does. She'll be presenting it to the authorities today.”
The reporter nodded. “And Beckett, how does this affect your draft status?”
“It doesn't.” His voice was steady. “I'm here to play hockey. Ivy's here to tell the truth.”
The interview aired that evening. Within an hour, Margaret's lawyers released a statement denying everything. An hour after that, Elena released the evidence.
Margaret was arrested at her home.
Vanessa was nowhere to be found.
But her camera was still missing.
And somewhere in the dark, she was watching.
Waiting for the moment when we let our guard down.
The black sedan was gone.
But the threat wasn't.