Chapter 4 - The Price of Silence
The next morning, the headlines were already starting to leak. In the
high-society circles of Dallas, scandal traveled faster than light. Preston sat
in his glass-walled office, the morning sun reflecting off his laptop. His phone
had been ringing incessantly since 6:00 AM. Most of the calls were from his
father’s lawyers. Others were from Gabriela, alternating between screaming
insults and begging for forgiveness. He ignored them all. Instead, he watched
Esther as she sat on the balcony. She was wrapped in a plush robe, staring at
the city with a vacant expression. A doctor had come by earlier to treat her
hands. “She’s suffering from severe exhaustion and contact dermatitis,” the
doctor had reported. “But the mental trauma will take longer to heal.” Preston
felt a knock at the door. It was his assistant, Marcus, the only person he
trusted implicitly. Marcus looked pale, holding a stack of legal documents.
“Your mother has frozen the joint accounts,” Marcus said, placing the papers
on the desk. “She’s also filed a motion to remove you from the board of the
family foundation.” Preston leaned back in his chair, a cold smile playing on
his lips. “She thinks money is her power,” he said. “She doesn’t realize that I
moved the primary assets months ago.” He stood up and walked to the window.
“Marcus, I want you to release the full footage to the press.” Marcus
hesitated. “The full footage? Preston, that will destroy the family name
forever.” “The name is already tarnished,” Preston replied. “I want the world to
see what Evelyn and Gabriela truly are.” “I want every charity they lead to
resign.” “I want every club they belong to to revoke their membership.” “I want
them to feel exactly what Esther felt,” he added, his voice dropping an octave.
“I want them to feel like they don't belong in polite society.” Marcus nodded
and left the room. Preston walked out to the balcony and stood behind Esther. He
didn't say anything, just placed his hands on her shoulders. She leaned back
into him, her eyes focusing for the first time that day. “You’re doing it,
aren't you?” she asked. “You’re going to destroy them.” “I’m going to make sure
they can never hurt anyone again,” he corrected. Esther looked down at her
bandaged hands. “They’ll hate me even more now.” “They can’t hate you if they’re
too busy hiding from the cameras,” Preston said. Just then, a loud buzzing came
from the intercom. The security team at the front desk announced that Evelyn was
in the lobby. She was demanding to see her son. Preston looked at Esther. “Do
you want me to send her away?” Esther took a deep breath, the color slowly
returning to her cheeks. “No,” she said, her voice gaining a sudden strength.
“Let her come up.” “I want her to see me sitting here.” “I want her to see
May you like
that she didn't break me.” Preston felt a surge of pride. His wife was coming
back to him.
