Chapter 146: Everything Is Ready

Until next time.

Of everything Domingo had said before leaving, those words bothered Victoria the most.

She knew exactly what they meant.

The money she’d just handed him hadn’t bought his silence. It had merely rented it. For how long? Victoria couldn’t guess.

Victoria sat alone in her bedroom after making sure Dominic was safely back in his own room. She’d already told him to forget what he’d seen, although she knew her son well enough to recognize how useless that instruction probably was.

Still, Dominic’s curiosity was currently the least of her problems.

Victoria opened her phone and stared at Domingo’s number.

She’d ignored his calls because she’d believed there was nothing left to discuss. He’d been paid years ago, and generously enough for what she’d asked him to do.

Years back, Victoria recalled.

Dominic could be charming when he wanted to be.

Unfortunately, charm hadn’t been enough.

Victoria had needed something stronger.

A debt the recipient couldn’t easily forget.

So she’d created one.

Dominic hadn’t known anything.

He hadn’t needed to.

That was precisely why the plan worked.

Only three people knew of the plan: the mastermind and two accomplices.

Years later, Victoria could still remember the phone call at the Sebastian ancestral home.

In her mind, the phone rang again and again.

A woman’s voice came through the line.

"Everything is ready, ma’am."

Victoria had smiled.

After the plan worked, whatever reservations the older man had went out the window.

Victoria got exactly what she’d wanted.

And what did it accomplish in the end?

Nothing.

They weren’t getting married.

They weren’t even together anymore.

All she’d managed to preserve from that brilliant little plan was evidence of something an influential family could now view very differently.

Would they care about that distinction?

Would the surviving family members care?

Even worse, Dominic himself could never know.

Victoria could imagine his anger toward the person who gave up on the engagement. She’d seen his resentment and endured enough of his bitterness after the breakup.

But this was different.

That might’ve been the worst part.

Victoria had taken something good in her son and turned it into an opportunity.

She’d used his innocence without even giving him the choice to refuse.

If he ever learned the truth, Victoria wasn’t certain he’d forgive her. Worse, if anyone else found out, why would they believe Dominic had known nothing about it? The question would always be: who stands to benefit the most?

Her female accomplice had understood the ugliness much sooner.

The woman hadn’t left immediately. She kept working for Victoria for years afterward and eventually spent eighteen years in the Sebastian household.

But something changed between them.

She remained dependable in the work she’d been hired to do. Anything outside that became more difficult. Favors she once carried out without comment began to draw questions or outright hesitation.

"I’m sorry, Ma’am. Find somebody else to do that for you."

Victoria had found the change irritating, but manageable.

Eventually, the woman left for reasons unrelated to their earlier misunderstanding.

By then, she’d been living with a partner for twelve years. She wanted marriage and apparently wanted to leave the city so they could start somewhere new. Her partner, who had already been married once and had two adult children, didn’t want to leave the city.

According to the grapevine, their relationship ended amicably. Her love life had always been a favorite topic in her kitchen, where women had no hobby but gossip.

Seven months later, the man applied to become an executive driver of a reputable company.

At the time, the coincidence hadn’t seemed particularly important.

It certainly did now.

Victoria stared at her phone.

Twelve years was a long time to share a home with someone.

Had she ever told anyone what had happened?

The fact that nobody had confronted Victoria suggested she hadn’t.

But she wouldn’t stay silent forever.

Domingo wanted money.

Money was easy to understand, even if paying him now meant he’d probably return whenever he needed more.

She was harder to read.

She’d been uncomfortable with what they’d done from the beginning, and Victoria no longer had employment, loyalty, or even proximity working in her favor.

Worse, her former partner now spent his days driving for the executive.

Victoria briefly considered calling her.

Then she stopped.

What exactly was she supposed to say?

Hello. Remember what we did many years ago? Please confirm you still haven’t told anyone.

Wonderful.

She might as well send the concerned party a written confession herself.

A knock sounded at the door.

Victoria nearly jumped.

"Mom?"

Dominic.

She immediately locked her phone.

"What?"

The door opened slightly, revealing Dominic with one hand braced against the frame.

"I thought you said I was supposed to rest."

"You are."

"Then why are you stomping around upstairs like you’re planning someone’s murder?"

Victoria stared at him.

Dominic raised an eyebrow.

"That was a joke."

"I know."

"Your face isn’t very reassuring."

"Go back to bed."

Dominic studied her for another moment. "You’re acting strange."

"I just paid a man an unreasonable amount of money. I’m allowed to be annoyed."

"For something you still won’t tell me about."

"Correct."

Dominic sighed.

He was clearly too tired to argue properly, which was probably the only reason Victoria escaped further questioning.

"For the record, telling someone the less they know, the better, is an excellent way to make them want to know everything."

"Dominic."

"I’m going."

He disappeared from the doorway.

Victoria waited until she heard his bedroom door close, then looked at her phone again.

Calling her was too dangerous.

Ignoring her suddenly felt worse.

Before Victoria decided what to do about Domingo, she needed to know whether the other person who knew the truth was still keeping it.

Because years ago, one phone call from her female accomplice set the entire plan in motion.

Everything is ready, ma’am.

Those words had once meant Victoria was about to get exactly what she wanted.

Now everything she’d gained from that day was gone.

Only the secret remained.