Chapter 2

"Where's security? Where did they all disappear to?"

I raised my voice and shouted toward the entrance of the hall.

A few guards came jogging over at once.

"Ms. Kane, what do you need?"

I pointed in the direction Dr. Whitmore had gone, my tone sharp.

"What kind of security is this? You let a beggar like that walk right in?"

"Go after him. Make sure he's out the hotel doors, and don't let him swipe anything on his way."

The guards exchanged glances, but they murmured their agreement and hurried after him.

Tiffany clapped her hands, thrilled, and hooked herself onto my other arm.

"Vivian, you're on fire today."

"That's exactly how you handle broke little nobodies. No mercy."

Adrian nodded, pleased, a new flicker of approval in the way he looked at me.

"You handled that well, honey. You saved the company's face."

Swallowing my disgust, I leaned obediently against his shoulder.

"I'm only thinking of you and the company, babe."

"Tiff's young and naive. As her elder siblings, we’re naturally going to look out for her."

Hearing that, Tiffany grew even more full of herself.

She actually started showing off to the guests around them.

"See that? That's the kind of power the Vances have."

"Anyone who tries to put on airs in front of us ends up just like him."

The guests didn't say anything outright, but the way they looked at us had changed.

Some pitied Dr. Whitmore, and some were plainly disgusted by the Vances' arrogance.

I took it all in, laughing coldly on the inside.

Make a scene. The bigger, the better.

Only by dragging the Vance name through the mud would Dr. Whitmore write off any chance of working with us for good.

Once the summit officially began, Adrian took the stage as a guest of honor to give a speech.

Riding high, he painted a grand picture of Vance Pharmaceuticals' future.

He even had the nerve to announce that they were about to lock down the top rare-disease drug patent in the country.

Applause thundered through the room, and Adrian soaked up the adoration.

Down in the crowd, Tiffany clapped like her life depended on it, her eyes shining with worship.

"Adrian's incredible. The Vances will be number one in the country before long."

I lifted my glass of red wine, took a small sip, and hid the mockery in my eyes.

Number one in the country?

By tomorrow morning, you'll all learn what it means to fall from heaven straight into hell.

After the summit, Adrian was in high spirits and suggested they go celebrate.

"Tiff had a rough day. Let your big brother buy you that bag you've been eyeing forever."

Tiffany cheered, threw her arms around Adrian's neck, and kissed him.

"Thank you, Adrian. You're the best."

He made a show of turning it down, but his eyes slid sideways to gauge my reaction.

In my last life, that bag started a huge fight between us.

I scrimped and saved for the company while he spent its money spoiling his first love.

This time, I took out a black card myself and handed it to Tiffany.

"Tiff, a girl should treat herself."

"Get the bag, and pick out some jewelry too. Consider it a gift from me."

Tiffany's eyes lit up, and she grabbed the card without a shred of hesitation.

"Vivian, you're being so generous today."

Adrian relaxed too, tightening his arm around my waist.

"You're really something, honey."

Watching the two of them walk off giddy with joy, I let the corner of my mouth curl up.

Spend it. Spend all of it.

Soon enough, that money would become the noose around their necks.

That night I begged off shopping, claiming I wasn't feeling well.

I went home, opened my laptop right away, and logged into an encrypted email account.

I sent out a message I had prepared long ago.

The recipient was Dr. Whitmore's personal assistant.

The email was simple, just one line and a video.

The video was hotel security footage: Tiffany tossing the badge, and me ordering the guards to chase Dr. Whitmore out, start to finish.

The line read: "Dr. Whitmore, this is the Vances' idea of good faith. Do you still plan to hand them your life's work?"

When it was done, I wiped every trace and closed the laptop.

Outside the window the night was deep, and a storm was gathering.

Tomorrow, the Vances' whole world would come crashing down.

The next morning I woke to Adrian's roaring.

"What the hell happened? Why did Dr. Whitmore suddenly cancel every deal with us?"

"He won't even see me. He's blocked us completely."

I rubbed my eyes and put on a groggy, just-woke-up look.

"What's going on, babe? Who's Dr. Whitmore?"

Adrian paced the bedroom, frantic as a cat on a hot griddle.

"Dr. Whitmore is the old man we ran into at the summit yesterday."

"He's one of the top pharmaceutical researchers in the country, and he holds the drug patent our company desperately needs."