Rejected by Three, I Chose Revenge Chapter 12
The call came at midnight, just as I was reviewing the final acquisition documents for the Whitman subsidiary My phone displayed an unknown number but something about the timing made me answer.
“Hazel? It’s Damien. Dr. Reed.”
His voice was barely recognizable-stripped of its usual smooth confidence, replaced by something raw and desperate I could hear traffic if the background, the sound of a man calling from a street corner in the middle of the night.
“Dr. Reed,” I said coolly, setting down my papers. “How unexpected.”
“I need to see you. Tonight. It’s about Vivian, about everything that’s been happening. I have information you need to hear
The desperation in his voice was palpable, but I’d learned not to trust desperation. It could be genuine remorse or another manipulation.
“I’m listening,” I said, making no commitment to meet.
“Not over the phone. Please, Hazel. I know I have no right to ask, but this is bigger than my career, bigger than what happened to me. Vivian… she’s planning something that could destroy everything.”
Twenty minutes later, I sat in my car in the parking lot of an all-night diner on the outskirts of the city. Through the rain-streaked windows, I could see Damien
hunched over a corner booth, his usually pristine appearance as disheveled as Jaxson’s had been at the Velvet Room.
When I entered, he looked up with eyes that held the same haunted quality I’d seen in the other two. But there was something else there-a frantic urgency that set him apart from their simple defeat.
“Thank you for coming,” he said as I slid into the booth across from him. “I wasn’t sure you would.”
“You have five minutes,” I replied, checking my watch with deliberate precision.
He ran shaking hands through his hair, the gesture so similar to Jaxson’s breakdown that it felt like déjà vu.
“Vivian’s been blackmailing me for two years,” he said without preamble. “She found out about my clinic’s… off-the-books services. The experimental treatments, the unlicensed procedures. She had photographs, medical records, everything.”
I remained silent, letting him fill the space with his confessions.
“She threatened to expose everything unless I helped her with you. The medical reports questioning your mental stability, the subtle suggestions about your fitness for marriage, the way I undermined your credibility at social events-all of it was orchestrated by her.
His voice cracked with the weight of his admissions.
“I thought I was just playing along with some rich girl’s jealousy. I didn’t understand the scope of what she was planning until it was too late.
“And now?” I asked, my tone neutral.
“Now she doesn’t need me anymore. My career is finished, my leverage is gone, and she’s moved on to bigger targets ‘He leaned forward, his eyes intense with urgency. “She’s going after Richard directly.”
That got my attention. I straightened slightly, my pulse quickening despite my outward calm.
“Explain.”
“She’s been meeting with board members-Harrison, Caldwell, the whole faction that’s been pushing for Richard’s removal She’s convinced them that he’s become a liability, that his judgment is compromised.”
Damien pulled out his phone with trembling fingers, showing me a series of photographs taken from a distance Vivian in expensive restaurants, leaning across tables toward stern-faced men I recognized as Whitman Group’s most powerful board members.
“She’s positioning herself as the solution. The stable, beloved daughter who can restore confidence in the company’s leadership. She’s planning to call for a vote of no confidence at the next board meeting.”
I studied the photographs, my mind already racing through the implications. If Vivian succeeded in removing Richard, she would effectively control the company–and any chance I had of reclaiming my birthright would disappear.
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked, though I suspected I already knew the answer.
Because I want her to burn,” he said, his voice filled with venom. “She destroyed my life, my career, everything I worked for And because He hesitated then met my eyes directly. “Because what we did to you was unforgivable, and this might be the only way I can make even a small part of it right
I considered his words, weighing the value of his information against the source. Damien was desperate, broken, possibly lying to save himself. But the photographs were real, and the timeline made sense.
“What else do you know about her plans?”
“She needs something to completely discredit Richard. Some scandal or revelation that would make his removal inevitable. She’s been digging into his past. hiring private investigators, looking for leverage.”
A cold realization settled over me. If Vivian was investigating Richard’s secrets, she might discover the same truth I’d been pursuing-his affair with he biological mother. But instead of using it to expose her own illegitimate status, she could weaponize it to destroy Richard while keeping her own position
secure.
“There’s something else,” Damien continued, his voice dropping to a whisper. “She mentioned something about having insurance, about knowing where all the bodies are buried. I think she’s known the truth about her parentage for longer than anyone realizes.”
I felt pieces clicking into place in my mind. Vivian wasn’t just the pampered princess I’d thought her to be. She was a calculating strategist who had been playing a longer game than any of us understood.
“Thank you for the information,” I said, standing to leave.
“Hazel, wait.” He reached across the table, his fingers barely brushing my wrist. “I know I don’t deserve forgiveness. None of us do. But if there’s anything else I can do to help you stop her…”
I looked down at his hand, then back to his desperate face. “There might be. Stay available.”
As I drove back to the estate through the pre-dawn darkness, my phone buzzed with a text from Caleb: *Emergency in Texas. Data center crisis could cripple our entire cloud infrastructure. Flying out tonight. Will be back in 48 hours.*
I stared at the message, feeling the weight of timing. Just as Vivian was making her move against Richard, Caleb was being pulled away by a crisis that couldn’t be ignored. I would have to handle this phase of our war alone.
But perhaps that was fitting. This fight had started with my family’s betrayal, and it would end with my reclaiming what was mine.
I pressed the accelerator, racing through empty streets toward a confrontation that had been seven years in the making.
