Chapter 175
No.1
The heavy wooden door clicked shut behind Elisa,sealing August inside the consultation room.
Elisa didn't pause. She didn't walk back toward the VIP suite where the media circus had just been cleared. She turned left, her eyes scanning the ceiling until she spotted the discreet sign pointing toward the private, VIP underground parking garage.
Her mind was operating with the cold, frictionless efficiency of a machine. August's arrogant "logic"had confirmed one crucial fact: there were no cameras in the stairwell. It was a dead end for physical evidence.
But Elisa knew something August didn't. She knew the exact psychological profile of her enemy.
She stepped into the private elevator and hit the button for level B2. As the car descended, she reached into the deep pocket of her trench coat. She pulled out her encrypted phone, unlocked it, and opened the voice memo app. She hit the red record
button and slipped the phone back into her pocket,leaving the microphone exposed.
The elevator doors opened.
No.2
Level B2 was a cavernous, concrete expanse reserved for the hospital's wealthiest donors and board members. The air was thick with the smell of exhaust fumes and damp concrete. It was dimly lit,the shadows stretching long and dark between the massive concrete pillars.
Elisa walked silently, her rubber-soled heels making no sound. Her eyes darted across the rows of armored SUVs and sleek sports cars.
She found it parked in the darkest corner of the garage: a custom black Bentley Bentayga with a vanity plate that read MH-1.
Meredith Hastings was pacing furiously beside the driver's side door. She held a thin, unlit cigarette between her trembling fingers. She was screaming into her cell phone, her voice echoing harshly off the concrete walls.
"I don't care what the trust documents say!"Meredith shrieked into the phone. "Julian is my son!
You tell those lawyers to find a loophole, or I will fire the entire firm!"
Meredith ended the call, slamming her phone against the roof of the Bentley. She let out a ragged breath and finally brought the cigarette to her lips, fumbling with a gold lighter.
No.3
Elisa stepped out from behind a concrete pillar.
The sharp clack of her heel on the pavement cut through the silence.
Meredith jumped, dropping her lighter. She spun around, her eyes wide with sudden panic.When she saw it was Elisa, the panic instantly vanished,replaced by a sneer of absolute, aristocratic contempt.
"What are you doing here?" Meredith spat,crossing her arms. "Didn't August throw you out with the rest of the trash?"
Elisa stopped three feet away. She kept her hands buried deep in her coat pockets. Her face was a mask of terrifying calm.
"I just wanted to see how well you sleep at night,
Mrs. Hastings," Elisa said, her voice soft, almost conversational."Knowing you pushed a woman down a flight of stairs and blamed it on someone else."
No.4
Meredith let out a harsh, mocking laugh. She leaned back against the expensive leather of her car.
"Please," Meredith sneered. "You think anyone is going to believe you? You are a nobody. A gold-digging nurse who got lucky for seven years. I am a Chambers.My word is reality."
Elisa tilted her head slightly. She needed Meredith angrier. She needed her to lose control.
"Your word couldn't even save your own son," Elisa said,her voice dropping to a lethal whisper. "Julian is ruined. He's a laughingstock. And you think pushing Allena down the stairs is going to magically fix his pathetic life?"
The words hit their mark with devastating precision.
Meredith's face contorted into a mask of pure,ugly rage. The aristocratic veneer shattered completely.She pushed off the car and marched right up to Elisa,her chest heaving, her finger jabbing aggressively at the air inches from Elisa's face.
"That cheap little whore deserved it!" Meredith screamed, her voice echoing wildly in the empty garage. "She seduced my boy! She used him and threw him away! I should have pushed her harder! |hope her neck is broken!"
No.5
Meredith was breathing heavily, her eyes wild with the adrenaline of her confession. She felt completely safe in the empty, echoing concrete box. She felt untouchable.
"And as for you," Meredith hissed, stepping closer,her spit flying onto Elisa's cheek. "I'll crush you like a bug. I pushed her, and I blamed you, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. August believes me. The police will believe mne. You are going to rot in a cell."
Elisa didn't wipe the spit from her cheek. She didn't step back.
A slow, chilling smile spread across Elisa's face. It was a smile that made the hairs on the back of Meredith's neck stand up.
"You're right," Elisa said softly. "The police tend to believe the evidence."
Elisa slowly pulled her right hand out of her coat pocket.
She held up her phone. The screen was brightly lit in the dim garage. The red audio wave was bouncing rhythmically, recording every single word.
No.6
Meredith's eyes locked onto the red light. All the blood drained from her face in an instant. Her mouth fell open, but no sound came out. The cigarette slipped from her fingers, landing on the concrete.
"No," Meredith whispered, her voice trembling with sudden,absolute terror.
She lunged forward, her manicured hands clawing desperately for the phone.
Elisa simply took one step back.
Meredith, blinded by panic and wearing high heels,lost her footing. She tripped over her own feet and crashed hard onto the dirty concrete floor, scraping her knees and tearing her expensive stockings.
Elisa stood over her. She looked down at the pathetic, sprawling figure of the billionaire socialite.
Elisa hit the stop button on the recording. She saved
No.7
the file and uploaded it directly to a secure cloud server.
"See you in court,Meredith," Elisa said.
She,turned and walked away, the sound of her heels echoing like a judge's gavel in the dark garage,leaving Meredith Hastings sobbing on the concrete floor.