“Why did it take so long to pick up?” Elizabeth’s sharp voice carried is usual note of displeasure.
The familiar tone sent a lance of pain through my chest. No matter how many times she proved otherwise, some small part of me still couldn’t understand how she could treat her own daughter like this. Victoria got all her maternal warmth while I… I got this.
“I was working,” I managed, trying to keep the bitterness from my voice. “Did you need something?”
No matter how much I resented her, I couldn’t change the fact that she was my mother. That truth was carved into my bones, impossible to excise.
“Come home!” The command in her voice hadn’t changed since my childhood. “Don’t forget, this is your home. Your grandfather has been so good to you…”
“I’m busy.” I cut her off, unable to bear another lecture about family duty.
“Busy?” She scoffed. “What could you possibly be busy with? You’re just an employee. Listen carefully if you don’t come home, today…”
“Then what?” A bitter laugh escaped me. “If you’d shown even a fraction of the concern for me that you show for Victoria, maybe I wouldn’t dread coming home so much.”
What are you implying?” Her voice turned deadly soft. “That this is my fault? Summer, I’m warning you – if you don’t come home today, you’ll regret it.”
Ice crystallized in my veins. “What could I possibly have to regret?”
“Those videos of you and Charles Windsor are right here.” The satisfaction in her voice made me want to throw up. “Think carefully about what you might regret. Come home. Now.”
My voice shook despite my best efforts. “I’m your daughter too! How could you do this to me?”
“There is no ‘how could I.“” The casual cruelty in her voice felt like knives in my chest. “Capital Corp needs funding, and Charles is
willing to provide it. If you still consider me your mother, come home. Otherwise, these videos go public. Your choice.”
Her voice softened to something almost maternal. “You should understand – Charles is the third son of the Windsor family. They’re far more powerful than the Taylors. If you become his woman, everything the Windsors have could be yours. I’ve arranged everything for you. One day you’ll thank me for this.”
The mask of maternal concern made bile rise in my throat. But those videos in her hands were a ticking time bomb. Elizabeth would do anything for Victoria – if she gave those videos to my sister… I couldn’t even imagine surviving that kind of humiliation.
“Fine,” I forced the words past numb lips. “I’ll meet you. But not at home.”
“Perfect. The satisfaction in her voice made my skin crawl.
The moment the call ended, my legs gave out. I slid down the wall, staring blindly ahead as the world spun around me.
“Miss Taylor!” Amy’s worried voice seemed to come from very far away. “Are you alright?”
I forced my lips into something approximating a smile. “I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”
Back at my desk, my trembling fingers found Brandon’s contact in my phone. I stared at his name for long moments before changing the contact to simply “Bran.
1/2
C
The first call went straight to voicemail,
Maybe he’s in a meeting? I tried again immediately.
My fingers shook as 1 hit redial for the third time. The phone felt impossibly heavy in my hand as I waited, praying to hear his deep- voice instead of another voicemail message.
Please pick up. Brandon, I need you…
But only silence answered.
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