Chapter 12 - An Unwelcome Shadow
Happiness, however, is rarely untroubled by the ghosts of the past. Word of Marcus and Elena's courtship eventually reached Victoria, who had spent the last several months fulfilling her mandatory community service at a shelter in New Jersey.
Broken in status and stripped of her luxury, a desperate resentment still festered within her. One rainy evening, Victoria breached her restraining order and waited near the gates of the Brooklyn foundation center as Elena walked to her car.
"Elena!" Victoria called out, stepping from the shadows of an alleyway.
Elena stopped, turning around. She was startled, but she did not run. Victoria looked gaunt, her expensive raincoat frayed and muddy at the hem.
"You took everything that was supposed to be mine," Victoria hissed, stepping into the streetlamp light. "My title, my ring, the Vance fortune. You manipulated him from the start!"
"I took nothing from you, Victoria," Elena replied steadily, keeping her distance. "You discarded Marcus, Theo, and your own dignity when you chose cruelty over compassion. No one took your life away. You gave it away the moment you treated a baby like a pawn."
Victoria stepped forward, her voice cracking with suppressed tears. "Do you think he truly loves you? You're just a replacement! A caretaker for his grief!"
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"I am the woman who loves him and his son unconditionally," Elena said, her voice filled not with anger, but with profound sorrow. "Victoria, look at yourself. You are still measuring love in terms of fortunes and possessions. Until you stop looking at human beings as things to own, you will always be empty."
Sirens wailed in the distance; the center’s security guard had already alerted the police. Victoria stared at Elena, the cold truth of the words piercing through her bitter armor. For the first time, Victoria saw no fear in her rival’s eyes—only pity. Defeated, Victoria dropped her head and waited quietly as the police cruiser pulled up to the curb.
