“Do you even know who Secretary Madigan is?” Miss Perkins continued. “You’ll be scared to death when you find out!”
Without waiting for a reply, she declared, “Duke is President Grandpierre’s son!”
She leaned in a little, eyes wide with excitement. “You know which President Grandpierre, right? The one who’s about to marry into the Winchesters!”
“And soon enough, the entire capital will basically be under the Grandpierres’ control!” she finished breathlessly, practically bouncing on her heels.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at her little speech.
“All that talk,” I said dryly, glancing sideways at Lacey, “and I thought Secretary Madigan was someone impressive.”
Then I turned to Miss Perkins, curling my lips into a slow smirk. “So she’s just Redmond’s other woman, huh? The woman no one’s allowed to talk about?”
My gaze snapped back to Lacey, sharper now. “If Redmond’s really about to marry someone else, doesn’t that just mean you’ll never be a real wife in this lifetime?”
Clearly, Miss Perkins had only meant to flatter Lacey. But instead, that stupid teacher slipped up—badly. Without realizing it, she’d just exposed Lacey as the other woman.
She must’ve caught on a second later, because her mouth snapped shut and she threw a nervous glance at Lacey, clearly terrified she’d stepped out of line.
And just like that, Lacey’s face darkened. Her expression turned thunderous, like a storm ready to explode.
“Bitch! You dare insult me? Are you tired of living?” she hissed, eyes wild.
Before I could move, she slapped me across the face again—twice. Hard.
“Even if I am the other woman, I’m still far more impressive than you!” she barked.
Then she pointed at the boy and snarled, “And don’t forget—I have a son!”
With a twisted sense of pride, she added, “My son can inherit the Winchesters’ fortune someday! I’ll be honored as the mother of the heir—way better off than a broke, useless woman like you!”
“Besides,” she continued, “who says that that rich Winchester heiress will even live longer than me? What if she dies after the wedding? Who says I won’t have the chance to take her place?”
God. What an evil thought.
Her son and my niece were the same age. And yet, he was already attending one of the best private academies under the Grandpierre & Co.
I didn’t buy for a second that Redmond’s father was clueless about any of this.
So this was his true reason for insisting Redmond marry me?
He wanted Redmond to marry me just so that even my wealth would fall into their hands—after I died!
Chills crept up my spine. Good thing I came to this parent-teacher meeting. Just thinking about it made me sick.
Trying to smooth things over, Miss Perkins jumped in again, trying to smooth things over.
“Miss Kennedy, Noreen is watching. She’s very timid by nature. You wouldn’t want to scare her, would you? Just apologize nicely, okay?”
Lacey, now clearly feeling bold, took it even further. “An apology’s not enough,” she said, crossing her arms. “She’s wasted so much of my time. She should compensate me too.”
Wow. I’d never met someone so shameless in my life.
With a cold laugh, I played along and asked, “How much do you want?”
Thinking I had finally given in after hearing her ‘status,’ Lacey lifted her chin arrogantly and raised five fingers.
“Five hundred thousand!” she demanded.
Then, she threatened me. “If you don’t pay me five hundred thousand, don’t even think about walking out of this school gate today.”
Right after she said that, she gave a tiny nod to the security guard.
In response, the man behind me pushed down harder on my shoulders. I winced as my joints cracked under the pressure.
The pain made me suck in a sharp breath.
“Fine,” I spat through clenched teeth. “Let go of me. I’ll transfer it.”
The second I gave in, a gleam of triumph flashed in Lacey’s eyes.
“I knew you’d come to your senses eventually,” she said. “Smart people know when to give up.”
She inspected her nails casually, blabbering, “When your family goes bankrupt someday, bring that little orphan of a niece to my doorstep to beg for food. Maybe I’ll toss her some scraps.”
“Don’t look down on third parties,” she advised with a proud smirk. “These days, people laugh at the poor, not at those who sell their bodies.”
“You, acting all righteous—” She adjusted her sunglasses. “What’s there to be proud of when you’re broke?”
Then, with a final wave of her hand, she signaled the guard to release me.
As soon as the pressure lifted, I rolled my aching shoulders and bent down to pick up my phone from where it had fallen. My face was still stinging, hot and swollen from the slaps.
I unlocked the screen, pulled up iMessage, and started typing.
Then I looked up, dead calm, and asked again, “How much did you say you wanted?”
Lacey smugly held up five fingers again. “This much!”
I gave her a serious nod and tapped in my password.
Moments later, a cheerful chime rang out from her phone.
[Deposit received: $500,000.00]
