Inside the boutique, the air smelled of lavender and money.
Daphne stood in front of a three-way mirror. She was wearing a suit. Not a boring beige office suit.
It was red. Crimson. Blood red.
The jacket was tailored to within an inch of its life, nipping in at her waist and flaring out. The pants were wide-legged and powerful.
She looked in the mirror. She didn't look like a victim. She looked dangerous.
The manager walked over, holding an iPad. Her expression was grave.
"Mr. Bernard thought you should see this," she said gently.
Daphne took the tablet.
It was a live stream. Kandice Rose.
Kandice was sitting on a beige sofa, clutching a tissue. Her eyes were red-rimmed.
"I tried," Kandice sobbed, wiping a tear that wasn't there. "I tried to be a sister to her. But she was always so... jealous."
Daphne's grip on the iPad tightened.
"She tried to seduce Campbell," Kandice whispered, looking directly into the camera. "While I was in the hospital recovering. She tried to steal him."
It was a lie. A blatant, verifiable, disgusting lie. Kandice had been in the hospital for a nose job, not an illness. And Daphne had been engaged to Campbell for four years.
But the comments were scrolling by so fast they were a blur.
Die Daphne.
Ungrateful brat.
Team Kandice.
Daphne's hands shook. The red suit suddenly felt like a costume.
A notification popped up at the top of the screen. An email.
From: ABT Board of Directors.
Subject: Immediate Suspension Pending Investigation.
Daphne tapped it open.
...due to conduct unbecoming of a principal dancer... moral turpitude clause... effective immediately.
Her breath hitched.
Her career was her life. It was the only thing that was truly hers. And Kandice was taking that too.
The manager watched her sympathetically. "Water, Ms. Flynn?"
Daphne stared at the screen.
Silence wasn't working. Taking the high road wasn't working. It was killing her.
She recalled Fiona's words: Use the weapon.
She handed the iPad back to the manager. Her hand was steady now.
"I'll take the suit," she said. Her voice was ice cold. "And the black dress. And the heels. The highest ones you have."
"Of course."
Daphne pulled out the Black AMEX.
She swiped it.
Beep.
APPROVED.
The sound was intoxicating. It was the sound of power.
She pulled out her phone and called Charlton.
He answered on the first ring. "Are you okay?"
"Did you see Kandice's video?" she asked.
"I'm having it taken down for defamation as we speak," Charlton replied. "My legal team is on it."
"No," Daphne stopped him. "Leave it up."
"Leave it?" Charlton sounded surprised.
"I want everyone to see her lie," Daphne said. She looked at herself in the mirror. The red suit blazed. "So when I crush her, they know exactly why."
She took a deep breath.
"I'm in, Charlton. I'll marry you. I'll do the show."
There was a pause on the line. She heard him exhale, a long, shaky sound that sounded like relief.
"Good choice, Mrs. Bernard," he said. His voice was thick with emotion she couldn't place. "I'll pick you up in twenty."
