Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN IN THE BEIGE COAT
Less than ten minutes later, heavy footsteps echoed across the terrazzo flooring as two of my enforcers escorted a frantic, disheveled woman back down the terminal corridor.
It was her. The woman in the beige designer coat.
Her hair was slightly undone, her expensive leather handbag swinging wildly at her side, and her face flushed with an ugly mix of humiliation and furious panic. She tried to pull away from my men, her voice rising in a shrill, screeching protest that turned the heads of every traveler within fifty yards.
“Unhand me! This is kidnapping! Do you have any idea who my husband is? He’s—he’s a respected lawyer, and I’ll have you all thrown in prison!”
“Shut your mouth,” Marco hissed, stepping forward and blocking her path with a wall of muscle. He pointed a leather-gloved finger toward the black bench where Owen and Lily sat quietly watching the commotion.
The woman—whose name badge from the gate counter later identified as Victoria Vance—froze as her eyes landed on the twins. For a split second, a flash of pure, unadulterated guilt crossed her features. Then, it hardened right back into cold, biting resentment.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Victoria snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. “Are you people running some kind of charity racket? Those brats are not my problem. Their father died six months ago, leaving me with a mountain of debts and zero child support. I tried! I gave them a home until the money ran out. But I am not raising another man’s orphans!”
The terminal went dead silent. Passengers standing nearby stared in open disgust.
I stood up slowly from the bench, towering a full head over Victoria. The air around me seemed to drop twenty degrees as I stepped into her personal space. My men instinctively parted, leaving just the two of us standing beneath the glaring airport lights.
“You had a legal obligation,” I said softly, each word falling like a lead weight onto the floor. “You had a moral duty. Instead, you dumped them on a public bench like unwanted luggage and tried to fly out of state.”
Victoria scoffed, trying to mask her trembling lower lip with false bravado. “And what are you going to do? Arrest me? Call the cops? Go ahead! Take them! They’re yours for all I care!”
I didn’t raise my voice. I didn't need to.
“The police won't be involved, Victoria,” I murmured, leaning in close enough that she could see the cold, unyielding storm in my eyes. “Because as of five minutes ago, my legal team has dissolved your marriage certificates, frozen every single asset tied to your late husband’s estate under charges of financial fraud, and stripped you of every penny you thought you were running away with.”
Victoria’s jaw dropped. The color completely drained from her face, leaving her looking sickly and hollow.
“You can’t do that,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “Who... who the hell are you?”
“My name is Ryker Steel,” I said quietly. “And those children are no longer yours to abandon.”
Without waiting for her reply, I turned my back on her, signaling Marco to escort her out of the terminal through a private exit. She was going to disappear into a quiet legal purgatory where she would never, ever be able to touch, threaten, or haunt Owen and Lily again.
May you like
I walked back over to the bench, kneeling down once more beside the twins.
“Come on, kids,” I said, extending my hands toward them with a warmth I hadn't felt in decades. “Let’s go home.”
