Chapter 5 - The Desperate Performance
Vanessa didn't wait for me to speak. She rushed forward, leaning over my desk, her eyes glistening with theatrical tears that never quite spilled over her lashes.
"Life has been so cruel to us, Eleanor," she choked out, dabbing at the corner of her eye with a tissue that looked like it had been salvaged from the bottom of a handbag. "After all these years... you can't imagine what I've been through. Martin... Martin turned out to be a monster. He took everything. He gambled away our assets, drained our accounts, and left me with nothing—absolutely nothing!—when he walked out last month."
She let out a ragged sigh, shaking her head.
"I was cast out onto the streets with just the clothes on my back. No home, no money, no friends. Everyone abandoned me when the wealth disappeared. But through all of it, my heart never stopped aching for my little girl. I said to myself, My daughter is successful now. I saw her company name on the news. I knew my brilliant blood ran through your veins. I knew my flesh and blood would never turn her back on a mother in need."
She reached across the desk, her manicured hand—nails chipped and unpolished—trying to grab mine.
I slowly pulled my hand back, resting it neatly in my lap.
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Vanessa froze, her hand hovering over empty space. The theatrical smile faltered for a fraction of a second, replaced by a flash of raw irritation, before she quickly morphed back into the helpless, victimized mother.
"You're shocked, I know," she whispered, lowering her voice to a pathetic pitch. "It's a lot to process. But we have so much lost time to make up for, sweetheart. And... well, since you have so much space here, and such incredible wealth... I was thinking we could finally live together. Like a real family."
