A conference. Well, it was true. Ostensibly, this was a trip to attend a two-day educators’ symposium. Lucy arranged for a substitute teacher to look after her pupils while she took care of business. Josh had generously lent her his SUV for the four-hour journey from the farm to Cape Town. She was hoping to attend at least some of the sessions on New Approaches to the Dyslexic Learner. Still, she was lying by omission and she hated to do it. She consoled herself by knowing that lying wasn’t a personal habit of hers, rather it was her chronic truth-telling that had her in hot water.
Lucy sat stiffly on a sofa in the blandly tasteful hotel lounge. She tried to take deep breaths but couldn’t stop her habit of fidgeting nervously with her hands. She had found a private corner, and the hotel was quiet due to the absence of tourists in the rainy season. The room smelled faintly of air freshener and piped music played softly. Lucy had been here for ten minutes. She had wanted to be early in order to compose herself. An ornate flower arrangement sat on a low table that was polished to a high sheen.
She heard the click-clack of heels.
“Well, well, well, four stars. Coming down in the world, are we?”
Lucy would have recognized that voice anywhere. Anyone watching would have seen Lucy’s posture stiffen as the figure approached. Ash-blonde hair perfectly coiffed, makeup in place, Victoria Palmer wore a smart suit in royal navy. Her expensive shoes and handbag matched. She took a seat opposite Lucy in a stiff armchair. A waiter appeared. “Coffee, black no sugar. And my friend will have…?”
“Nothing thanks, I have water.”
“Suit yourself.” Victoria crossed one leg over the other.
Lucy could feel every part of her body tense. She swallowed hard, determined not to let her fear and anger show. Although Victoria looked as well turned out as ever, Lucy could see that she had aged. No amount of makeup or the nips and tucks she routinely relied on could disguise the bitterness which revealed itself in the deepening downturn of her mouth and the hardness that shone from her steel-blue eyes.
“Well, I must say, I was rather delighted to hear from you after all this time.” The manner in which Victoria drawled out the word delighted revealed her disdain. “What can I say? I just had to get on a plane.” Victoria picked up her coffee cup. “So you live around here, in Cape Town?” she asked.
“Cut the crap, Victoria. You know precisely where I live. Apparently, some man with a southern accent and a fanny pack started asking questions about me months ago in Lourensville. One of your hired lackeys, I’m sure. What do you want?”
“What do I want? Excuse me, but you’re the one who called this meeting. I’ve just flown halfway across the world. Perhaps it’s you who needs to do some explaining.”
Lucy hated the way Victoria always managed to take control.
“Why can’t you leave me alone? For God’s sake. Just let it go. Jason’s philandering would have eventually come to light. If it hadn’t been by me, then someone else would have. You can’t keep that kind of stuff from coming out when you’re in politics. You know full well that any potential political opponent would’ve found the dirt on him. It just might have taken them a bit longer.”
“Philandering, oh please!” Victoria spat the words. “Just some pre-wedding hijinks. Good God, if you had to turn a blind eye to a few indiscretions in return for a life of affluence and prestige, then so damn what? You’re a pathetic, self-righteous, useless little second-rate teacher. Teaching a bunch of remedial kids, is that what you call them nowadays? We just used to call children like that slow.”
Lucy shook her head. “Wow, and to think that you sit on the board of the Illinois Special Education Charity Trust. It’s all just bullshit, isn’t it, Victoria?” Lucy could feel her face reddening with anger. Don’t take the bait. She tried to steady herself. Striking a deal that would safeguard her family back home and Mountain Shadows was the goal of this meeting.
“I know you’ve been leaning on my dad’s business. I mean, two audits and pressure from the zoning board? What have my father and my brother ever done to you?”
“Why nothing,” Victoria said coolly as she held her coffee cup to her lips. “They’re just what my husband and I like to call collateral damage.”
Lucy felt sick. She knew in her gut that the Palmers had orchestrated the situation back home but to hear it confirmed was gut-wrenching.
“And Mountain Shadows? We know you’ve acquired a major stake in Sun Valley Wines recently. Are we supposed to believe it’s some sort of coincidence that there have been two major acts of sabotage since you have come on board?”
Victoria gave a dry laugh. “Oh, please. From what I understand, there has been bad blood between those two wineries for years. You surely don’t blame this latest unpleasantness on us?” The way that Victoria’s face broke into a self-satisfied grin told Lucy all she needed to know.
“Why, Victoria? Of all the wine farms in the world, why would you choose the one that I live and work on?”
“All in all, it was a good business decision. You do realize Jack and I know a great deal about wine. We have so much to offer the wine industry.”
“This isn’t a business decision, Victoria. This is about revenge pure and simple.”
“Who the hell are you to lecture me about revenge, huh? Queen of the internet character assassination? Politics and business are one and the same. Do you know why? Because politics is about power. It’s that simple, and do you know what gives you power? Money. That’s it. Or did poor little Lucy actually think that politics was about service toward a common good?”
“Embarking on this hell-bent path of retribution isn’t going to help your son’s career.”
“Yes, it will,” Victoria’s hissed, and Lucy was taken aback at the sheer intensity, the immense hatred on display.
“I always have a plan, Ms. Shepherd. Do you really think the Palmer family would indulge in petty retribution? That’s for losers, idiots driven by nothing but emotion. The way I see it, you have a choice. Either you can own up to your vengefulness toward the Palmer family, a family I might add who took you in, treated you like one of our own, or you can be responsible for the destruction of many, many lives.”
Lucy put her head in her hands. Part of her wanted to get up and simply run away, into the street, back to her room, anywhere to be free of this onslaught.
“Are you really ready to see your family’s business go down the drain? And trust me, we can do it. My husband plays golf with Mayor Harker and the zoning board is, how shall we say, open to incentivizing. And then of course, there are the de Langes.”
“You can’t intimidate the de Langes. They are too powerful and too well connected.”
“Is that what you’ve been led to believe?” Victoria sat back with an air of triumph. “The truth is, I have it on good authority that the de Langes are rather over-extended. It would only take one poor crop to put them in a very perilous situation.” Victoria eased back into her chair as if she hadn’t a care in the world. “We do our homework in such matters, and you know, time and pressure can inflict a great deal of damage.” She raised an eyebrow. “And we Palmers are very patient.”
Lucy was shocked at this last bit of information. She had never considered that the de Langes could be vulnerable.
“Got you there, didn’t I?” Victoria smirked.
“And what about the school, Victoria?” Lucy fought back tears. “If you managed, and I don’t believe you will, to force Mountain Shadows to sell up, what will happen to all of those children to whom the school offers the promise of a better life? Are they also to become collateral damage?”
“Not necessarily, my dear. If you want to see the school carry on, then there is definitely a path forward. The way I see it, either you can sit back and watch the scorched-earth-style destruction of everything and everyone you care about, or you can recant your story completely.”
“Why bring that entire sorry saga up again, Victoria? Why not just let the bad publicity die down so that we can all get on with our lives?”
“But we will get on with our lives, darling. Once you set the record straight and agree to our version of events and make it widely known that you are a liar and a fantasist.”
“What version are you talking about?” Lucy was afraid to hear the answer.
Victoria rubbed her hands together. Clearly, she had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
“You tell the world that you and your IT nerd of a cousin made all of this up. Doctored photos and so on. The truth is that my son actually wanted to call off the engagement once he learned of your more unsavory qualities such as lying and emotional hysteria. He sat you down and told you that the wedding was off and you became unhinged. You started making wild threats and eventually made good on them, trying to destroy Jason’s career and the family name.”
“That’s ridiculous, and people won’t believe it.”
“Oh, really? People will believe anything if the message hits the right note. Oh, and it will. Trust me, sweetheart, I’m a politician’s wife, the power behind the throne, and making people believe in a particular story is what I do best.”
Lucy struggled to keep her composure. She had fought her way out of adverse situations before and this would be no different. But the state of affairs laid out before her was truly appalling.
“If you do what I ask, then we will leave your father’s business alone, and I will call the dogs off Mountain Shadows. I can’t say that I’m terribly fond of that Hans Bekker character, such a common sort. We will stay on as silent partners. That way, we can keep an eye on things, and should you decide to renege on our little deal, then we can act swiftly. The second part of our deal involves geography. We’re not about to let you stay here in paradise while my son climbs a mountain back home. You will return to the States to face the music and stay there. Lover boy can pine away for a while but I’m sure a handsome man like that has plenty of other options.”
“You have absolutely no right to tell me where I can live and who I can love. This is insane!” Lucy’s voice rose and she didn’t care who heard her.
“I may not have the right, my dear, but I certainly have the means.”
“As a teacher, my reputation is everything. If I agree to what you are proposing then I’ll probably never work again.”
“Probably.” Victoria sighed with faux sympathy.
“If I did agree to your proposal, how do I know that you will leave my family and the de Langes alone? Give me one reason why I should trust you.”
“Because I give you my word.” Victoria’s voice was low, but to Lucy’s surprise, it shook slightly with emotion. “I have never lied to you, Lucy, and I’ve always been fair. And believe it or not, I’m being fair to you right now. This is a simple exchange, your reputation for my son’s.”
Like the exhausted mouse that finally realized it was cornered by the cat, Lucy accepted she was out of options. Her career would probably be destroyed, and she would have to give up the school, and worst of all, Josh and the life they wanted together. But in exchange, her family and everyone at Mountain Shadows would be safe. She could at least live her life from here on out guilt-free. No one would suffer for her actions, except herself.
Calling deep on her courage, Lucy found the last reserves of her strength. “I want to see out the school year here. It ends in early December. I have made promises to certain families and there are struggling students I can’t give up on.”
“So, you agree then?”
Lucy let out a hard sigh, closed her eyes, and eventually nodded. She fought back tears with every ounce of strength she possessed. There was no way Victoria would get the satisfaction of seeing her cry.
“Well, I’m glad that you can see reason.”
Lucy could have sworn there were tears welling in Victoria’s eyes, but the older woman quickly regained her self-control. “My assistant has already drawn up your prepared statement. I will email it to you and I expect it to be posted within forty-eight hours.”
Victoria stood up. “You know, Lucy, things could have turned out so differently. You had the world at your feet. Why couldn’t you have just played by the rules? My son would have given you everything.”
Lucy stood up and faced Victoria squarely. “Your son is a fraud and a liar. He had nothing to give me.”
“Well,” Victoria said. She straightened her jacket and put her handbag over her shoulder. “It’s all rather a shame, really, and to think that I was actually quite fond of you.” Seconds later, Victoria was gone.