Confronting Vivienne
Chapter 08 - Confronting Vivienne
Sophie insisted on being present for the confrontation, despite Daniel's initial concerns about her safety.
"She can't hurt me with witnesses present," Sophie said. "And I need her to understand I'm not hiding anymore. I need to see her face when she realizes that."
They met at Grace's office rather than the estate, a neutral setting Grace had insisted on for everyone's protection.
Vivienne arrived polished as ever, though something tight around her eyes suggested the week's stress had taken a visible toll despite her efforts to hide it.
Her composure cracked the instant she saw Sophie sitting at the table.
"Sophie," she said, relief and fury warring across her face in quick succession. "Do you have any idea what you've put me through this week? I've been worried sick."
"You hit me," Sophie said flatly. "And locked me in a room with a man you were selling me to. I don't think 'worried sick' is the phrase you're looking for."
Vivienne's jaw tightened.
"That's not what happened, and you know it," she said, glancing at Daniel and Grace like she expected allies in the room. "Sophie has always had a flair for dramatics under pressure."
"We're not here to discuss that specifically today," Grace said evenly. "We're here to discuss significant financial discrepancies discovered in Bennett Manufacturing's accounts over the past five years."
She slid the folder of vendor invoices across the table.
Vivienne's eyes flicked over the documents, and for just a moment, something like real fear crossed her expression before she smoothed it back into composure.
"These are legitimate vendor relationships," she said. "Complicated ones, admittedly, given the nature of certain specialized services the company required."
"Two of the listed vendor companies share a registered address with a property you own personally," Daniel said. "Under a separate holding entity."
Vivienne's mouth opened, then closed.
"I was protecting company assets during a difficult period," she said finally. "Diversifying risk. That's not theft, that's prudent financial management."
"It's theft when the funds end up exclusively in your personal accounts, routed through shell companies you control, while the company itself falls behind on legitimate loan payments," Grace said calmly. "We have documentation spanning five years, plus a corroborating witness with firsthand knowledge of the pattern."
Vivienne's composure finally cracked fully.
"Renata," she spat. "That woman has always been a problem. Overly nosy, never understanding her place."
"Her place," Sophie repeated, something cold entering her voice, "was watching you steal from a company my parents built, for years, while you told me we couldn't afford basic maintenance on the house."
"Everything I did," Vivienne said, voice rising, "I did to protect this family's standing. You have no idea what it takes to maintain a family's position in this world."
"You mean your position," Sophie said. "Not the family's. Yours."
The room went silent for a moment, tense and charged.
"I want you to understand something," Vivienne said finally, turning to address all three of them, something dangerous entering her tone now. "If you pursue this formally, I will make sure every piece of information I have about this company's more sensitive dealings becomes public as well. Nobody in this room will emerge from that unscathed."
"Are you threatening to destroy remaining records," Grace asked, voice sharp now. "Because that would constitute obstruction, on top of everything else already documented."
Vivienne's face went pale, realizing what she'd just implied out loud, in front of an attorney, on the record.
"I didn't mean—" she started.
"I think you meant exactly that," Daniel said quietly.
Vivienne stood abruptly, gathering her purse with shaking hands.
"This isn't over," she said, echoing words Sophie had heard used before, in different rooms, by different people trying to reclaim control they'd already lost.
"No," Sophie agreed, standing as well, steady in a way she hadn't expected to feel. "It isn't. But it's going to end with the truth this time. Not with whatever version you've been managing for the last five years."
May you like
Vivienne left without another word, and once the door closed behind her, Grace exhaled slowly.
"That threat about destroying records," she said, "I want an emergency motion filed by end of day. We can't risk her acting on it."
