006 RECKONING
1293 Words
The internet had no mercy.
Alex woke up to his new phone vibrating nonstop on the nightstand. He rolled lazily on the comfy bed. He'd finally moved into his father's room at the Kane estate.
He grabbed the phone and unlocked it. Hundreds of notifications. He blinked his eyes and opened a link Thomas sent him.
#EmmaWilliams was trending worldwide. Number one spot on every channel and news outlet. It reached fifty million tweets already.
He scrolled through them.
"Imagine cheating on a TRILLIONAIRE"
"She really chose a fake CEO over the real one I'm DEAD"
"Emma Williams is the dumbest person alive and that's a fact"
Someone had made a compilation video of her at the will reading, her facial expressions as the truth came out, sad violin music playing in the background. Twenty million views in six hours.
Alex closed the app. He should've felt satisfied. Instead, he just felt… tired.
He got out of bed and washed himself up.
Downstairs, he found Logan in the kitchen pouring coffee, his once upright shoulder were slumped. His eyes were puffy, like someone who had cried all night.
“Morning," Alex greeted as he went to the other side of the kitchen to get his own mug.
Logan didn't respond.
The silence stretched thin.
“You know," Logan said finally. “I used to have breakfast here alone for twenty-eight years”
Alex knew where this was heading to, so he just simply replied. “Okay."
Logan chuckled bitterly. “Just like that? Okay?" His voice cracked. "You show up and take every damn thing I had and all you can say is okay?”
Alex poured coffee without looking up. “I didn't take anything. It was… Nothing was never yours” his voice came out calmer than he thought it would be.
“Because of a godforsaken test? Huh! Tell me!"
"Because you failed, man.” Alex turned around and met his eyes. "You knew about me for three years. You should have f*****g done something. I would have done something!"
Logan's hands shook around his mug. "I was told not to interfere. I was damn scared—"
"So was I. Every single day for three years.” Alex sat his mug down. "The difference is, I stayed human. Now you're angry I won.
Logan slammed his mug on the counter and coffee splashed everywhere. “Won? You think you won? You walked into a life I built—"
“Stop being delusional. Logan you built nothing. Our father built this. And rightfully you'll definitely have shares too" Alex tried to reason with him.
Logan's face went red. "Get out."
"This is our house."
"GET OUT!" Logan was shouting now, shaking. "You don't know what it's like! Growing up thinking you're someone, building a whole identity, just to find out it was all a lie! You were nothing for three years? I've been nothing my ENTIRE LIFE and just didn't know it!"
Alex kept silent and studied him. He looked past the angry man and saw a man whose foundation had crumbled. And for a second, he could feel his pain.
“You're right,” Alex said quietly. “That must have hurt so much. But you know what? You still have a choice. Father didn't abandon you.”
Logan's hands balled into fists. For a second, Alex thought he might swing. Instead, Logan grabbed his keys off the counter.
"Where are you going?"
"Away from you. From this mess" Logan headed for the door, and stopped in the doorway. "You think you're better than me because you passed some test? Wait until the real world comes for you. You'll break just like I did. Maybe worse."
Then he was gone. The front door slammed hard enough to rattle the windows.
Alex stood alone in the kitchen. The coffee on the counter was spreading into a puddle. He grabbed a towel and wiped it up.
His phone buzzed. It was Thomas.
“Emma just tried to enter the estate. Security stopped her, but she refused to leave, she's sitting outside. The media's filming. Do you want me to handle it?"
Alex stared at the message and thought about Emma being desperate and globally humiliated. Who knew a day like this would come?
He typed back: "Let her sit. Don't acknowledge her at all."
Then he poured the rest of his coffee down the sink and went to get dressed. He had a board meeting in an hour.
Time to see what he'd inherited.
___
Three hours.
Emma had been at Kane Tower for three hours. Security denied her entrance. “Ma'am, do you have an appointment?"
“I just want to see Alex... just five minutes. Fine, five seconds. Tell him it's Emma! f*****g do what I say." She yelled, but quickly composed herself. “please,”
The guard checked his tablet. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I don't see your name on any access list."
She slumped down on the floor. Same black dress she'd worn to the will reading, because she couldn't think straight enough to change. Her hair was a mess. Makeup smeared from crying.
People walked past and started filming her.
"Oh my god, is that—"
"Holy s**t, it is."
"Emma Williams sitting outside Kane Tower like a beggar LMAOOO"
"She really thought he'd take her back, crap. She's insane."
Emma buried her face in her hands. People had been terrified of disappointing her. Now they were laughing.
Her phone rang. Her mother.
"Emma, get home right now. You're embarrassing yourself."
"I need to talk to him, Mom. I need to explain—"
"Explain what? That you're an i***t? The whole world already knows." Diane snapped. "I just got a notice, they're taking our house. We… we have thirty days Emma. You need to fix this!"
"I'm trying—"
"Try harder!" The line went dead.
Emma stared at her phone. Saw her own face on the internet. "SCORNED EX-WIFE BEGS OUTSIDE KANE TOWER."
She stood up, her legs were weak. She'd barely eaten since yesterday.
"Please," Emma pleaded again. "Just... tell him I'm here. That's all. Tell him Emma is here and needs five minutes. Please."
"Ma'am, I can't—"
"PLEASE!" Her voice cracked. People turned to stare but she didn't care anymore. "I made a mistake. I know I did. I just need to tell him I'm sorry. That's all. Please."
The guard shifted uncomfortably, and checked his tablet. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I have instructions that you're not to be allowed in under any circumstances."
The world tilted.
He'd left actual instructions. To keep her out. She wasn't just forgotten. She was blocked.
Emma turned and walked. She didn't know where to go. She wanted somewhere safe. Away from the phones and cameras.
She ended up at a crosswalk. The light turned green. People moved around her, crossing the road. She didn't move.
She stared blankly across the street.
She'd had everything. Alex loved her, not for family's money or connections. Just her.
And she'd thrown him away because her mother said he wasn't enough.
Now he had everything and she had nothing and it was all her own fault.
Emma stepped off the curb.
The light was still green. But she wasn't looking at the lights. she was staring at nothing.
A horn blared.
She looked up and saw a black SUV. It was close already.
Her body locked. Shock froze her in place.
The car brakes screamed.
Her hand flew to her stomach. “Oh God, My baby"
She tried to move, but it was too late.
The car sent her across the road, her head hit the concrete. Pain shot through her body and her eyes went shut.
- Writer
