Page 112 of Seduced By Contract

"So what is it then?"

"I made you a promise: I said that all those who humiliated you would pay. Do you remember?"

She asks the nannies to keep an eye on our girls, then accepts the hand I offer. I start walking towards the trees.

"I thought everyone had been punished,” she says. “I mean, you sent your employees away. Adriel was a victim of his owngreed, Gordon is dead, and..." She stops, finally seeming to remember. "Celine?"

I take my phone out of my pocket and load the video that Odin sent me earlier. I wait while she watches it.

"Oh my God! How did they get this?"

"After I liquidated the bank, there was still the old Gordon mansion left for the little viper. Inside the house there are cameras everywhere. Do you know how they work?"

"No."

"Security cameras are for the protection of the residents of a house, and theoretically, the recordings should only be sent to the companies that manufacture them or to the owner's phone. I'd bet my life that Celine didn't know this, but unfortunately for her, Odin did."

As she watches the first part of the recording, she starts to laugh. "Is she having sex with the driver?"

"Yes, and the man is the maid's husband. But that's not the part that interests me." I fast-forward the film. "Look now."

I know what Madison will see: Celine slapping the elderly butler in the face, offending and humiliating him.

"What a bitch!"

"Open your Facebook, Madison, and type in her name. In fact, any social network."

She does so and then looks at me, shocked. "It went viral? But how?"

"Odin has his ways."

"I thought you forgot about that."

"No, I never forget. I was waiting for her to come of age, which happened a few months ago. I knew I just had to wait. Anyone who behaves the way she did towards you in the open does much worse behind closed doors."

"Talk about worse! Regarding the sex part, she's just a slut for cheating on her employee, but the issue with the elderly butler is another story."

"We have months of recordings, but for the purpose of justice, only those of her attacking the butler will be of use to us."

"What do you intend to do?"

"We already did it. As soon as we released the recordings earlier today, we sent a lawyer to represent the butler. He was instructed to ask for high compensation. But in this case, that's not what matters."

"It's her reputation, right?"

"Yes. New York high society is good at condemning. Since the scandal involving Emerson, she had already been turned away from several events she tried to participate in, even charity balls. These recordings will be just the shovel needed to bury her in ostracism once and for all."

"I don't want you to try to take revenge on everyone who tries to harm me. The world is full of dark-hearted unfortunates, Zeus. We can't fight them all."

"Don't fool yourself for a second, Madison. You and our daughters are my world. For you and our family, there are no limits to what I would do, and this is as much about protecting you as it is about punishing those who offended or hurt you."

One year later

"I'm proud of you. Of all of you," my wife says, kissing my brothers on the cheek and then coming to hug me.

"We should have done this straight after we discovered the truth,” I say, “but messing with the past made me face my own mistakes, so I postponed it."

After a few minutes, my brothers hug me and walk away towards their cars, leaving me and my wife in front of our family tomb.

Today, we finally brought my mother and father together again.

My grandfather forbade her burial here. Completely overcome by grief, we agreed that she would be sent to an individual tomb. Now she's back where she belongs, because even with all our mistakes, we were the only ones who truly loved her.

"I wish I had just one chance, Madison. If I were allowed five minutes to hug her and ask for forgiveness . . .”

"It wouldn't be enough, Zeus. No amount of time would be enough, because what Emerson stole from your family was Christmases, birthdays, and the right to have your parents present in their grandchildren's lives. That cannot be changed, but you can honor their memory by having a good life. Loving our children, trusting me, protecting your brothers.”

"I can do that. I will live for this."

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