Chapter 7 - Whispers of the Past
When Amy walked into her private office, Penelope was pacing back and forth near the window. She looked pale, her eyes bloodshot, her designer dress replaced by a wrinkled trench coat. She looked like a ghost of the glamorous woman who had stood beside Amy just twenty-four hours ago.
As soon as Amy entered, followed closely by Julian, Penelope spun around.
"Amy!" Penelope rushed forward, but Julian stepped smoothly between them, his presence an intimidating barrier.
Penelope stopped, flinching as she looked at Julian. "What are you doing here with him, Amy? He's a Bennett! You can't trust any of them!"
"I trust Julian far more than I trust you," Amy said coldly, sitting down behind her executive mahogany desk. "Why are you here, Penelope?"
Penelope wrung her hands together nervously, tears welling up in her eyes. "Amy, you have to help me! After yesterday... after you left, Arthur Bennett threatened me! He said if I talk to the press or the authorities, he'll make sure I get blamed for everything! He's trying to make me the scapegoat!"
"You made yourself the scapegoat when you slept with my groom," Amy replied without a shred of sympathy.
"It wasn't like that!" Penelope pleaded, leaning across the desk. "Maverick threatened me! Six months ago, my father's business went under. I was desperate. Maverick offered to pay off my family's debts, but only if I helped him get close to your father's private vault files!"
Amy's eyes narrowed. "My father's vault?"
"Yes!" Penelope sobbed. "Maverick needed the private access codes to your father's physical safe at the Sterling estate. He told me that if I didn't get him the codes, he would ruin my family completely. I was terrified, Amy!"
"So you betrayed me to save yourself," Amy said, her voice dripping with venom. "And then you decided to sleep with him as an added bonus?"
Penelope lowered her head, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. "Yesterday... yesterday Maverick called me up to Room 237 because he was losing his mind. He found out that your father had changed the safe code right before he died. Maverick was furious. He grabbed me, he pushed me onto the bed... I was trying to leave when you walked in!"
Amy looked at Julian. Julian's jaw was clenched tight, his expression deadly dark.
"Is this true, Penelope?" Julian asked, his deep voice carrying a terrifying authority. "Did Maverick assault you?"
Penelope swallowed hard, trembling violently. "He... he grabbed my arms. He wouldn't let me leave the room. He said if I walked out before the ceremony, he'd destroy me. I was crying when you saw me, Amy! I wasn't shaking from passion—I was shaking from terror!"
Amy felt a sudden, sickening jolt in her stomach. The memory of Room 237 flashed before her eyes—Penelope wrapped in the blanket, shivering on the floor, while Maverick tried frantically to pull his clothes back together.
"Why didn't you say something right then?" Amy asked, her voice faltering slightly for the first time.
"Because I was terrified of Arthur Bennett!" Penelope cried out. "Arthur was standing right outside the door before you made the call! He told me if I said a word, he'd send me to prison for corporate espionage!"
Julian stepped closer to Penelope, looking at her intently. "If you are telling the truth, Penelope... if Maverick laid hands on you and Arthur coerced you... you need to go to the police right now."
"I can't!" Penelope wept. "They have lawyers! They have millions! They will destroy me!"
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Amy stood up slowly. The burning anger inside her suddenly redirected, expanding from just personal betrayal into a fight against a dangerous predator.
"They won't destroy you," Amy said softly, walking around her desk to stand beside Penelope. "Because you're going to help us destroy them first."
