Destroying the Evidence

Camilla’s high heels clicked against the polished concrete floor, the sharp sound cutting through the thick tension in the raw material warehouse. She stepped over the threshold, her eyes immediately locking onto the open crates of adulterated rough diamonds. A cold jolt of panic struck her chest. The cheap, cloudy stones were sitting right out in the open, exposed under the harsh fluorescent lights.

She forced her facial muscles to relax, frantically suppressing the bubbling panic. She widened her eyes, feigning perfect ignorance.

"What happened? Gideon, why are you here?" Camilla asked, her voice pitching up into a flawless imitation of innocent confusion. She looked back and forth between Gideon and the sweating Director Barnaby. Internally, she was screaming a barrage of vile curses at Vivienne. *You wretched b*tch,* she thought, her nails digging into her palms. *You came back here just to make my life a living hell. You bypassed everyone to dig into the raw materials.*

Camilla had authorized the purchase of those fake stones to pocket the massive difference in the budget. She never expected the new designer to march down to the warehouse on her first day to inspect the inventory.

Vivienne stood next to the crates, her arms crossed. She let out a dry, mocking chuckle that echoed off the high ceiling. "Father is so magnanimous," Vivienne said, her gaze sweeping over Camilla with naked disdain. "He actually handed over the company to someone who doesn’t know a single thing about jewelry."

Camilla ignored the insult and rushed to Gideon's side. Relying heavily on the carefully constructed facade of incompetence she had maintained for years, she looked up at him with pleading eyes. "I’m not sure what’s going on," she whispered, her tone meek. "You know I don’t understand anything about rough diamonds or gemstones. The acquisition paperwork goes through my desk, but I had no idea the suppliers had tricked us. I thought these were the same standard stones we always ordered. You have to believe me, Gideon."

Gideon looked down at her. Over the past six years, Camilla had maintained a constant, docile presence by his side. She frequently asked him basic questions about the industry, playing the eager, helpless student. Swayed by her consistent performance, he gave her the benefit of the doubt. She simply did not look capable of orchestrating a complex supply chain fraud.

He shifted his authoritative gaze back to Barnaby. "You're fired," Gideon declared coldly.

Barnaby's mouth opened and closed like a dying fish, but he recognized the lethal finality in Gideon's voice. He slumped his shoulders and backed away, not daring to utter a single word of protest.

Camilla bit the inside of her cheek to hide her relief. Gideon trusted her. The blame had successfully fallen on the warehouse director.

But her relief shattered a second later.

Gideon turned his attention to Vivienne. "You'll be in charge of the acquisition of rough diamonds and other raw materials from now on," he stated.

With that single sentence, he stripped Camilla of her purchasing power. Before Camilla could form a sentence to object, Gideon turned his back on them and walked out of the warehouse, his long strides eating up the distance.

Desperate to reassert her crumbling dominance, Camilla waited until Gideon was out of earshot before she moved. She chased Vivienne down, her heels clacking furiously against the floor as they entered the empty, quiet corridor leading back to the main offices.

Camilla lunged forward and grabbed Vivienne’s arm, cornering her near a large window. "Vivienne Kensington, you did this on purpose, didn’t you?" she hissed, her face twisting into a mask of ugly jealousy. "Did you approach Gideon on purpose? You led him down here to the raw materials just to sow discord. Heh, you've seen it yourself just now. I'm the one he trusts. Don't even bother trying to plot against me."

Unfazed by the pathetic posturing, Vivienne shook off Camilla’s grip with a forceful jerk of her arm. She scoffed, her eyes cold. "Are you really this delusional? What makes you think I have the time to care about the relationship between the two of you? It was Gideon who chose to follow me down here. Does his lack of trust in your management have something to do with me?"

"Don't lie to me," Camilla spat. "I will never believe a word that comes out of your mouth."

"Then don't," Vivienne replied dryly. "But I'm not done with you regarding this batch of fake diamonds. My late mother founded Lumina Jewelry. Her pristine legacy is being blatantly tainted by cheap, fraudulent materials under your watch. If it weren't for the fact that exposing this would drag the company's reputation through the mud, I would have handed you over to the authorities today."

Pushed to the brink by Vivienne's aggressive dismissal, Camilla reached into her designer handbag. She pulled out her smartphone, her thumb hovering over the screen as she prepared her ultimate weapon. "Don't think you can just walk in here and do whatever you want. Have you forgotten about the video? If you push me, I will release the footage from six years ago."

Vivienne's eyes narrowed. Moving with blinding speed, she lunged forward and snatched the mobile phone right out of Camilla's hand.

"What are you doing? Give that back!" Camilla shrieked, lunging forward to retrieve her device.

Vivienne stepped neatly to the side, evading the grasping hands. She backed up to the edge of the hallway, standing right beside the open nineteenth-floor window. The cold city wind blew her hair back. She looked at the panicked expression on her sister's face and smiled brightly.

"You've always loved to threaten me with that video, haven't you?" Vivienne asked, her tone conversational. She extended her arm, holding the expensive phone over the sheer drop.

"Vivienne, don't you dare!"

Vivienne opened her fingers.

Camilla gasped, rushing to the window just in time to watch the rectangular piece of metal and glass plummet down nineteen stories, disappearing into the traffic below. It would shatter into unrecognizable pieces upon impact.

"Let's see how you're going to threaten me in the future now that the video is a thing of the past," Vivienne said, her smile never wavering. She turned her back on her sister and walked away down the corridor, her posture straight and unbothered.

Camilla stood frozen by the window, trembling with inarticulate rage at the sudden loss of her leverage. Her chest heaved. Yet, beneath the burning anger, a deep, secret wave of relief washed over her. The digital evidence proving Vivienne was the actual woman in the hotel room six years ago was now permanently destroyed. No one could ever trace the truth back to that night.

By dusk, the frenetic energy of the corporate office faded, replaced by the quiet luxury of the Rothwell mansion.

Gideon sat behind the heavy mahogany desk in his private study, the room illuminated only by the soft glow of a desk lamp. The secure phone line clicked as Wyatt’s voice filled the quiet space.

"Sir, the background check is complete," Wyatt reported. "Vivienne is Richard Kensington’s eldest daughter. She is the daughter of his ex-wife, who was a renowned jewelry designer. It was actually Vivienne's late mother who founded Lumina Jewelry alongside Richard. The shares remained in his possession after her death."

Gideon's dark eyes dimmed as he processed the information. He leaned back in his leather chair, his fingers tapping a slow rhythm against the armrest. If Vivienne was a member of the Kensington family, the pieces of the puzzle did not fit together.

Why on earth hadn't Camilla recognized her own sister when Vivienne arrived at the company lobby? Camilla had slapped Vivienne in the face and treated her like a complete stranger. Was the animosity so deep that they pretended not to know each other, or was there another layer of deceit at play?

Pondering the glaring discrepancy, Gideon ended the call. He stood up, rolled his shoulders to ease the tension, and walked out of the study. He headed down the dim hallway toward his master suite, wanting nothing more than a quiet night's rest.

He pushed open the heavy oak doors to his bedroom and froze in his tracks.

Camilla was sitting right in the center of his large bed. She was dressed in a piece of sheer black sleepwear that left nothing to the imagination. The translucent fabric clung to her curves, acting more like a frame than a cover. Her bare breasts, the dark peaks of her nipples, and the exposed juncture between her thighs were in clear, undeniable view beneath the thin mesh.

Gideon's expression hardened into a mask of ice. "Why are you in my room?" he asked coldly, his tone devoid of any warmth or welcome. He allowed her to live in the Rothwell mansion, but his private bedroom had always been strictly off-limits.

Acting pitiful and deeply wounded by his harsh tone, Camilla slowly stood up. The sheer fabric slid against her skin. She took slow, deliberate steps across the thick carpet until she was standing right in front of him. Boldly, she reached up and wrapped her arms securely around his neck, pressing her exposed breasts against the fine fabric of his dress shirt.

"You've never allowed me to get any closer to you ever since that night from six years ago," she whispered seductively, staring up at him with wide, innocent eyes. "Did I do something wrong?"

She tilted her chin up, parted her lips, and leaned in forcefully, attempting to capture his mouth for a kiss.

As her lips neared his, a sudden, unbidden image flashed across Gideon's mind. He saw Vivienne's defiant, unyielding face in the warehouse, her eyes blazing with raw fire. The contrast hit him like a physical blow. A sudden, visceral wave of disgust churned in his stomach.

Gideon brought his hands up, gripped Camilla’s upper arms with firm, uncompromising strength, and pushed her away abruptly. He broke the physical contact, putting a solid yard of space between them.

Camilla stumbled back, her eyes widening in genuine bewilderment. "Gideon... am I that abhorrent to you?"

He smoothed the front of his jacket, his jaw clenched tight. "What happened six years ago was an accident driven by external factors," Gideon stated sternly, his voice brokering no argument. "I let you stay by my side, and I provide for you. But tonight will not set a precedent for our relationship. Do not cross this line again."

He turned toward the door, intending to leave her there, but stopped. He turned his head back to confront her with his newfound knowledge.

"Vivienne is a family member of the Kensingtons," Gideon said, watching her reaction closely. "Then why did you not recognize her when she came to the company but slapped her in the face?"

Trapped by the sudden interrogation, Camilla's breath hitched. Panic flared in her chest, turning her eyes bloodshot. Her mind raced, desperately spinning a vile lie to save her carefully constructed narrative.

"Actually... my sister and I bear a deep grudge," Camilla stammered out, forcing tears to pool in her eyes. "She's the person who drugged me on that night six years ago."

Gideon went perfectly still.

"She was targeting me because I'm the illegitimate daughter," Camilla continued, her voice trembling with fake sorrow. "She hated that my mother and I were brought into the Kensington family. She wanted to destroy me."

Gideon's face darkens terrifyingly at the accusation. A heavy, suffocating pressure filled the room. He felt an inexplicable, deep irritation burning in his chest at the thought of Vivienne committing such a heinous, predatory act. It sickened him. Yet, as he thought about Vivienne's inherent arrogance, her sharp tongue, and her aggressive dominance in the office, his biased mind rationalized that it made the accusation seem somewhat possible.

"Go rest in your own quarters," Gideon commanded. He did not want to look at her sheer nightgown or hear another word. He turned around and walked out of the suite, the heavy doors clicking shut behind him.

Left alone in the quiet bedroom, the pitiful act vanished from Camilla's face. Standing there in her revealing lingerie, her gaze turned heinous and murderous. Vivienne's very existence in the company, her proximity to the raw materials, and her lingering presence around Gideon formed a relentless, suffocating threat. Camilla clenched her fists until her manicured nails dug into her palms, drawing crescent moons of blood. She violently resolved that she could not let that b*tch stay in Lumina Jewelry. She would tear Vivienne down, no matter the cost.