Chapter 5 - BIANCA'S SECOND GAME
Bianca Ferraro had not expected the video to become a scandal.
She had expected Philippe to be embarrassed.
She had expected the guests to laugh.
She had expected Haven Hart to disappear afterward.
Instead, the waitress had become a symbol of dignity.
Philippe had become a public defender of a woman Bianca considered beneath the family.
And Bianca herself had become the villain of a story she no longer controlled.
She hated that most of all.
Trevor Ashford arrived at the estate on Friday afternoon.
Bianca met him in the conservatory.
“Your plan failed,” she said.
Trevor smiled.
“Not entirely.”
She glared.
“You told me the girl would be too embarrassed to return.”
“She was.”
“Then why is Philippe meeting her?”
Trevor poured himself a drink.
“Because Philippe has a weakness for women who remind him of his sister.”
Bianca's face tightened.
“Don't mention Alessia.”
Trevor studied her.
“Still uncomfortable?”
Bianca stepped closer.
“You promised this would be simple.”
“It was simple. Until Philippe started asking questions.”
He set down his glass.
“Now we need another approach.”
That evening, Haven received an invitation.
A formal letter from Bianca Ferraro.
It contained an apology.
And an offer.
The Ferraro Foundation would like to provide a scholarship for your professional development.
Haven read it twice.
Then forwarded it to Nadia Ellis.
Nadia replied:
Do not sign anything yet.
Attached to the scholarship offer was a confidentiality agreement.
It required Haven to release the Ferraro family and its affiliates from claims connected to the gala.
It also included language restricting future statements about the family's business activities.
Haven stared.
This wasn't an apology.
It was a purchase.
She replied to Bianca directly.
Thank you for your offer. I decline the scholarship and the accompanying agreement. If you wish to apologize, you may do so without conditions.
Bianca's response arrived an hour later.
You are making a mistake, Miss Hart.
Haven typed:
I've made many. Refusing to sell my silence isn't one of them.
Philippe learned about the exchange the following morning.
He was furious.
Not because Haven had refused.
Because Bianca had tried to use the family foundation as leverage.
He confronted his stepmother in the library.
“You offered her money in exchange for silence.”
Bianca lifted her chin.
“I offered her an opportunity.”
“You attached a release.”
“She embarrassed this family.”
Philippe stared.
“She was the one humiliated.”
Bianca's smile vanished.
“You've become sentimental.”
“No,” Philippe said quietly. “I've become tired of pretending cruelty is sophistication.”
She stepped closer.
“You think your father would approve of you choosing a waitress over your own family?”
Philippe's expression changed.
“My father spent his life choosing reputation over people.”
He looked toward the portrait above the fireplace.
“I'm trying not to repeat him.”
Bianca's eyes narrowed.
“You have no idea what your father sacrificed to build this family.”
Philippe turned back.
May you like
“Then perhaps it's time I found out.”
For the first time, Bianca looked afraid.
