Caroline took the armchair closest to the door while the lady took a seat on the couch, watching her. Rebecca returned a moment later, carrying a tray laden with a few pastries, a teapot, and a coffee pot. Three mugs already sat on the table.
“I see you and Victoria have already met,” she said, pouring some coffee into a cup.
“We haven’t made introductions yet,” Victoria said, leaning over to the teapot and pouring a cup, adding honey, and stirring.
“Do you want something?” Rebecca asked, turning toward Caroline.
“No, thank you. I’m afraid I’ve met my daily quota of coffee already this morning,” she declined, watching the fascinating woman who appeared calm and relaxed as if she visited many times before.
“I’m Victoria,” she said, introducing herself. “Jameson asked me to fly here and talk to you. Has he discussed this with you?”
Shaking her head, Caroline spoke, “He only said he wanted me to meet you, and he didn’t plan on coming with me.”
“I see,” Victoria murmured while sipping her tea.
Megan’s cry from the baby monitor nearly sent Rebecca’s cup tittering on the edge of her saucer as she placed it on the table.
“I’m sorry. You’ll need to excuse me,” she said, rushing up the stairs.
Victoria leaned over, taking one of the pastries.
“We can play this either way, but I’d rather get to the point,” Victoria said, sounding bored. “Rebecca’s run up the stairs twenty times since my arrival, and you’re fidgeting as if I plan to attack you. I assure you, I’m not here to hurt you.”
“I’m afraid I’m not sure why you’re here at all,” Caroline admitted.
Victoria patted the seat beside her. “Come here and sit. The door won’t move from its location, I can assure you. If you sit on the couch, you can leap over the table and high-tail your bottom…oh, I don’t remember how Kassie put it, but you get the gist.”
Her no-nonsense approach easily won Caroline over. She didn’t like playing twenty questions either. Rising, she took the seat at the opposite end and grabbed a pastry and a plate to keep her hands busy.
Victoria waited until she settled before speaking, “It’s my understanding James Stanton held you hostage in his mansion for almost a year and then sold you to a man named Cain. Do I have this correct?”
“Yes,” Caroline said, popping a piece of pastry in her mouth and chewing.
“It seems we have something in common, then. I’m Victoria Stanton, the wife he kept prisoner in the other wing of the house.”
Caroline inhaled, making the pastry lodge in her throat. She coughed and wheezed, trying to dislodge it. Her eyes watered as Victoria patted her on the back.
“There, there,” she murmured. “I’m not all that bad.”
Caroline went from choking to laughing as tears ran down her cheeks from the pastry lodge in the wrong pipe. When she finally caught her breath, she wiped her mouth and placed the plate on the table.
“You married James?” she asked quietly.
“More like forced. Fortunately for me, Ivan’s tenacious and never gave up searching for me. You’ll meet him later this afternoon.”
“I’m sorry,” Caroline murmured, knowing James’ monstrous side.
“It’s in the past, my darling. What matters to me most is my present and future. I’m with the love of my life, I have two sons, and we’re happy,” Victoria said, regarding her closely. “I understand what you’ve endured, and I hope to alleviate some of your fears. You must feel cheated concerning the death of my former husband.”
“I wanted to see him brought to justice. I’m not the only person he hurt. I recently found my father again after thinking both my parents died the night he took me. My mom survived the gunshot wound and died four years ago, still hoping I’d somehow find my way back home,” she said.
“He hurt many people, Caroline. James Stanton didn’t discriminate. If someone owned something he wanted, James took it. Take me, for example. My father hired him as one of my bodyguards. My husband, Ivan, and I knew James was capable of doing something drastic after an experience in Ireland. My father said he followed orders. On the day of my wedding, James and his men stormed my husband’s family compound and murdered most of his family, including his brother. He resembled Ivan. James forced my father to sign a contract naming him as the new head of the family. I cursed my father, thinking he easily turned me over to this monster. What I didn’t know was he survived long enough to undo the damage andnamed me as his successor. By the time James realized the deed, my father died. He brought me to Texas, and the mansion remained my prison for too many years.”
“Did you know about us?” she asked.
“James flaunted his power over me by making me participate in his sick games. I didn’t know everything he did after I left because Ivan took me to Russia to recover. Then, we made a plan to destroy him. It’s what I’ve come to talk to you about today.”
“You flew from Washington to speak with me? You might’ve called,” she exclaimed. “There’s nothing I can do about James now. He’s dead.”
