Chapter 12 - THE JUDAS KISS AND THE RAIN
The rain began as a drizzle and turned into a deluge by the time I returned to the city.
The glass of the Hollister—now Everest—tower was streaked with water,
the lights of New York blurred into a smear of neon and shadow.
I was sitting in my office,
the lights dimmed,
the only sound the rhythmic tapping of the rain against the reinforced glass.
The door opened slowly,
and I didn't need to look up to know it was Meredith.
She looked smaller than she had a few days ago,
her expensive coat soaked through,
her makeup running in dark tracks down her pale cheeks.
She looked like a broken doll,
one that had been discarded by a child who had grown bored of the game.
"Cate?"
she whispered,
her voice trembling with a mixture of fear and something that sounded like genuine grief.
I didn't answer immediately,
letting the silence of the room press against her until she took a seat on the edge of the chair.
"I didn't know,"
she said,
her hands clutching a damp handbag.
"I didn't know about the trust.
I didn't know about Mom."
"You knew enough to stay silent when it benefited you,
Meredith,"
I said,
my voice devoid of the warmth she was looking for.
"You knew enough to take the jewelry,
the cars,
and the status,
while I was working three jobs just to keep a roof over my head."
She looked down at the floor,
her shoulders shaking.
"He told me you were dangerous.
Dad said you were unstable,
that you had inherited the 'bad' blood from the Vane side."
I let out a short,
bitter laugh.
"The bad blood.
You mean the blood of the people he robbed?
The blood of the mother who tried to save us?"
Meredith reached into her bag and pulled out a small,
silver device.
It was a digital recorder,
the kind used for high-end corporate espionage.
"Julian told me to put this in your desk,"
she confessed,
the words coming out in a rush of shame.
"He said if I did it,
he would make sure Bradley got out of jail.
He said he would give us back the estate."
I looked at the device,
then at my sister.
"And did you?"
She shook her head,
the tears finally spilling over.
"No.
I couldn't.
I went to the desk,
and I saw the photo of us from that summer in Maine.
The one where you're holding me after I fell off the dock."
I felt a sharp,
aching pain in my chest,
a memory of a time when the world was simple and we were just two girls who loved each other.
But that girl was dead,
and the woman sitting across from me was a liability.
"Nate is outside,"
I said,
my voice softening just a fraction.
"He's already scanned the room.
He knew you were carrying it the moment you walked through the lobby."
Meredith gasped,
her face turning a ghostly shade of white.
"You knew?
And you let me come up?"
"I wanted to see if you would do it,"
I admitted.
"I wanted to see if there was anything left of the sister I used to have,
or if Victor had completely erased her."
I stood up and walked to the window,
the rain intensifying until it felt like the world was drowning.
"Julian is using you,
Meredith.
He doesn't care about Bradley.
He doesn't care about your lifestyle.
He's using you as a distraction so he can move his assets out of the country before the SEC freezes them."
Meredith stood up,
her movements jerky and uncoordinated.
"What am I supposed to do,
Cate?
I have nowhere to go.
Dad won't even take my calls now."
I turned back to her,
the coldness returning to my gaze.
"You're going to go back to Julian.
You're going to tell him that you planted the device."
"What?"
she breathed,
her eyes wide with terror.
"You're going to feed him the information I want him to hear,"
I continued,
walking toward her until we were inches apart.
"You're going to tell him that I'm planning to liquidate the entire Vane portfolio by Friday.
You're going to tell him I'm vulnerable."
"You're asking me to be a double agent,"
Meredith said,
the realization sinking in.
"I'm asking you to choose a side,
Meredith.
For the first time in your life,
you have to decide if you're a Hollister,
a Vane,
or a person."
I picked up the recorder and handed it back to her.
"Go.
If you do this,
I'll pay off Bradley's debts and get him a job in the Midwest.
Away from the city.
Away from the name."
Meredith took the device,
her fingers brushing mine.
She looked at me for a long time,
searching for the girl she used to know.
She didn't find her.
Without another word,
she turned and walked out into the rain.
I watched her go,
knowing that I had just put my sister's life on the line to win a war she didn't understand.
I sat back down at my desk,
the darkness of the office feeling like a shroud.
"Is she gone?"
I asked into the intercom.
"She's in the elevator,"
Nate's voice crackled back.
"Do you think she'll do it?"
"She has no choice,"
I said,
closing my eyes.
"She's a Hollister.
May you like
We always choose the path that leads to survival,
no matter who we have to betray to get there."
