Chapter 15 - The Cold Confrontation
I didn't scream. The panic that should have overtaken me crystallized into something far colder, far more lethal. I slipped the filed steering pin into my pocket, pulled out my phone, and took ten high-resolution photographs of the tampered frame. Then, instead of calling security, I walked straight toward the administrative annex where Brenda was sipping herbal tea in the private lounge.
I didn't bother knocking. I kicked the door open. It banged violently against the wall, rattling the glass framed diplomas.
Brenda jumped, spilling tea across her silk blouse. "Have you completely lost your mind, Victoria?!"
I walked over to the desk, grabbed the filed steel pin from my coat, and slammed it onto the mahogany surface between her hands. The heavy metal made a sharp, echoing *crack*.
"Explain that," I said, my voice dangerously low.
Brenda looked at the metal piece, her eyes flickering with something that looked suspiciously like recognition before she forced an expression of disdain. "What is that junk? Why are you barging in here like an unhinged maniac?"
"That 'junk' was taken off Mia’s steering assembly five minutes ago," I said, leaning down until our faces were inches apart. "Someone filed it down to snap under lateral torque. The only people with access to the pit lockers last night were badge-holders. You, Gary, and three board directors."
Brenda let out a high-pitched, nervous laugh. "You're delusional. You're so desperate to explain away the fact that your daughter isn't good enough to beat Chloe that you're staging sabotage!"
"I have the photograph from the mailbox, Brenda," I whispered.
Her smirk instantly vanished. The color drained from her cheeks, leaving her skin pasty and gray beneath her heavy makeup. Her lips parted, but no sound came out.
"Yes," I said, watching her terror unfold. "I know about the photo of County Road 9. I know someone was watching the crash before the paramedics even arrived. And if you think I won't tear this entire Academy apart, call the state police, and drag every dirty secret your family has into a courtroom, you have severely underestimated what a mother will do for her child."
"Victoria, you don't understand what you're dealing with," Brenda stammered, her voice shaking for the first time in her life. "It wasn't me! I swear to God, it wasn't me!"
"Then who was it?"
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Before she could answer, the PA system crackled overhead: *All junior division competitors report to the starting blocks. Heat 1 will begin in fifteen minutes.*
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