Ailie happened to overhear everything as she walked by.
"What''s going on with Gwyn? Do you want me toe with you?" she asked.
Victoria shook her head. "No, she''s just home alone. It''s nothing serious."
Without another word, Victoria hurried off, leaving Curtis standing there utterly baffled.
By the time he snapped out of it, Victoria was already gone.
Curtis still couldn''t wrap his head around what he''d heard. "Victoria has a daughter? Was she adopted?"
He still clung to a shred of hope.
Ailie nced at her boss, suddenly feeling a pang of guilt, but she couldn''t bring herself to lie. "No, she''s her biological daughter. She''s... five."
Victoria swept out of the room, leaving only a fleeting impression of elegance behind her.
As she crossed the walkway outside, two blinding headlights swept over her, making her squint against the re.
A Pagani roared up the street, when suddenly, a young boy darted out barely six feet in front of it.
It looked like disaster was inevitable, but in a sh of blue, someone lunged forward, scooped up the boy, and rolled them both to the side, away from danger.
Teague Yates mmed the brakes and yanked the steering wheel. The tires screeched so loudly it echoed in the night, and the car smashed into the guardrail with a bone-rattling crash.
The Pagani was a wreck, airbags deployed, and Teague was pinned inside, so furious that even from half a block away you could see him flipping the bird from behind the shattered ss.
Victoria held the trembling boy tightly. He was clearly terrified.
"Max!" a broad-shouldered man sprinted across the street. He yanked the boy into his arms. "Are you alright?"
It took Max a moment to register what had happened. He saw the man''s face and immediately threw his arms around his neck, wailing, "Uncle!” as he broke down in sobs.
"Thank you," the man said to Victoria. "Could you keep an eye on Max for a second?"
Rising to his feet, veins bulging on his forehead, he looked ready to rip Teague apart.
"That was your child who ran into the street just now," Victoria interjected before things could escte.
Marcus''s fists were clenched, but Max nodded vigorously. "I thought my uncle was across the street, so I ran out. It wasn''t that man''s fault."
"You sure?" Marcus knelt in front of Max, wanting to hear it from him again.
By now, Teague had managed to climb out of his wrecked car, thankfully unscathed, followed by his entourage of rowdy friends.
"How do you two even watch your kid? Do you have any idea what that car is worth?" Teague was practically losing his mind.
Marcus nced over at Victoria, who was shivering in her off-shoulder evening dress, her beauty so striking it made him pause for a heartbeat.
Despite all the beautiful women he''d met, Marcus felt like he''d just been hit by a freight train.
He shrugged off his suit jacket and draped it over Victoria''s shoulders.
"I''ll pay for the damages. Just as long as Max is alright."
Victoria''s cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she realized Teague had mistaken their rtionship.
"Oh, you''ll pay? Just like that?" Teague was furious. "I want an identical recement. Do you think money alone can solve this? Do you even know what kind of car you just wrecked?"
He looked like he''d rather lose a limb than his car.
"Pagani Zonda F," Victoria rattled off, stepping toward the wreck. "Bosch ABS system, Nardi steering wheel This one''s a 2006 Zonda F Coupe only 25 ever made.
Estimated value, what, somewhere
between 9.5 and 12.5 met
euros?"
Teague''s arrogant expression faltered, and even Marcus was left speechless-he
loved cars, but he''d never heard anyone reel off specs like that on the spot.
"You" Teague started, but Victoria cut him off.
"I can check the engine and other
parts for damage. But if it''s anything serious, you''ll need to track down the parts yourself. I''ll help you get it fixed, but the hard part''s on you."