The Billionaire's Dangerous Redemption (by Claire Winters) novel Chapter 147

147 An Insincere Plea and a Sudden Plot

Hazel’s POV

The evening rush hour had finally subsided, leaving the streets of the financial distric less congested as I made my way to meet Vera and Cora at Blanc, an upscale restaurar with private dining rooms. My body ached from a full day at the studio, hunched over designs for our upcoming collection. The pressure to outdo last season’s success weighed heavily on my shoulders.

I smoothed down my navy blue pencil dress as I entered the restaurant’s elegant lobby The maître d’ recognized me immediately.

“Ms. Shaw, your friends are waiting in the Iris Room,” he informed me with a professional smile.

“Thank you, Thomas.”

I followed him through the restaurant’s main dining area, past tables of business executives and wealthy couples, to the private section. Before we reached the room, my phone vibrated in my purse. I glanced at the screen and frowned. Aunt Patricia’s

name flashed across it.

“I need to take this,” I told Thomas. “I’ll join them in a moment.”

He nodded and continued on while I stepped aside into a quiet alcove near a

decorative indoor fountain.

“Hello, Aunt Patricia,” I answered, keeping my voice neutral. My father’s sister hadn’t been particularly kind to me after my mother’s death, but she hadn’t been openly cruel either. Her calculated neutrality had always felt worse than outright hostility.

“Hazel, darling! I hope I’m not disturbing you.” Her voice dripped with sugary

sweetness.

“I’m just heading into dinner with friends. Is everything alright?”

“Oh, I won’t keep you long,” she assured me. “I just wanted to check how you’re doing. The company’s doing splendidly under your leadership, from what I hear.”

I leaned against the wall, instantly suspicious. Aunt Patricia never called for casual

147 An Insincere Plea and a Sudden Plot

chitchat. “Thank you. Was there something specific you needed?”

A brief pause. “Well, since you ask…” Her tone shifted slightly. “I ran into Tanya yesterday. She’s in quite a state, Hazel.

My jaw tightened. Of course. This was about Tanya.

“Is that so?” I kept my voice deliberately flat.

“She’s practically destitute,” Aunt Patricia continued. “Living in that tiny apartment, struggling to make ends meet. And poor Timothy, having to work retail jobs instead of finishing his business degree.”

I bit back a laugh. “Timothy dropped out of college three years ago to ‘pursue his passion’ for nightclub promotion. That has nothing to do with me.”

“Still, they’re family,” she pressed. “And family should help family in times of need.”

“Interesting perspective. Where was this family spirit when my mother was dying and Tanya was redecorating her bedroom before the funeral?”

Aunt Patricia sighed dramatically. “The past is the past, Hazel. Can’t you be the bigger person? Show some Christian forgiveness?”

“Forgiveness doesn’t require financing their lifestyle,” I countered. “They’re adults. They can work like everyone else.”

“Harold is too old to start over in a new career,” she protested. “And Tanya has never worked a day in her life. You can’t expect them to suddenly know how to survive.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache forming. “That sounds like a personal problem, not a business obligation. They had decades to prepare for retirement.”

“But they lost everything in the company collapse!”

“A collapse they engineered,” I reminded her sharply. “They made their choices. Now they can live with the consequences.”

Aunt Patricia’s voice hardened. “You could spare them a small percentage of the company shares. Even five percent would give them enough to live comfortably. It wouldn’t affect your control at all.”

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“No.” My answer was immediate and final.

“Hazel, be reasonable-”

“I am being reasonable,” I cut her off. “Harold and Tanya spent twenty years

systematically destroying my mother’s legacy and stealing her company. They nearly bankrupted it with their greed and incompetence. And now you expect me to reward

them?”

“They’ve suffered enough,” she insisted. “Tanya looks ten years older. She’s selling her jewelry piece by piece.”

“Good,” I replied coldly. “Perhaps she can sell the necklace she bought with the money from my mother’s antique vase. The one she ‘accidentally’ broke during one of her

tantrums.”

Aunt Patricia made a frustrated sound. “This vindictiveness doesn’t become you,

Hazel. Your mother would want-”

“Do not speak about what my mother would want,” I snapped, my patience

evaporating. “You barely spoke to her after she divorced Harold. You chose sides very clearly.”

“That’s not fair. I was in a difficult position.”

“And now I’m in a position of power, which makes me suddenly worth calling. Funny

how that works.”

The silence stretched between us. I checked my watch, aware that Vera and Cora were

waiting.

“I’m not asking for myself,” Aunt Patricia finally said, her voice smaller. “I’m asking you to consider what holding onto all this anger is doing to you. Revenge won’t bring your

mother back.”

“Neither will bankrolling her killers,” I shot back.

“Killers? That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?”

“Is it? They watched her waste away from grief and stress after they destroyed her marriage and stole her company. They denied her medical care when she needed it most. They laughed at her funeral. So no, I don’t think it’s dramatic at all.”

My aunt’s voice took on a desperate edge. “Just think about it, please? Maybe not shares, but a small monthly allowance? Enough to keep them off the streets?”

“They’re nowhere near being on the streets, Aunt Patricia. Harold still has his pension from his government job. They have the proceeds from selling the house. They just can’t maintain the lifestyle they grew accustomed to while embezzling company funds.”

“Hazel-”

“I need to go. My friends are waiting.” I moved to end the call.

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