We last read Chapter 53, in which Raven Tristan meets with Xavier Wheldon, CEO of StarPrime, to update him on her research of Beth Harper. Tristan stuns Wheldon, telling him Harper is Sapphire Angel. Wheldon has his doubts, but Tristan gives him a computer tablet containing photos of Beth Harper wearing Sapphire Angel’s costume and chained to the hood of the heroine’s car. Tristan also gives Wheldon one of Sapphire Angel’s costumes. Wheldon ultimately believes Tristan, but Tristan sees the power that the heroine’s necklace holds over his mind, as he still carries some doubts. Wheldon grows excited for his upcoming meeting with Beth Harper, knowing how he will get her to back off the StarPrime investigation.
This is the second story, so if you want to start from the very beginning, you can jump over to book 1, and begin with the Prologue of Sapphire Angel, Superheroine. Or to start at the beginning of book 2 (this story), click over to the Prologue of Power Play.
Thanks for reading!
By Friday afternoon, Beth felt well enough to set off for her meeting at the OCO with Xavier Wheldon. It was time to get on with things, and to put things back on track with Conner. He hadn't called her back, even though she had left him two more messages. Beth couldn't blame him. She wished she could tell him she had missed their breakfast date because Sapphire Angel had gotten into a tough spot and was recuperating, but that wasn't an option.
She checked on his whereabouts at the front desk when she arrived at the OCO offices, and the receptionist told her Olivia had sent him out on an assignment. Typical. Olivia didn't want Conner to spend time with Beth. It was probably for the better, though. Beth could focus on the meeting with Wheldon and worry about Conner later. At least her full plate would help her put the horrible events from Tuesday night behind her.
Almost three days had passed since that terrible night, and Beth still wasn't at ease. She had heard nothing from the Red Scorpions, which was almost worse than receiving an ultimatum. The uncertainty was killing her. One of her costumes had been missing from her closet, which worried her. Was the gang out there, showing off her costume to the other gangs in town, as a sign of strength? Beth swallowed hard as she considered the humiliating possibility.
At least the soreness was lessening with each passing hour. With the return of her health came a renewed determination to see the StarPrime story to the end. She regretted taking a few days off, but she hadn't had a choice. The woman had really put her through the ringer.
Beth sat in a windowless conference room, waiting for Wheldon's arrival. She stepped to a mirror hanging on the wall, and prepped her hair and checked her makeup. She would take charge of this meeting.
The phone in the middle of the table rang. Beth pressed the speaker button.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Ms. Harper, Mr. Wheldon will see you in conference room two," a female voice announced.
Beth gathered her file and her bag and walked down the hall to the conference room. She entered to find Wheldon on the far side of the room, glancing out the window. He looked the same as always. His dark hair was slicked back on this head, and he wore a suit without a wrinkle on it.
He turned and gave her a broad smile. It appeared as fake as always, but seemed gleeful this time. She brushed the thought aside, and the two met in the middle of the room, next to the conference table. He extended his hand, and Beth took it.
"Ah, Ms. Harper, good to see you again." He regarded her as he spoke, with his head cocked to the side and his eyes studying her.
"Very nice to see you, too. Why don't we get started?" She gestured to the table and tried to gather her thoughts.
Wheldon moved to a chair along the side of the table, in front of a small binder sitting on the table. The binder sat atop a thin box. He waited for her to seat herself at the head of the table. Before she could speak, he asked a question.
"So, have you received the information you needed for this story, so I can address any concerns you have?"
As she studied him, he appeared much more eager than during their first meeting, leaning forward with his elbows on the table. His eyes continued to bore into her, like he was trying to see into her soul.
"Actually," she answered, "a few things have come up. I need to follow up on them. I'm not at liberty to get into it." She waited, expecting him to object, but his smile grew wider. She bit her lip. What was he up to? A pit of angst formed in her stomach.
"I see," he answered. "Let me ask you another question."
"Umm, go ahead," she replied, her eyes narrowing.
"This is an easy question. I promise." He leaned back in his chair, a glint in his eyes. "Ms. Harper, do you like trophies?"
"Wh — Do I like trophies? What do you mean?" The angst in her stomach was roiling now, and her radar was up.
"Trophies. The kind you win as a prize. Do you like them?"
Now she was confused. What did his question have to do with anything? She frowned and thought back to her days as a figure skater, and the competitions she had won. "I guess as much as the next person. I never found them to be too big of a deal, but the accomplishments that lead to them can be satisfying."
He nodded. "Let me show you a photograph of the trophy case in my lodge." He reached into the breast pocket of his suit and pulled out a photograph. He slid it across the table to her.
She grabbed it and held it up to her face. As she looked at it she froze, and dread crept into her bones. She tried not to reveal emotion, but she knew a look of horror had crossed her face. The photograph did indeed show the trophy case in the foyer of his lodge. Illumination from spotlights in the ceiling angled across it, glinting off various gold and silver trophies and plaques on shelves behind a glass panel. In the middle of the case, shimmering under the spotlights and more radiant than the rest, hung Sapphire Angel's costume. The minidress, gloves, tights, and boots were all there, dominating the case.
A lump formed in Beth's throat and she unsuccessfully tried to fight back a swallow. "Why are you showing me your trophy case?" she asked, and couldn't prevent her voice from cracking in mid-sentence.
When she looked up at Wheldon, his grin told the story. He was enjoying this.
"Isn't it lovely?" he asked. "I've won many awards, but the trophy in the center of that case is the greatest of all. What did you say earlier? The accomplishments that lead to a trophy can be satisfying?"
"Yes," she replied, trying to get her words to come out as more than a whisper.
"Well, how big of an accomplishment is it for someone to find out the secret of the great Sapphire Angel? That is the accomplishment signified by that particular trophy. When they arrive tomorrow, my guests will see that I have the costume of the famous superheroine, and know there is more to the story," he said, almost with a cackle, as he pointed to the photograph she held. She set it down on the table in front of her with shaking hands.
"I'm not sure what that has to do with anything," she said as her entire body trembled.
He leaned forward again, narrowing his eyes. "Let's cut the bullshit, Ms. Harper. Or should I say Sapphire Angel? You finally fucked with the wrong person."
Beth felt the room closing in around her and felt her chest tightening. Her mind raced as she tried to comprehend the turn of events. Her captor had thrown her completely off the trail. She had been a fool. It had been Wheldon all along, not the Red Scorpions, and now he had her right where he wanted her.
"That's crazy," she said, contorting her face.
"Like I said, let's cut the bullshit." Wheldon slid a computer tablet across the table to her. "A little present for you. Key in the passcode — 471628."
Beth realized those numbers were the same as the passcode on her phone, which her captor must have extracted from her. Now Wheldon was toying with her.
She stared down at the tablet, not moving.
"Do it!" Wheldon snapped.
She looked up at him. "This is getting ridiculous. Why should I play along with your crazy little fantasy?"
"Because if you don't, that tablet will go to someone else. I'll find someone who will be just as interested in it as you will, but for different reasons. They might have some less than favorable plans for you and Sapphire Angel. Or maybe I'll make sure everybody sees it. How about that? I bet you wouldn't have a moment's peace, then. Or how about I humiliate you first, and make sure your costume gets sent around to the right people, so everyone knows Sapphire Angel got taken down? I'm sure you'd love that."
Beth looked down at the tablet. With trembling hands, she picked it up, tapped the screen to wake it, and keyed in the passcode. The unlock screen disappeared, and she was greeted with a photograph of herself as Sapphire Angel, chained to the hood of her car. The photograph was from the waist up. She was not only surprised Wheldon had the photograph, but shocked by how she appeared in the photograph. She had been through hell. Her makeup was streaked down her face from her tears, and her expression was haggard. Her eyes were barely open, but it was unmistakably her.
"This doesn't —" she began in a whisper.
"Shut up!" Wheldon snapped. "You — Sapphire Angel — aren't in control anymore. I am. For whatever reason, that photo pierced your veil of secrecy and showed that you are, in fact, Sapphire Angel. And here's what's going to happen, unless you want that photograph to get out into the wrong hands."
Beth stole only one glance at him. She thought perhaps she saw a sliver of doubt in his eyes, but dismissed it as wishful thinking. She turned her eyes back to the photograph of herself, defeated, and couldn't rip her gaze away.
"We have all the government approvals for our deal, except one, and are ready to sign on the dotted line. We're only waiting on the OCO, which for some asinine reasons seems to value your input. I assume they're afraid you'll write a story making them look bad if they miss something. So you are going to go to those fine folks, including Conner Bennett, and tell them your story is at a dead end. You'll tell them everything with this deal looks to be on the up and up. And don't try telling me you're just a blogger and have no say. Maybe not officially, but your push from the outside was the only reason they didn't rubber-stamp this in the first place. If you drop your resistance, they'll roll over."
Beth wasn't sure she had any sway over the investigation, but she remained quiet.
"I see the doubt in your eyes," he said. "You had better hope I'm right. You need to become the deal's biggest advocate, so start working on your best sales pitch before your meeting with Emerson. Because if the deal goes through, your secret remains a secret. If it doesn't, some of your worst enemies, and probably the public at large, will learn that Beth Harper is Sapphire Angel."
Beth wanted to scream out that this wasn't fair, that she didn't exert that type of control over a government agency. But she didn't bother denying she was Sapphire Angel. She didn't acknowledge it either, though. She sat still, staring at the photograph of herself in total defeat.
"One more thing," he said, picking up the box from under his binder. He stood and walked toward Beth. "I have a little present for you."
Beth frowned. Any present he had for her was not a present she wanted. He set the box in front of her and leaned down and whispered in her ear.
"Open it." She felt his breath on her neck as he spoke.
She did as he instructed, lifting the lid off the box. The sparkle of a sequined dress peaked out at her. It was silver and struck her as the type of attire movie stars wore.
"My source is very good. She said she got all of your measurements. The dress should fit perfectly."
Beth stared at the dress. Her captor must have taken her measurements while she was unconscious.
"You'll wear that to the gala at my lodge tomorrow night," he instructed her. "Not only will I get to keep an eye on you, but I think some of my guests will enjoy you quite a bit. Maybe I won't get to gawk at you dolled up in your costume, but I want you looking exquisite, and that dress will do just fine. A driver will come in the late afternoon to pick you up. It will be a late night. Everyone stays over, so pack accordingly."
Beth gulped. Staying over at his lodge not only might be dangerous for an attractive young woman, but it would be a reminder of how he had gotten the best of her.
Wheldon stepped away from her and gathered his things from the table. He walked toward the door, but paused before opening it and turned to her.
"I'll expect to hear from the OCO by the end of tomorrow morning that they have no objections to this deal. So you better get on it — Sapphire Angel."
His last words, just before he opened the door, were spoken like a taunt. And then he was gone, stepping out into the hall and leaving the shellshocked young woman sitting at the table. Beth's entire body shook as she powered off the tablet, fumbling for the switch, before she slipped the device into the front of her file folder. She clumsily closed the lid of the box, hiding the dress.
She waited a few minutes for the worst of her trembling to subside. What was she going to do? Could she drop her story to protect herself? Perhaps. Could she drop her story to protect Ethan, Stanley, and Mrs. Devor? Absolutely. But could she even trust Wheldon?
When she stood and headed out the door, items in hand, her legs were still shaking. She moved down the hall, oblivious to her surroundings.
"Beth!" a voice from her right called as she entered the lobby. She looked up and saw Conner. He intercepted her before she could reach the door.
"I assume you're feeling better?" he asked.
She nodded.
"Thanks for standing me up for breakfast the other day, without even a phone call."
"Sorry," she murmured, looking down.
Several moments of silence passed. Beth didn't look into Conner's eyes.
"How'd it go?" he asked finally. "Sorry I missed it. I hurried back as fast as I could. You can thank Olivia for making sure I had agency business elsewhere."
She looked at him blankly and said nothing. He cocked his head quizzically.
"Beth?"
"The case is over, Conner. We have nothing."
She stepped around him and made a straight line for the door of the OCO offices.
"Beth!" he called after her.
She held up a palm behind her and kept moving. "Conner, I have to go!" she snapped.
Before the door closed behind her, she heard his footsteps stop. She continued, heading to the stairs and to her car. Once inside her car, she sat behind the steering wheel and buried her face in her hands. For the first time since embracing her secret life as Sapphire Angel, Beth Harper didn't know what to do. The tears came.
This is the second story, so if you want to start from the very beginning, you can jump over to book 1, and begin with the Prologue of Sapphire Angel, Superheroine. Or to start at the beginning of book 2 (this story), click over to the Prologue of Power Play.
Thanks for reading!
I appreciate any comments or email.
I don’t……I don’t even know what to……whaaaaaaat…….
This is…..baloney. This is…..malarkey! This is…..asinine! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!
(sigh) Wheldon and Raven, man, Wheldon and Raven…..and MacGregor, too, I guess, to a smaller extent. I really feel like there’s something wrong going on with this deal, and she has a duty to expose it as a blogger/reporter. But, like….I don’t know….maybe there’s still a way to do this while keeping her identity a secret…..? Ugh….
You’re doing a great job of making me want to read on. Good job to you! 👍🏽