Legacy Of Deceit

Eloise’s POV

“…..completely uncalled for!”

“You’re giving everything to Remington?! What the hell do I get then, scraps?!”

The maid glanced back at me apologetically.

“He’s the youngest,” a deep voice snarled. “I’m the oldest. If anyone should be running the company, it should be me!”

“You don’t deserve to run anything!” A different man snapped. “Neither does he! What, I just sit around while Remington gets the hotels, the cafés, the gym chains. What do I get, Zayn? A pat on the back?!”

Zayn finally raised his voice. “Enough! All of you! This isn’t a goddamn auction.”

“You signed the deeds in his name!” The eldest, I presume, shouted, stabbing a finger toward the man seated. “Don’t pretend like it wasn’t deliberate!”

“I don’t want the goddamn cafés!” The blonde barked. “But I should have had a say! Something! You didn’t even ask us.”

“Why would I?” Zayn muttered. “You’re not the one who actually shows up.”

“You picked him?” The deep voice hissed. “Him?”

The guy named Remington was finally unamused. “Don’t talk like I’m not in the room.”

His brothers turned on him with venom.

I stood just outside the door, frozen. My heart thudded in my chest. This was the Campbell empire. This was what hid behind the polished branding.

Zayn caught sight of me in the doorway.

His eyes narrowed. “What the hell?” Then he sighed and waved the others off. “Get out. All of you.”

My heart came up to my throat, but I remained cold when the men’s attention was directed towards me.

“She’s here for the d*mn show, isn’t she?” The eldest scoffed, brushing past me with a look that sent me backwards.

The blonde followed him with a glare, muttering, “Good luck, sweetheart. You’ll need it.”

Only Remington lingered for a minute before I caught his gaze.

He barely looked at me before I finally stepped in. But he ignored me, walking right past me.

“Eloise Laurent,” Zayn Campbell said. “In the flesh.” He stood as I entered.

I forced a smile. “Mr. Campbell. Thank you for inviting me.”

“You’re even more stunning in person.” He gestured to the velvet chair across from his desk. “Please. Let’s talk.”

I sat with my legs crossed stiffly across him while my hands trembled in my lap. He hadn’t touched me or said anything explicitly wrong, but still, I felt wrong being there. 

I made sure my phone was recording everything we were saying, but it was hard keeping my phone in place.

“Remington’s my youngest,” Zayn said, pouring himself a drink. “The first to take over the whole empire. I’m proud of that boy.”

Right. The one who looked at me like I was a stain on his carpet.

Zayn smirked. “And the old man screaming was my eldest son, Ryker. Don’t mind his attitude. He’s always been awkward around beautiful women.”

I gave him a stiff smile. 

Don’t flatter yourself.

“So I was thinking of a bachelorette-style show. It would be National coverage, with your name attached to my empire. We would get instant fame beyond fashion spreads.” He grinned, passing a file with all the details regarding the show.

“Umm…What about Katherine… Brooks.” I said quietly, but the way he stiffened meant he knew her. “Did she apply for the…same role?” I gulped.

My throat closed, and my hands were slick with sweat inside my gloves.

He noticed.

“You alright?” he asked, tilting his head.

“I- ” I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

“It’s scary going into the spotlight, isn’t it?” he chuckled. “I think you would get used to it, so there’s no reason why you should bring in unnecessary names.” He warned.

How dare he call her unnecessary.

“It’s not the show I’m nervous about,” I whispered.

Zayn paused. “Then what?”

I didn’t answer him.

He moved to the bar at the back of the room. “Let me get you a drink. You need something to calm you down.”

My pulse rose knowing exactly what he wanted to get. I couldn’t take it anymore and took my chances before he did.

He turned, and his eyes froze on the gun in my hand.

His glass fell, crashing to the floor in shards.

I couldn’t hear anything except my own heartbeat in my skull. I wasn’t sure how I’d gotten the gun from my purse. 

But I’m pointing it at the man who left my mother to die on the street.

I didn’t think I’d be this scared to kill the man that ruined my life, but pulling this d*mn trigger seems harder than I thought.

“You… what the hell are you doing?” Zayn whispered.

I was so focused on my shaky hands that I didn’t hear the door open behind me.

“Dad, the contracts- ” Remington said, coming in, but he stood frozen gawking at me and the gun in sight.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Shut the door!” I screamed. “Close it! Do it, or I swear I’ll- ”

“You’ll shoot me?” He raised his brow. “I doubt you even know how to.”

“Don’t try me!”

I noticed Remington's eyes signaling at his father, and when I turned to face him, he had a pistol in his hands. I don’t know what overwhelmed me, but I shot his hand.

The shot cracked through the air. Zayn’s scream followed and his hand spurting blood as he dove behind the desk.

I gasped, the gun shaking in my grip.

“I didn’t mean- ” My voice broke.

“You need to give me that,” Remington said, stepping closer. “Right now. Give me the gun.”

“No….no, he deserves it. I saw him… and I saw the footage and how he ran her over. He left her there like nothing- ”

Remington grabbed my wrist tightly, and we struggled trying to keep the gun away from each other. 

But my gloves were too slick, and I could feel my grip slipping before a loud bang resonated on the door.

They didn’t waste a second getting here.

“Open the door!”

“Rem! Dad?! What the hell is going on?!” Ryker yelled from behind the door.

“Let us in or we’re coming in!”

My vision blurred. The gun twisted, and I felt his hand grab it, but the room went silent after the piercing boom that went and the thud of a body.

Zayn slumped to the floor. This time, he didn’t move, and blood pooled beneath him.

The room was silent, except for my ragged breathing, before the door finally flew open.

Ryker stood there with his brother behind him. 

Time froze, and I was still holding the gun, but I dropped it immediately. It hit the floor and skidded to a stop at Ryker’s feet.

He looked at me, then at Remington. Then at his father’s body.

Slowly, Ryker bent down, picked up the pistol… and slipped it into his waistband before the police rushed in.

I couldn’t move.

“Who fired?” one of the officers barked.

Ryker spoke up loud and clear.

“It was Remington,” he said. “I saw him shoot our father.”

Eloise’s POV

“After a whirlwind six-year romance following the tragic death of media mogul Zayn Campbell, Ryker Campbell, heir to the Campbell empire, is officially tying the knot with none other than Eloise Laurent, the stunning model who captured the nation’s heart on the now-iconic dating show that never aired in full…”

The courthouse’s waiting room was cold. 

Across the room, the television flickered with yet another rerun of The Campbell Bachelorette. My name flashed across the screen in bold gold lettering: ‘Eloise Laurent: From Runway to Royalty’.

The segment rolled in.

I couldn’t breathe, my palms felt clammy, and the room started to spin.

I gulped watching the footage shift to Ryker sitting comfortably on a talk show couch.

“It wasn’t easy after what happened with Remington. Losing our father the way we did… it broke something in us. But I had no choice. I stepped up and took the reins. I took care of everything, the hotels, media c