Pieces

Third Person POV

Matt leaned back on the bed of the hotel room. Their plane was due to leave in a little over five hours, and Val was out doing some last minute sight-seeing with Michelle. The situation with Craig had been bothering him since the morning his wife came home flustered and in a state of panic. But with all the commotion, he hadn't had a chance to check up on who Craig was exactly.

He reached over and grabbed his laptop from his carry-on and opened it. He opened Google and typed the name he heard Violet only say once. Plenty of search results came up and he opened the first page that came up as a link.

Craig Stevenson
The heir to the Stevenson name, Craig Stevenson owns over a dozen popular clubs located on the strip. Some of these clubs include Vanity, Red, and The Pearl in the Palms. At twenty-eight years old, he's worth 26 million dollars, without his family's fortune.

His businesses went south after the Violet Kennedy Scandal that racked Las Vegas in June. After some of his business partners pulled out of their positions, Stevenson began to resell his newly reformed image without Kennedy.

With business booming again, Stevenson has made no remarks of his ex-fiancee. Rumors have stated that Kennedy fled Las Vegas after the embarrassing scandal that left a mark on the Stevenson name. With Kennedy gone, the family was able to piece together back everything they had lost. Craig Stevenson now owns all of the clubs under his family's name after taking his sister, Stephanie's, share. After Kennedy fled Las Vegas, the other Stevenson put a dent in the fortune by giving herself a reputation for partying and shopping.

For more information about the Violet Kennedy Scandal, please refer to the article from 2011.

Matt raised an eyebrow and was about to click the link when Val walked into the room, wondering why he wasn't ready to go.

He wasn't sure what connection Violet had to this supposed scandal, but he had a feeling it wasn't good. If it was enough to taint a millionaire's image, then he assumed it must be bad. He decided to not mention it to Val, because she would go and ask Violet questions. He wanted to keep this quiet and figure everything out before approaching her. He knew she would never tell him the entire story. Violet was full of secrets she didn't want to reveal.

-

"Home," I sighed and fell into the couch beside Zack. He smiled and turned to me, placing a kiss on my cheek.

"So I was thinking tomorrow we go and check up on a possible restraining order. My dad knows the chief of Huntington P.D. He said we can go in and talk to him any time tomorrow."

I nodded and curled into his side as he wrapped an arm around me, "I know you're scared Violet. But tomorrow you might have to tell him some things you don't want to."

"Zack," I sat up and sighed, "There's some things I'm not ready for you to know yet. I just... please understand?" I asked and he sighed deeply.

"Vi, what are you scared of? Nothing is going to change anything between us. Craig is an asshole," He stated.

"I promise, Zack, that I'm going to explain everything. It's just that... Things are a little complicated between me and Craig. I just need time to figure out how to explain it," I stated and he rolled his eyes.

"What is there to explain, Violet? Jesus, I've been running around in circles for you and all of your secrets. I don't understand what's so terrible about letting me know them," He ranted and I nodded.

"I know, Zack, but please let me figure it out. I promise I will tell you every little detail. Just... give me time. Just trust me. Please?" I asked. He was still hesitant, but nodded anyways. He opened his arms to me and I fell into him, cuddling deep into his side.

As I cuddled into Zack's side, hoping he would forgive me for all these secrets, my phone rang on the table in front of us. He reached forward to grab it for me but stopped when he saw the screen, "Who is it?" I asked.

"Why is Amber calling you?" He questioned and my eyes widened.

"I-I don't know," I shook my head and went to grab the phone, but he quickly answered it.

"Why are you calling Violet?" He demanded quickly and put the phone on speaker.

"I need to talk to her," She stated simply.

"About what?" He questioned and I bit my lip.

"Craig."

Shit. Shit. Shit.

"What do you know about him? I swear to God Amber, if you told him anything about her I'll..."

Relax. I don't even know him. But, this is more of a conversation for us girls to have. So take me off speaker and let me talk to her. If you don't I'll go over there personally, and you don't want to see me again, do you?"

Manipulative bitch. Just like me. It made me sick to realize how similar we were.

Zack gave in, taking the phone off speaker and handing it to me. I nodded to him and he angrily stood from the couch and headed to his office. I heard the door slam before I sighed and put the phone up to my ear, "You have a lot of nerve calling me, Bitch," I growled.

She wanted the real Violet Kennedy. She was going to get her.

"Violet Kennedy. The infamous Vegas socialite that single-handedly tainted the Stevenson name. Not only did you snag yourself a millionaire, you managed to ruin his life too. You know I thought I knew you from somewhere," She stated like she was reading it off a paper. She probably dug around on the internet long enough to find an article about me.

"Check your sources. I didn't ruin shit. He's the one who burned me, and it was him who ruined his own name. He got his family's reputation back. So don't come to me and try guilt tripping me into giving in to you," I snapped.

"You know, this might be useful information for Zack... After all, you handle all of Vengeance University's finances. You think he'll be happy when he finds out his precious little girlfriend is trying to take him for all he's worth?" She asked and I growled.

"I'm not his girlfriend," I denied and she scoffed.

"Please. There's pictures of you kissing at the show this weekend. You can't hide it anymore, Violet. You're trying to cover up everything. I know what you're doing."

"I'm not doing anything, Amber. I came to Huntington for a new life, and that's what I'm doing. I can't help that I found Zack along the way. You don't know shit about me."

"I'm going to make this very clear. If you don't agree with me, then I am going to anonymously deliver all of these articles about you to Zack, along with a letter warning that you're out for him. Wether it's true or not doesn't matter. Why would he believe you?"

Oh God. She had me trapped. This little bitch had me trapped, "What do you want then?"

"I want you to share, of course!" She giggled, "You stole him from me, so it's only fair. Think of it was payback. We'll split what ever you get from him."

"You're sick," I spat, "I'm doing nothing with Zack's company. And you better listen to me, Amber. I'm done playing games with you."

"You have no idea what I can do!" She exclaimed.

I was fuming. Livid, even. I hadn't felt this angry since the day I left Vegas.

"No, you have no idea what I can do. You have no idea who the fuck you're dealing with. I took down a millionaire single-handedly without lifting a finger. I can only imagine what I'll do to you, you stupid Bitch. I'll fucking destroy you. I will take away everything you've ever wanted in life and you will never get any of it back. Do you hear me? I am the person you aspire to be, and you will never be able to measure up to me. So back the fuck off before I do something you'll regret," I snapped.

She was silent, "Y-You're bluffing," She stuttered. She was beginning to crack.

"If breaking Craig was easy, then breaking you will be a piece of cake," I replied, hoping she would give in. I couldn't find any more lies to tell.

"You're a monster, Violet. I... I don't know what I was thinking. But I hope you're fucking happy," She growled before hanging up and I sighed.

I tossed the phone aside, grabbing the pillow and bringing it to my face before letting out a long and muffled scream. I can't keep up. I'm trying to run but I'm not fast enough. Zack finding out everything was inevitable. If Amber knew the story, then I can only imagine what the guys would find out if one of them decided to start digging.

Maybe it was time for me to finally come clean.