The First Lady Escapes by Verity Speeks

Author:Verity Speeks [Speeks, Verity]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-78904-209-2
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing
Published: 2018-09-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 33

Tucson, AZ

December 18, 6:00 p.m.

Elegant in her red Valentino gown, Natalia nervously descended the grand staircase of the White House, feeling for the carpet beneath the toe of her red Manolos before taking each step. Rex and the entire Funck family were watching from the foyer below, as if waiting for her to stumble. She focused on the moment so that she wouldn’t lose her balance, remembering her yoga teacher’s calming routine: “What do you smell?” The pine scent of the Christmas tree. “What do you feel?” The smoothness of the polished-oak banister. “What do you hear?” The whisper of my silk gown.

Suddenly the whisper of silk was coming from an identical red Valentino gown worn by an identical First Lady. Natalia’s doppelganger was stepping toward Rex and the line-up of Funcks posing in front of the Christmas tree. Natalia hastened down the steps so that she could get to them first.

“Hey, wait! I’m the real First Lady,” she called.

The photographer motioned to everyone to move closer together. “Smile like you really mean it,” he said. That was hard for this family, but Natalia realized it shouldn’t be. When Rex was elected President, they got exactly what they dreamed of: the opportunity to quadruple their riches and to make Rex’s self-centered worldview real, with his bloated ego at the top. The thought made her stop just short of them. Did she really want to be part of the Funck dynasty? Did she really want to bring another Funck child into the world?

She turned to leave, but a foot shot out and tripped her.

As Natalia fell, in the flare of the photographer’s lights she looked up at the culprit: Gretchen.

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