Chapter 8 - The True Mastermind
"Audrey," Victor said smoothly, his voice deep and cultured, carrying an eerie resemblance to the man I had married. "Welcome home. I must say, emerald is definitely your color. Much better than the mud you were wearing six months ago."
I stopped five feet from the desk, keeping my hands steady and my expression completely unreadable. "You’ve been trespassing in my home, Victor. And you're speaking to someone who just had your brother and sister-in-law legally and financially dismantled."
Victor chuckled softly, setting his glass down on the blotter with a faint clink. He didn't look worried in the least. In fact, he looked like a chess grandmaster watching his opponent make a predictable opening move.
"Dismantled? Oh, Audrey, please," Victor scoffed gently. "Howard and Eleanor are small-minded fools. They thought Vanguard Holdings was an empire when it was really just a leaky boat. Do you honestly think I care that you seized their little charity gala assets?"
Julian stepped into the study beside me, his hand resting near his coat pocket where a legal seal holster was clipped. "Watch your tone, Victor. You're speaking to the majority shareholder and the legal executor of this entire estate."
Victor turned his gaze slowly toward Julian, a mocking smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Ah, Julian Vance. Always the loyal corporate hound. Tell me, Julian... did your precious client ever tell you why Terrence really died?"
The air in the room instantly froze.
My heart hammered against my ribs, the blood roaring in my ears as the words hung heavy in the suffocating silence.
"What did you say?" I whispered, taking a sharp step forward.
Victor leaned back in the leather chair, interlocking his fingers over his stomach. "You thought Terrence’s sudden heart failure six months ago was a tragic medical accident? Just a sad, convenient tragedy right before you inherited everything?"
He stood up slowly, walking around the front of the desk until he was standing face-to-face with me.
May you like
"Terrence didn't have a weak heart, Audrey," Victor said softly, his voice dropping into a lethal whisper. "He was asking too many questions about where the family trust's missing four hundred million dollars went. And the person who signed off on his medical clearance... wasn't a stranger."
---
