THE DAY THE ROYAL BLUE DRESS TURNED TO ASHES AND THE FAMILY ALBUM BURNED

The word fire seemed to suck all the oxygen out of the room. Marcus stood frozen, his chest heaving as he stared between Eleanor and Victoria. The polished hardwood floor beneath his feet suddenly felt like thin ice over a black abyss.

"You're lying," Marcus said, his voice cracking violently. He pointed a shaking finger at Julianna. "She's lying to save herself. Victoria, tell me she's lying!"

Victoria kept her eyes fixed on the floor, her hands clasped tightly in front of her emerald trench coat. She didn't deny it immediately. That silence—long, heavy, and damning—spoke volumes more than any defense could have.

"Victoria?" Marcus whispered, the word catching in his throat like broken glass. "Look at me. Tell me she's lying."

Victoria finally raised her head. Her eyes were shimmering with unshed tears, her impenetrable armor completely shattered. "Marcus... I didn't start the fire to steal the estate. I started it to save you."

"Save me?" Marcus let out a harsh, disbelieving laugh that turned into a sob. "I was three years old when my parents died in that townhouse blaze! You expect me to believe you burned down a building to save a toddler?"

"Not a townhouse," Eleanor interrupted, her voice gaining a strange, eerie strength as she sat up straight in her armchair. She smoothed the wrinkles of her white dress with trembling fingers. "The family estate. This estate. Your father, my eldest son, intended to cut Victoria and me out of the will entirely. He wanted to leave everything to his mistress—your mother—and her illegitimate child."

Lily whimpered, sliding behind Marcus's legs again and burying her face in his pants. Marcus instinctively reached down to shield her, his mind racing through the horrific puzzle pieces clicking into place.

"So you murdered them," Marcus said, the words tasting like ash on his tongue. "You and Victoria murdered my parents."

"We didn't set the match," Victoria corrected sharply, stepping forward with a desperate urgency in her tone. "Arthur’s father did. Arthur’s father wanted the inheritance for his own branch of the family. I was there because I tried to stop him. The safe in the attic contains the ledger proving that Arthur’s family stole the title through forgery, and that Lily isn't just your niece—she is the direct, legitimate heir to the entire corporate empire."

Julianna sneered, crossing her arms over her royal blue dress. "And who adopted Lily and handed her over to you, Marcus? Who arranged your marriage to me so the bloodlines could be legally merged under our control?"

Marcus felt his knees go weak. He grabbed the back of the cream-colored sofa to steady himself. "You... you orchestrated my entire life. My marriage, my career, even adopting Lily... it was all part of your corporate chess game."

"It was the only way to protect her," Victoria pleaded, reaching out a gloved hand toward him. "If the board had known who Lily really was when she was born, Arthur would have had her eliminated just like your parents. I brought her to you because I knew you were the only one who would love her unconditionally."

Before Marcus could process the staggering betrayal, a loud, metallic creak echoed from the ceiling directly above them.

Everyone froze. The sound came again—a heavy footstep echoing across the floorboards of the sealed attic.