THE INHERITANCE OF LIES: WHY THE WOMAN IN THE WHITE GOWN WANTS TO BURY THE ENVELOPE FOREVER

Daniel gently untangled Lily’s arms from around his leg, standing back up to his full height. The protective warmth in his expression vanished, replaced by an expression of absolute ice. He looked at Victoria not with anger, but with the terrifying clarity of a betrayed man who had finally woken up.

“Marcus Vance is currently on a private flight to Zurich,” Daniel said, his voice slicing through the heavy air of the study like a razor. “Or at least, he was scheduled to be. But before I came down those stairs tonight, I locked down every corporate account we share. His corporate cards have already been flagged, and our legal team’s forensic accountants received an automated data dump from my personal server thirty minutes ago.”

Victoria froze, her hand flying to her diamond necklace as if she needed to check that she was still anchored to the physical world. “You… what?”

“You thought you and Marcus were clever,” Daniel continued, stepping around the desk and closing the distance between them. “You thought by isolating me from Clara, by convincing me she was mentally unstable, you could slowly drain the company dry and inherit the estate once my health conveniently declined.” He stopped just inches away from her. “Did you really think I wouldn't have a contingency plan? Did you think I never checked the security logs of the private safe in the basement?”

Victoria’s breathing turned shallow and erratic. The pristine elegance of her white evening gown suddenly looked like a theatrical costume draped over a sinking ship. She realized with terrifying certainty that the game was up, that the carefully constructed web of lies she had spun over three agonizing years had just been shredded into worthless fragments.

“You’re making a monumental mistake, Daniel,” Victoria hissed, her voice dropping its polite veneer entirely, revealing the desperate predator underneath. “If you ruin me, if you drag this into the public eye, I will ensure that everything you built, every asset you hold dear, gets dragged down into the mud with me. I know things about your business dealings that will land you behind bars for the rest of your natural life.”

Daniel didn't blink. He reached out and grabbed the brass door handle of the study, pulling it wide open to reveal the brightly lit hallway outside, where two private security guards stood waiting at attention, their dark suits contrasting sharply with the pale marble.

“Escort Ms. Vance to the guest quarters on the third floor,” Daniel commanded the guards without a trace of emotion. “Confiscate her phone, her jewelry, and any communication devices. She is not to leave that room under any circumstances until the authorities arrive in the morning.”

The two large guards stepped into the room, moving with mechanical precision. Victoria backed away, baring her teeth in a silent snarl as they moved to grab her arms.

“You’ll regret this, Daniel!” Victoria screamed as they dragged her past the desk and out into the hallway. “You’ll never find Clara! She’s—”