"Blood covered the marble beneath my face when I decided to pretend I couldn't move, and the two women in my mansion reacted in completely different ways. My maid dropped beside me without hesitation while my fiancée stood watching from the staircase for four long seconds, but what Vanessa did next made me realize my fall might not have been an accident at all.

With Julian banished to a frozen hell, there was only one traitor left to address.

Daniel and Grace walked to the adjacent cell. The heavy steel door swung open, revealing Vanessa Cole.

Unlike Julian, Vanessa had not broken down into a weeping mess. She sat on the edge of the metal cot, her ruined silk robe wrapped tightly around her, her eyes burning with a venomous, aristocratic hatred. She clung to her entitlement like a life raft in a hurricane.

“You can't keep me down here, Daniel,” Vanessa hissed, lifting her chin defiantly. “My father is a powerful man. When he realizes I am missing, he will mobilize the police, the FBI, and the press. He will tear this estate apart brick by brick to find me.”

Daniel actually laughed. It was a dark, humorless sound that made Vanessa flinch.

“Your father is a cowardly politician who cares exclusively about his public image, Vanessa,” Daniel stated, leaning against the doorframe. “He doesn't care about you. He cares about the alliance you were supposed to secure.”

“He will destroy you!” she screamed, her composure cracking.

“He won't,” Grace spoke up, stepping out from behind Daniel. She held a sleek digital tablet in her hand. “Because we sent him a present an hour ago.”

Grace tapped the screen and held it up for Vanessa to see.

It was a compilation video. It showed the high-definition security footage of Vanessa actively helping Julian pour the liquid on the stairs. It showed the audio recordings of her excitedly discussing the assassination of her fiancé. And finally, it showed the detailed financial logs of Vanessa attempting to embezzle millions from the wedding fund into offshore accounts.

“I sent this entire digital confession to your father’s private email, along with a polite note,” Grace explained, her voice dripping with ice. “I informed him that if he ever asked about your whereabouts, or if he ever sent the authorities to this estate, this video would automatically broadcast to every major news network and federal prosecutor in the country.”

Vanessa stared at the screen, all the blood draining completely from her face.