Chapter 7 - SHOWDOWN AT DUPONT MANORThe interior of the Dupont Manor was an opulent museum of marble, gold leaf, and priceless art. Sitting in a leather armchair near a roaring fireplace was Arthur Dupont—an elderly, silver-haired tycoon with sharp blue eyes, holding a glass of scotch.
Beside him stood Camille, looking pristine in a emerald green silk dress, sipping wine. When she saw Darian walk into the grand study holding Layla, her glass trembled slightly, but she quickly masked it with a sneer.
“Darian,” Arthur Dupont said in a deep, gravelly voice. “You dare walk into my home after fleeing the authorities with a child?”
“Father, don't listen to him!” Camille interjected quickly, stepping forward. “He’s lost his mind! He’s having a psychotic break just like his dead wife!”
“Shut up, Camille,” Darian snapped, his voice carrying an authority that shook the room.
He didn’t look at Camille. He walked straight up to Arthur Dupont’s desk and threw the yellow envelope onto the mahogany surface, along with a flash drive he had taken from Sophia’s safe.
“What is this?” Arthur asked, frowning as he picked up the papers.
“That,” Darian said clearly, “is the proof that your daughter has embezzled fourteen million dollars from your primary offshore trust over the last three years.”
Arthur froze. His eyes scanned the bank statements, the transfer codes, and the signatures. The color slowly drained from the old billionaire’s face.
“Father, he’s lying! It’s forged!” Camille screamed, her composure completely shattering. She rushed toward the desk to grab the papers, but Arthur slammed his hand down, stopping her.
“Is this true, Camille?” Arthur demanded, his voice dangerously dark.
“No! Father, listen to me—”
“Read page twelve, Arthur,” Darian interrupted coldly. “That’s the record of payments made to an unregistered extortionist who sent death threats to my late wife, Sophia. Threatening to expose your firm's secret offshore accounts if she didn’t abandon our marriage.”
Arthur looked down at the document, his hand beginning to shake. “Sophia... knew?”
“She found out three weeks before she died,” Darian said, tears welling in his eyes as he looked at Camille. “Your daughter harassed Sophia into a cardiac crisis. And when Sophia died, Camille moved into my house, tried to eliminate my daughter’s memory of her mother, and used a fraudulent CPS report to kidnap Layla so I would be forced to marry her to save my company!”
Arthur slowly looked up from the papers, staring at his daughter as if she were a total stranger. “You... you stole from me? You threatened a dying woman?”
“They were going to ruin us, Father!” Camille shrieked, her voice echoing hysterically off the high ceilings. “Sophia found the offshore ledger! If she told Darian, you would have gone to federal prison! I did it to save this family!”
“You did it for yourself!” Arthur roared, standing up and throwing his glass of scotch into the fireplace, where it exploded into a burst of flame. “You brought shame and crime into this house!”
Camille backed away, her eyes wild, darting around the room like a trapped animal. Suddenly, her eyes locked onto Layla, who was standing quietly behind Darian, clutching her stuffed elephant.
A twisted, psychotic expression overtook Camille’s face.
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“It’s all because of you...” Camille whispered, staring at Layla. “You little brat... if you had just gone to Switzerland like you were supposed to, none of this would be happening!”
In a flash of pure madness, Camille grabbed an antique silver letter opener from the desk and lunged directly at Layla!
