"He took his wife into the freezing forest at 2 AM to abandon her. But when the beast attacked, he realized the monster wasn't in the woods... IT WAS HER."

Alex regained consciousness with a searing headache. He was stripped down to his thin thermal undershirt, his wrists bound tightly above his head with heavy steel chains suspended from a wooden ceiling beam. His feet barely scraped the ice-cold dirt floor.

Across the dimly lit room, illuminated only by a flickering lantern, Victoria was strapped to an old iron medical chair. Heavy leather restraints clamped her waist, arms, and legs. Her shoulder was roughly bandaged with dirty cloth, fresh blood seeping through the red stain.

"You're awake," a sharp voice called out from the shadows.

Elena stepped into the circle of lantern light.

Alex’s breath hitched in his throat. She wasn't wearing her usual designer dresses or gold jewelry. She wore black tactical pants, a leather jacket, and a Glock 19 holstered at her hip.

"Elena?" Alex gasped, his wrists chafing against the metal cuffs as he squirmed. "What... what is this? Victoria showed me the video! She said you betrayed me!"

Elena walked over to Alex, reached out, and gently patted his cheek. Her touch, once warm and intoxicating, now felt like ice.

"I did betray you, Alex," Elena said smoothly, a chilling smirk gracing her lips. "And I betrayed Victoria, too. Did you two really think you were playing a game against each other? You're both just pawns."

Victoria let out a weak, guttural laugh from her chair. "She's Julian's wife, Alex. She's been his operative on the outside the entire time."

Alex’s brain short-circuited. "W-what?"

"Four years ago, when Victoria tried to murder Julian to steal the inheritance," Elena explained, pouring a shot of clear liquor from a glass bottle on a nearby workbench, "Julian survived. But he couldn't re-enter society without Victoria having him finished off by her father's mercenaries. So he needed someone on the inside. Me."

Elena took a slow sip of the liquor, her cold gaze shifting between the two chained spouses.

"I seduced you, Alex, because you were weak. You were the soft entry into the Vance family. I planted the idea of taking Victoria to the forest in your head. I guided you to the exact coordinates where Julian was waiting."

"Why?!" Alex wept, feeling the total, crushing weight of his ultimate stupidity. "I gave you everything! I was going to abandon my life for you!"

"You're a weak, greedy coward, Alex," Elena spat, her eyes flashing with pure disgust. "You tried to murder your wife because you were too lazy to sign divorce papers. You deserve everything coming to you."

Heavy footsteps echoed down the stone corridor leading into the bunker. Julian walked into the room, dragging a heavy metal chest across the dirt floor. He dropped it with a loud clang that made Alex flinch.

"Is the satellite uplink connected?" Julian asked Elena, ignoring Alex entirely.

"Connected and encrypted," Elena replied, handing him a tablet. "The offshore accounts are ready for transfer. All we need are the biometric confirmation codes from Victoria's eyes and thumbprints."

Julian knelt in front of Victoria's chair. He reached out with a gloved hand and grabbed her jaw, forcing her face up into the light.

"Four years in these woods, sister," Julian whispered, his voice dripping with venom. "Four years eating raw meat and dodging your hitmen. Today, I take back every cent of the Vance fortune. And then, I let Fenris and his pack have their dinner."