CHAPTER 7 – The Woman Behind Every Death
Emily slowly stepped away from Ryan's desk.
The office door creaked open.
Standing in the doorway was Victoria Carter.
Seventy-two years old.
Elegant.
Perfect posture.
Pearl necklace.
The woman newspapers had called America's Most Respected Business Matriarch.
She smiled as if she were greeting an old friend.
"I wondered how long it would take you."
Emily's hands curled into fists.
"You murdered my father."
Victoria sighed.
"No."
"I simply made a difficult business decision."
Daniel, who had followed Emily upstairs moments earlier, stepped between them.
"You call murder... business?"
Victoria looked at him with pity.
"Young man..."
"Do you know how many lives were sacrificed to build America's greatest companies?"
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"You're insane."
Victoria chuckled.
"No."
"I'm successful."
She walked toward Ryan's chair and gently touched the leather backrest.
"Ryan was weak."
"He wanted to confess."
"He wanted to hand my company to a woman whose father tried to destroy us."
Emily's eyes filled with rage.
"It was never your company."
Victoria's smile faded.
"For thirty years..."
"I made sure everyone believed it was."
She opened her handbag.
Not to pull out a weapon.
But another flash drive.
"I erased witnesses."
"I bought judges."
"I owned politicians."
"I even convinced Ethan that killing his own brother was necessary."
Daniel stared in disbelief.
"You manipulated your own son?"
Victoria nodded without emotion.
"Ethan always wanted my approval."
"So I gave him one impossible task."
Emily whispered,
"You turned him into a murderer."
Victoria smiled again.
"No."
"I simply gave him permission."
At that exact moment...
Police sirens echoed outside the building.
Victoria looked out the window.
Hundreds of officers surrounded Carter Industries.
Helicopters circled overhead.
She wasn't frightened.
Instead...
She laughed.
"You think you've won?"
She pressed a hidden button beneath Ryan's desk.
Deep inside the building...
A countdown suddenly appeared on every computer screen.
SELF-DESTRUCT SYSTEM ACTIVATED
10:00
Daniel's face turned white.
"What did you do?"
Victoria calmly replied,
"If the Carter empire falls..."
"So does every secret buried beneath it."
Then she locked the office door from the inside.
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The countdown reached...
09:42
