Chapter 2 - Whispers in the VIP Suite
"A Dead Daughter Returns"When the emergency lights flickered back on ten seconds later, panic erupted. Guests were trampling over chairs, fleeing toward the velvet-draped exits.
In the center of the room, Lily was gone. Only a streak of blood on the white floor remained.
Upstairs in the private VIP suite, Victoria paced back and forth like a caged predator. Her immaculate emerald dress was now ruined by sweat and frantic movement. Standing near the grand fireplace was Julian Blackwood—heir to Blackwood Holdings and Victoria’s fiancé.
"Did you shoot her?!" Victoria hissed, pinning Julian against the mahogany desk. "Tell me you didn't shoot her in front of five hundred people!"
Julian adjusted his silk tie, his face cold and unreadable. "I didn't pull the trigger, Victoria. But someone in this room wants that girl quiet. If what she said down there is true—"
"It's NOT true!" Victoria shrieked, slamming her palm on the desk. "I am the sole heiress of the Vance fortune! I am Eleanor Vance’s daughter! That trash on the floor was just a bitter beggar trying to extract blackmail!"
"Then why did your mother faint?" Julian asked softly, his sharp grey eyes narrowing. "And why did the Vance security detail just lock down all the private vaults in the basement?"
The heavy double doors of the suite slammed open. Eleanor Vance stood on the threshold, supported by two armed guards. Her eyes were no longer filled with tears; they were burning with cold, lethal fury.
"Leave us, Julian," Eleanor commanded.
"Mother—" Victoria began, putting on a helpless, innocent act. "She was lying! I swear on my life—"
"SLAP!"
The sound of Eleanor’s palm striking Victoria’s face was even louder than the one in the ballroom. Victoria stumbled back, clutching her stinging cheek in sheer shock.
"Do not dare call me Mother until the DNA test returns," Eleanor whispered, her voice laced with venom. "I recognized the cut on her cheek, Victoria. When my real baby was born, she had a tiny crescent-shaped birthmark right under her left eye. The girl on the floor had that exact mark."
"She could have faked it with makeup!" Victoria cried, tears finally spilling over her mascara.
"She didn't need to," a soft voice spoke from the shadowed balcony doors.
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Victoria and Eleanor whirled around. Stepping out from the rain-drenched terrace, holding a silenced pistol in her hand, was Lily.
CHAPTER 2 HOOK: Lily raised the weapon, pointing it straight at Eleanor’s heart. "Hello, Mother," Lily sneered, her meek demeanor completely vanishing. "Did you really think I came back just to cry?"
