Chapter 4 - The Ghost of the Vance Estate
"The Poisoner's Identity Revealed""Mother!" Victoria shrieked, dropping to her knees beside Eleanor.
"Don't touch her!" Lily barked, rushing forward and pulling a small atropine injector from her jacket, plunging it directly through Eleanor’s silk blouse into her thigh.
Eleanor gasped violently, her chest heaving as the antidote counteracted the poison. She gripped Lily’s arm with surprising strength, staring up at her with tears of agony and relief.
"You... saved me..." Eleanor wheezed.
"I didn't save you out of love," Lily said coldly, stepping back. "I saved you because you need to be alive to sign the asset transfer documents. If you die tonight, Victoria automatically inherits fifty-one percent of Vance Pharmaceuticals through the survival clause."
Victoria’s frantic crying abruptly stopped.
Slowly, Victoria stood up. She wiped the tears from her face, her expression twisting into something cold, calculating, and sociopathic. The frantic, scared girl vanished, replaced by the true monster born of Vance greed.
"You really are smart, Lily," Victoria chuckled softly, dusting off her emerald gown. "I almost thought you were just a bitter little orphan seeking revenge. But you figured out the survival clause."
"You poisoned the wine," Lily said, pointing her gun at Victoria's chest. "You knew Eleanor would drink from the master goblet after the speech."
"Of course I did," Victoria admitted without a shred of remorse. "Old women die of heart failure all the time. It would have been tragic! The grieving daughter taking over the multi-billion-dollar throne... until you ruined it with your dramatic entrance."
"You monster!" Eleanor gasped from the floor. "I raised you! I gave you everything!"
"You gave me everything because you thought I was YOUR blood!" Victoria snapped, turning her rage on Eleanor. "You treated me like a trophy, a puppet to parade in front of the board! Well, guess what, 'Mother'? I’m not losing this empire to a girl who smells like cheap dish soap and vintage wine."
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Victoria reached into her bodice and pulled out a small black remote control.
CHAPTER 4 HOOK: "You think you brought a gun to a knife fight, Lily?" Victoria sneered with a psychotic smile. "I set bombs throughout the foundations of this mansion ten minutes ago. If my heart rate rises above 140, or if I press this button... we all burn together."
