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Chapter 3 - The Web of Deceit

The ambulance sirens wailed through the Manhattan night, but they weren't for Richard. They were for Vanessa. As she was stretchered out of Lielle, the paparazzi were already waiting, tipped off by an anonymous source—Richard’s PR team.

In the back of his car, Richard sat with Maya. She was no longer wearing the dirty hoodie; she was wrapped in one of Richard’s tailored jackets.

"Why?" Richard asked. "Why tell me?"

Maya looked down at her hands. "Because you gave my mother a job when she was dying of cancer. You paid for her treatment, even when the insurance company said no. She told me you were a good man. Vanessa was planning to liquidate your holdings, frame you for an international money-laundering scheme, and leave you to rot in a federal cell before you even finished your dessert."

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Richard’s blood ran cold. The "charity gala" Vanessa had been planning? It was a front for a massive offshore account heist. She wasn't just a girlfriend; she was a corporate saboteur hired by his fiercest rival, Julian Vane.

The betrayal was deeper than he imagined. It was a hostile takeover, and he was the intended casualty.

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