Chapter 1 - The Shattered Bloodline
The silence in the nursery was heavier than a tombstone. The milk continued to sizzle on the pristine mahogany wood, eating through the varnish like acid—a horrific visual proof of the deadly cyanide compound mixed inside.
"Mother... say something!" Aria screamed, her knuckles white as she clutched her baby, Leo, close to her chest. Her golden silk robe was stained with dust, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.
Victoria Vance, a woman known throughout elite society as a benevolent philanthropist and standard of elegance, stood unmoving. Her ice-gray eyes slowly shifted from the bubbling poison on the floor to her trembling daughter. When she spoke, her tone was terrifyingly devoid of remorse.
"You should have never married Lucas, Aria," Victoria said, her voice smooth, almost melodic, contrasting horrifyingly with the scene. "Some bloodlines are meant to end before they rot the family tree."
"He's a baby!" Aria gasped, stepping backward toward the balcony doors as the frightened maid, Clara, huddled at her feet. "He is your own grandson!"
"He is a mistake!" Victoria barked, dropping her dignified facade for a split second. She snapped her fingers, and two towering men in black suits stepped out from the shadows of the hallway. "Clara lied to you, Aria. She was paid to take the fall, but you were never supposed to witness this."
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Before Aria could scream for the estate guards, Victoria drawn a silver cylinder from her designer handbag—a silent stun device. "Take the child," Victoria ordered her mercenaries coldly. "And make sure my daughter undergoes a severe mental breakdown tonight. The press loves a tragedy about an unstable mother."
Chapter 1 Cliffhanger: As the mercenaries stepped forward, a sudden shot echoed from the courtyard below, shattering the nursery’s stained-glass window into a million gleaming shards!
