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The beam of the heavy-duty headlamp cut through the blinding blizzard, illuminating the crimson streaks of blood frozen against the white snow. / Chapter 14 / 32

Chapter 14 - The True Mastermind"Explain yourself," Victoria demanded, her finger resting on the safety of her concealed weapon.

"Brandon didn't come up with the idea for the fifty-million-dollar life insurance policy on his own," Marcus revealed, his expression turning cold and calculating. "He needed a financial advisor to structure it safely offshore without raising federal flags. That advisor was my younger brother, Julian."

Victoria’s eyes narrowed. "Julian..."

"Six months before your trip, Brandon cut Julian out of the deal and threatened to frame him for embezzlement," Marcus said, stepping closer. "Julian couldn't fight back—until he realized Brandon was planning to push his pregnant wife off a cliff. My brother tipped me off. That’s why I was tracking your coordinates that day. I didn't just happen to be flying over that ridge, Victoria. I was waiting for you to fall."

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The scent of the Columbus bakery pastries—butter, flaky crust, and sweet raspberry—now made my stomach turn. Julian sat at the mahogany dining table, casually biting into a croissant while tapping away on his tablet.

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The wind off the Atlantic whipped salt spray across the deck of the dolphin-watching boat, but the air between Emily, Caleb, and Rachel felt frozen in time.

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"So you saved me not just out of heroism, but out of vengeance," Victoria realized, slowly relaxing her grip on the gun.

"Brandon ruined my family," Marcus said quietly. "Taking his hidden millions isn't theft, Victoria. It’s restitution. And now that you're here, we have a choice. We can fight each other over the spoils, or we can combine our empires and finish what we started."

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Chapter 15 - An Unholy AllianceVictoria stared at Marcus for a long, agonizing moment. Every instinct told her to trust no one—not after what Brandon had put her through. But as she looked at the financial data on the laptop screen, she saw the sheer genius of Marcus’s network.
Chapter 16 - The Silence of the CellDeep inside the maximum-security wing of a federal women's prison in New York, Gretchen Vance paced frantically inside her isolation cell. Her fingernails were bitten down to the quick, and dark circles stained her eyes.
Chapter 17 - The Eradication of Prescott IndustriesThree months later, the final blow was struck.
Chapter 18 - A Visitor in the DarkThe heavy security doors of the federal penitentiary in Florence hissed open, admitting a single visitor into the high-security consultation booth.
Chapter 19 - The New Queen of the MountainA year after the nightmare on the ice, Glacier National Park was draped in a fresh blanket of pristine white snow.
Chapter 20 - Shadows on the HorizonInside the warm, fire-lit lobby of the resort, guests laughed and clinked champagne glasses, completely unaware of the dark history hidden beneath the snowy landscape.

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