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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 4 / 32

Chapter 4 - Walking Among the LivingThe cemetery fell into a dead, suffocating silence. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.

Victoria Prescott stepped out into the open air. She wore dark Gucci sunglasses that hid her eyes, but her posture was upright, commanding, and undeniably alive. She wasn't the broken, freezing woman clinging to a cliff face; she was the billionaire heiress of the Sterling shipping empire—a fortune Brandon had tried to steal by marrying her, and one he tried to finalize by murdering her.

"Going so soon, darling?" Victoria’s voice cut through the rain-slicked air like a razor blade.

Brandon stumbled back against the podium, knocking over the microphone with a deafening screech. His face drained of all color, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "V-Victoria...?" he stammered, his knees buckling slightly. "No... no, that's impossible. We saw you fall..."

"You threw me, Brandon," Victoria corrected, her heels clicking rhythmically against the stone walkway as she marched straight toward the crowd. "You and your little office assistant."

Gretchen shrieked, clutching Brandon's arm. "She's a ghost! It’s a trick!"

"Does a ghost look this expensive, Gretchen?" Victoria stopped three feet away from them, slowly removing her sunglasses. Her eyes blazed with a terrifying, predatory intensity. "You left me to freeze in the snow. You thought you'd cash out my fifty-million-dollar policy, inherit my family’s trust, and play happy house together."

Murmurs erupted among the mourners. Family members stared at Brandon in horror and disbelief.

"Security!" Brandon shouted, panic cracking his voice as he looked wildly around. "Someone get this—this impostor away from me!"

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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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"There are no security guards here who can save you, husband," Victoria smiled coldly, raising her phone. With a single tap, the giant digital display screen mounted by the chapel—originally set up to play a memorial slideshow—flickered to life.

Instead of baby pictures, the screen displayed a high-definition, crystal-clear audio recording waveform, accompanied by a date, time, and GPS coordinate stamp.

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Chapter 5 - The Digital ConfessionThe speakers mounted around the cemetery buzzed to life, broadcasting a crisp, unmistakable recording across the entire crowd.
Chapter 6 - The Fall of the House of PrescottWithin forty-eight hours, the empire Brandon had tried to build crumbled into dust.
Chapter 7 - The Interrogation RoomUnder the harsh fluorescent lights of the county jail holding cell, Brandon Prescott sat with his head in his hands. The immaculate Armani suit was rumpled and stained with rain. His hair was disheveled, and the billionaire playboy facade was completely shattered.
Chapter 8 - Shadows in the CourtroomThe courtroom of the Federal District Court of Montana was packed to maximum capacity. Journalists, legal experts, and curious onlookers spilled into the aisles, eager to witness the trial of the decade.
Chapter 9 - The Final VerdictAfter three weeks of relentless testimony, digital forensics, and Gretchen Vance's tearful cooperation as a witness for the prosecution, the jury returned with their verdict in record time—just two hours.
Chapter 10 - Dawn of a New EmpireSix months later, the morning sun bathed the snow-capped peaks of Glacier National Park in a brilliant golden glow.

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