Chapter 4 - CHECKMATE AT MIDNIGHT"Turn that off! Turn it off now!" Eleanor screamed, lunging toward the stage controls, but two heavy-set security guards intercepted her, pinning her arms behind her back.
Arthur stood frozen, the reality of his daughter's survival and betrayal crashing over him like a tidal wave. He looked at Katherine, seeing not the helpless girl who had vanished all those years ago, but a cold, calculating strategist who had spent years planning this exact moment of retribution.
"Katherine..." Arthur reached out a shaking hand. "Why didn't you come to me? Why didn't you tell me Julian did this?"
"Because when I tried, fifteen years ago, you believed Julian's lies and threw me out of the estate," Katherine said coldly, stepping away from his touch. "You chose your corporate ambitions over your own flesh and blood. You helped build the monster that nearly destroyed my life and threatened my daughter."
Julian, realizing he was utterly cornered, suddenly ripped off his oxygen mask from the stretcher. He shoved the paramedic away and staggered to his feet, his face red with rage. "You bitch! You think you’ve won?! Everything you own—every single share, every property—was transferred to my name legally! You're penniless! Without me, you and your little bastard are nothing!"
Katherine didn't flinch. She merely smiled, a slow, predatory grin that made Julian's blood run cold.
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"Legally?" Katherine tilted her head. "Julian, honey, did you really think I’d spend ten years in exile without doing my homework?"
At that exact moment, the heavy mahogany doors of the ballroom swung open once again.
