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The glare of the desk lamp in Marcus’s study pierced through the heavy velvet curtains, casting sharp, elongated shadows against the mansion’s French windows. From my vantage point hidden within the shroud of the overgrown perimeter hedges, I watched Evelyn Vance stalk into the room like a cornered predator. Behind her, Chad trailed closely, his face flushed with panicked agitation, while Amber nervously shredded a designer tissue between her manicured fingers. / Chapter 6 / 10

Chapter 6 - THE COUP DE GRÂCEThe audio recording echoed in the dead silence of the 50th-floor boardroom, hanging in the air like a suffocating cloud.

Chad dropped to his knees, his hands clawing uselessly at the carpet as he looked up at the federal agents with wild, tear-filled eyes. "It’s... it’s AI-generated! Deepfake technology! They framed us! Mom, tell them! Tell them it's a lie!"

Evelyn didn't speak. She stood frozen at the head of the table, her gaze locked onto me with a mixture of pure hatred and bottomless despair. She finally realized that the poor girl she had thrown out into the freezing rain forty-eight hours after her son's death was not a victim. She was the executioner.

"Federal warrants for securities fraud, corporate embezzlement, and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder," Harrison Reed announced clearly, stepping forward as two armed agents walked around the table and unclipped their handcuffs.

"Chad Vance. Evelyn Vance."

The heavy steel cuffs clicked sharply into place around Chad’s wrists as he let out a pathetic, muffled sob. Another pair of agents gently but firmly secured Evelyn's arms behind her back, reading her constitutional rights as she was hauled up from her executive chair.

Amber screamed, bursting into hysterical tears as she clutched her designer handbag, realizing her luxurious lifestyle had vanished in a matter of seconds.

"Take them away," Arthur Pendelton ordered coldly, speaking on behalf of the stunned board of directors.

As the federal agents marched Evelyn and Chad toward the double doors, Evelyn stopped right beside me. Her eyes burned with a final, desperate flash of malice.

"You think you’ve won, Harper?" she whispered, her voice dripping with venom. "You’re just a pawn. Without us, the entire Vance empire will collapse under its own weight within a month. You’ll drown in the debt."

I leaned in close, letting a cold, triumphant smile touch my lips.

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