Chapter 1 - The Lockdown of Vance ManorThe sharp click of Julian’s phone locking echoed through the grand foyer like a gunshot. The sound shattered the heavy silence, sending immediate shockwaves through the estate staff who had frozen in place.
“You can’t do that,” Victoria stammered, her predatory composure finally fracturing. The crystal champagne flute slipped from her fingers, shattering into a million sparkling shards across the mahogany floor, mixing with the spilled tea and broken porcelain. “Julian, you’re acting irrational. You’ve been looking for a ghost for four years. Your mind is playing tricks on you. That’s just a unhinged servant who stole clothes and learned your wife’s name!”
Julian didn't even dignify her desperate excuse with a glance. He kept his eyes locked on Clara, who was still kneeling on the floor, trembling violently. He slowly took off his bespoke designer jacket and walked over, draping it gently over Clara’s shoulders. The oversized fabric swallowed her frail frame, but the gesture instantly brought a fresh wave of silent, heavy sobs from her chest.
“Get up, my love,” Julian whispered, his voice cracking slightly as he pulled her to her feet. “You never have to kneel in this house again.”
Victoria’s face twisted into an ugly mask of pure malice. She spun toward the terrified head housekeeper, Mrs. Gable, who was cowering near the grand staircase. “Are you all just going to stand there and watch this lunatic destroy everything we built? Security! Get them out of my sight!”
Not a single guard moved.
Julian turned around, his eyes turning into glacial shards of blue steel. He looked at the semicircle of estate security guards standing by the arched entrance.
“If any one of you takes a single step toward my wife,” Julian said, his voice dropping to a low, lethal hum, “I will personally ensure you spend the rest of your natural lives defending yourselves in federal court before you rot in a maximum-security prison. Consider your loyalty bought by a criminal. Now choose wisely.”
The head of security took a deliberate, heavy step backward, dropping his hand from his holster. The message was received loud and clear. Victoria Sterling was no longer the master of Vance Manor.
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“You’ll pay for this, Julian!” Victoria shrieked, her voice echoing off the high vaulted ceilings as she turned to run up the stairs. “This house is half mine by marriage! You can’t touch me!”
“Your marriage license to me was forged, Victoria,” Julian called out calmly, his words freezing her in her tracks on the third step. “And your access to every single account, property, and asset was terminated the second my thumb hit the screen. Enjoy your last few minutes inside these walls.”
