The silence in the master bedroom was suffocating. Arthur stared at the open velvet jewelry box on the vanity, his chest tightening. The vintage diamond tennis bracelet—a priceless heirloom that had belonged to his late wife, meant solely for Lily when she turned eighteen—was gone.

Arthur stepped back as if struck. "What are you talking about? Who are you?"

"Who do you think?" Victoria laughed softly, stepping toward him like a predator closing in on its prey. "You thought I just happened to bump into you at that charity auction three years ago? You thought my background, my pedigree, my charm were all a happy accident?"

"It was no accident," Arthur ground out, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"Not at all," Victoria hissed. "Do you remember the Horizon Corporation scandal five years ago? The hostile takeover that ruined a family and drove a brilliant man to ruin? That was my father, Arthur. You destroyed him. You legally dismantled his entire life while you sat in your ivory tower, sipping champagne."

Arthur’s breath caught. The name hit him like a physical blow. Horizon. He had forgotten the collateral damage of that brutal corporate war years ago.

"I came for your money, yes," Victoria continued, her eyes flashing with pure venom. "The accounts, the properties, the shares. I was going to drain you dry and leave you penniless, just like my father. But then... I found a much better way to destroy you."