CHAPTER 3 — The Betrayal Inside the Mansion
Glass rained from the ceiling.
The explosion hurled Vivien backward across the library floor.
Smoke filled the mansion.
Security officers rushed through every corridor.
"Protect Mr. Blackwood!"
"Seal the nursery wing!"
"Move Miss Carter now!"
Adrian grabbed Vivien's hand.
"Stay behind me!"
She had no choice anymore.
Outside...
The Blackwood Estate had become a battlefield.
Bullets ripped through marble columns.
Luxury cars burst into flames.
Helicopters circled overhead.
Someone had launched a full-scale assault.
Vincent led them toward a reinforced underground bunker.
Halfway there...
A single gunshot echoed inside the hallway.
Everyone froze.
One guard slowly collapsed.
Blood spread across his white shirt.
The bullet hadn't come from outside.
It came from inside the mansion.
Vincent spun around.
"Traitor!"
Another shot.
A second bodyguard fell.
Panic erupted.
Staff members scattered.
Adrian shoved Vivien behind a stone pillar.
"Stay down!"
Footsteps approached slowly.
Not running.
Walking.
Confident.
A woman emerged from the smoke wearing an elegant white suit untouched by the chaos.
Vivien had never seen her before.
Adrian had.
His face turned pale.
"No..."
The woman smiled.
"You look surprised."
"I told you ten years ago..."
"...I'd destroy everything you ever loved."
Vivien frowned.
"Who is she?"
Adrian answered without taking his eyes off the woman.
"My wife."
Silence.
Vivien's world stopped spinning.
"Wife?"
The woman laughed.
"Ex-wife, technically."
"Though the divorce was never finalized."
She looked directly at Vivien's stomach.
"So..."
"The rumors were true."
"Triplets."
She slowly raised a gold-plated pistol.
"What a shame."
"I only came here to kill one heir."
"Now I get three."
Vivien instinctively covered her stomach.
Adrian stepped in front of her.
"You'll have to kill me first."
The woman smiled again.
"I planned to."
Then—
A tiny voice echoed through the smoke.
"Daddy..."
Everyone turned.
Standing barefoot at the end of the hallway was a little girl of about five years old.
She held a stuffed rabbit with one ear missing.
Tears streamed down her face.
She looked exactly like Adrian.
Vivien stared.
Adrian looked horrified.
"No..."
The woman smiled wider.
"You never knew she existed, did you?"
Vivien's breath caught.
The mafia king had another child.
A daughter hidden from him for five years.
And the woman holding the gun...
Had just used that little girl as bait.
As Adrian stepped toward the child...
May you like
The woman pulled the trigger.
To Be Continued...
