Chapter 7 - Confronting the Queen
Downstairs in the grand ballroom, the crystal chandeliers cast a brilliant, mocking light over empty marble floors.
Selene March stood by the marble fireplace, swirling a glass of expensive red wine. She checked her diamond-encrusted wristwatch, a frown of irritation touching her lips. Vance had been gone too long. The loose ends should have been tied up by now.
Suddenly, the heavy oak doors of the ballroom swung open.
Selene turned around with a practiced, radiant smile, expecting to see her loyal butler reporting success. Instead, her breath hitched in her throat.
Adrian Vale walked into the center of the ballroom.
Behind him walked Dante Cruz, flanked by two armed guards dragging a battered, zip-tied Mr. Vance. And trailing slightly behind them, walking slowly with her hands trembling but fully supported by Clara on one side and her father on the other, was Lily.
Lily’s feet were touching the floor. She was taking small, tentative, wobbling steps—supported by love and free of the poison for the first time in six months.
Selene’s wineglass slipped from her fingers, shattering against the marble floor in an explosion of red liquid and sparkling crystal.
"A-Adrian..." Selene stammered, stepping backward until her spine hit the marble mantelpiece. Her face was stark white, her eyes wild with panic. "What... what is the meaning of this? Where did you find that child? She's... she's supposed to be—"
"Dead?" Adrian finished for her, his voice cutting through the silent room like a razor blade. He stepped forward, towering over her with an aura so lethal and absolute that Selene shrank back against the fireplace. "You told me she died of grief, Selene. You and Harrison engineered a fake medical file, locked her in the third-floor nursery, and poisoned her day after day to keep her immobile while you systematically stripped my assets and prepared to take over the Vale estate."
"That's a lie!" Selene shrieked, her mask of cool sophistication completely shattering. She pointed a trembling finger at Clara. "That wretched little maid made it up! She's a thief, a liar—she planted those things!"
"Dr. Harrison is currently tied up in my study," Adrian interrupted coldly, his eyes narrowing into dark slits. "He confessed to every detail twenty minutes ago. He signed the financial transfer slips linking your offshore accounts to his Swiss bank. Your conspiracy is fully exposed, Selene."
Selene stared at him, realizing in a crushing second that there was no way out. All her careful plotting, her patience, her elegance—evaporated into nothing.
With a feral snarl of blind panic, Selene suddenly lunged toward the heavy marble mantelpiece, grabbing a heavy silver dagger used for opening decorative letters, and whipped around toward little Lily.
"If I don't get the estate, nobody does!" Selene screamed, charging across the marble.
Before Adrian could even raise his arm, Clara acted with blinding speed.
Pushing Lily safely behind her, Clara stepped directly into Selene’s path, catching Selene’s wrist mid-swing with both hands. The silver dagger stopped inches from Clara’s shoulder.
With a sharp, defensive twist, Clara leveraged her weight and threw Selene off balance. Selene stumbled hard across the spilled wine on the marble floor, her high heels sliding out from under her, and crashed heavily against the edge of the stone hearth.
May you like
She lay still, unconscious, knocked out cold by the impact.
Dante Cruz stepped forward immediately, snapping a pair of heavy steel handcuffs around Selene’s wrists without a word of hesitation.
