Chapter 2 - The Glass Mask
Sofia’s throat worked, but no words came out. The polished facade she wore for society columns and charity galas cracked, revealing the raw, frantic calculation underneath.
"You're listening to her?" Sofia’s voice rose, a sharp pitch echoing off the corridor’s crown molding. "She’s a domestic worker, Julian! She disappeared the night Christopher passed. She probably stole that child from an orphanage to blackmail us!"
Elena let out a short, humorless breath. "Tell him about Zurich, Sofia. Tell him about the offshore account opened under Christopher’s digital signature two hours after the coroner signed the preliminary certificate."
Julian stepped between the two women. The proximity allowed him to smell Sofia’s expensive perfume—jasmine and orange blossom—intertwined with the faint, sour stench of adrenaline. He remembered Christopher’s funeral six months ago, how Sofia had wept into a lace handkerchief while Julian stood beside the casket, shouldering the weight of Vance Global alone. He had proposed to her out of duty, believing Christopher loved her, believing unity was the only way to preserve what his brother built.
"Is the money gone?" Julian asked simply.
"Julian, please, let's go inside," Sofia pleaded, her hand reaching out to touch his tuxedo lapel. "There are people downstairs. Your investors, my family—if you cause a scene, the market opening on Monday will destroy the merger. We talk through this like adults."
Julian glanced down at her fingers, then took half a step back, letting her hand drop into empty air. The rejection was small, almost polite, but it struck Sofia like a slap.
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"The merger is dead," Julian said. "Now tell me whose voice was on that phone."
A sudden vibration buzzed inside Elena’s apron pocket. At the same time, the manor’s emergency backup lights flickered along the wainscoting—a single red pulse indicating the security mainframe in the sub-basement had been breached.
