Chapter 6 - THE WOMAN BEHIND THE MASK
The bullet struck the mirror.
Glass exploded across the bathroom.
Lily swung the perfume bottle into Serena’s wrist.
The gun fell.
Victor kicked the door open before Serena could reach it.
He crossed the room with frightening speed.
His hand closed around Serena’s throat.
He slammed her against the wall.
“You pointed a weapon at my son.”
Serena clawed at his wrist.
“You don’t understand.”
Victor tightened his grip.
“Give me one reason not to kill you.”
“Because killing me will never tell you who ordered Grace’s death.”
Victor froze.
Lily’s face went pale.
Grace had been Ethan’s mother.
She had died eighteen months earlier when her car plunged from a bridge during a winter storm.
Victor had spent months hunting for the driver who forced her off the road.
No driver had ever been found.
He released Serena.
“What did you say?”
Serena coughed.
“Grace’s death was not an accident.”
Victor lifted the gun from the floor.
“You have five seconds.”
Serena laughed despite the weapon pointed at her.
“Ask your nanny.”
Victor turned toward Lily.
She could no longer hide the truth.
“Lily?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“My full name is Lilian Grace Hartwell.”
Victor stared at her.
“Grace Hartwell was my sister.”
The room became painfully still.
Victor took one step backward.
“You told my investigators you had no living family.”
“Grace was my half sister.”
Lily touched the small locket beneath her uniform.
“Our father kept us apart for years.”
Victor’s expression hardened.
“You entered my house under a false identity.”
“I entered because Grace sent me a letter before she died.”
Serena smiled from the wall.
“She has been lying to you from the beginning.”
Lily looked at Victor.
“Grace believed someone inside this house wanted her dead.”
“Why didn’t you come to me?”
“Because she told me not to trust you.”
The words struck harder than a bullet.
Victor lowered his weapon.
Lily continued.
“She said the person who wanted Ethan’s inheritance would be standing beside you.”
Victor looked at Serena.
Serena’s amusement vanished.
“What inheritance?”
Lily reached inside her uniform.
She removed a tiny brass key.
“Grace left a private trust worth more than two hundred million dollars.”
Victor stared at the key.
Lily’s voice became quieter.
“The money belongs entirely to Ethan.”
A guard rushed into the room.
“Sir, the attackers are gone.”
Victor did not look away from Serena.
“Did they take anything?”
The guard hesitated.
“They opened the vault beneath your office.”
Victor’s face darkened.
May you like
“What was stolen?”
“Every file connected to Grace’s death.”
