Chapter 3 - Shattered Glass
I twisted Vanessa’s wrist until a sharp crack echoed through the silent bedroom.
She shrieked in pain, dropping the deadly knife onto my cashmere blankets.
Marcus grabbed her by the hair, throwing her violently to the hardwood floor.
The crystal vial shattered against the ground, the liquid burning a literal hole right through the expensive rug.
I stared at the sizzling acid, realizing exactly how close I had come to dying tonight.
"You really thought you could take my entire empire like this?" I growled.
Vanessa spat blood onto the floor, her perfect, innocent mask completely destroyed.
"You were already a dead man, Leo."
She smiled wickedly, looking up at Marcus with absolute, chilling confidence.
"Do it now, Marcus."
I braced for a bullet to the back of my head, but Marcus just pressed his gun harder into Vanessa’s skull.
"She tried to pay me five million dollars to betray you last week, Boss."
I let out a heavy breath I did not even know I was holding.
"Take her down to the cellar and make her talk."
Marcus dragged the screaming woman out of the room, leaving me completely alone with Elena and Lily.
The adrenaline faded fast, and the violent shivering returned with a terrifying vengeance.
I collapsed back against the pillows, my vision blurring dangerously at the edges.
Elena rushed to my side, pressing her warm hands against my freezing cheeks.
"We need to get this poison out of your system right now."
She rolled up my sleeve and pulled a strange, rusted key from her apron pocket.
"I kept this hidden for eight years because I knew they would eventually come for us."
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I stared at the key, my foggy brain struggling to comprehend her sudden change in demeanor.
"My real name is not Elena, and we are not in your house by accident."
