Chapter 13 - The Grand Illusion
I stared at the locked office door, pure panic surging through my veins like ice water.
I quickly minimized the classified files, wiped the search history, and powered down the computer monitor.
I stood up, smoothed my dress, and forced myself to take a deep, stabilizing breath.
I unlocked the heavy door and offered Elias a weak, entirely fake smile.
"I just came in to grab a book," I lied smoothly, pointing to the massive bookshelf behind his desk.
Elias looked at me, his sharp, calculating eyes scanning my face for any hint of deception.
He stepped into the office, his gaze briefly lingering on the dark computer screen.
"You should be resting, Clara," he said softly, walking over to grab his leather briefcase.
"I will handle the investigator and sort out this terrible mess Sienna has created."
He leaned in and kissed my forehead, a gesture that now felt incredibly cold and deeply manipulative.
"Thank you, Elias," I whispered, watching him turn and walk out of the house.
The moment his car completely disappeared down the coastal road, I grabbed my purse and keys.
I could not stay in this house for another single second.
I needed to speak to the only person who truly understood the depth of the deception happening around me.
I drove straight to the federal penitentiary where Sienna was currently serving her sentence.
I used my charity's high-level legal credentials to secure an emergency, face-to-face visitation.
I sat in the sterile, heavily guarded visitor's room, waiting behind a thick pane of bulletproof glass.
Sienna was escorted into the room wearing a bright orange jumpsuit, completely stripped of her designer glamor.
She sat down, picked up the heavy plastic phone receiver, and smiled a bitter, knowing smile.
"You got the shoes," she stated, her voice crackling over the cheap speaker.
"You lied to me," I fired back, gripping the receiver tightly.
"Elias didn't take the fall for you five years ago. He made a deal with your father."
Sienna's smile faded, replaced by a look of genuine, surprising exhaustion.
"My father was a monster, Clara, but Elias is the absolute devil," she whispered.
She explained that Elias had orchestrated the entire marriage between her and Julian to completely ruin the Vance empire from the inside out.
He had used Sienna to steal the charity funds, knowing I would eventually uncover the ledger and trigger the feds.
"Elias wanted Julian and Marcus in prison, and he wanted me locked away forever so he could claim his son in peace," Sienna confessed, tears finally falling down her cheeks.
"Why didn't you expose him during the trial?" I demanded.
"Because he threatened to murder my son if I ever spoke his name," she cried softly.
"He used you, Clara. He played the knight in shining armor to win your trust, and now you are sleeping next to the man who destroyed your life."
I hung up the phone, feeling a terrifying, absolute clarity wash over my mind.
I was no longer a victim of a cheating husband.
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I was the prime target of a brilliant, sociopathic mastermind.
And I was going to burn his entire world to the ground.
