Chapter 1 - The First Drop of Blood
Victoria Vanguard did not flinch. She did not raise her voice. She merely took a sip of her vintage champagne, the crystal flute catching the light of the Florentine gold above them.
"My reign, Genevieve?" Victoria replied, her voice a soft, chilling purr that only the three of them could hear. "You speak of a reign as if this were a fairy tale. This isn't a kingdom, my dear. It is a slaughterhouse. And you have just walked onto the killing floor wearing white."
Genevieve’s smile tightened, but she held her ground. She slipped her arm through Arthur’s. "We’ll see about that, Victoria. Arthur and I have an early morning. The board requires his signature on the new acquisition."
As the couple walked away, Victoria’s piercing gaze lingered on her son's back. Arthur was soft. He had been raised in the shade of her massive oak tree, shielded from the brutal sun of consequence. Genevieve, however, was a climbing vine, intent on strangling the oak to reach the light.
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Victoria snapped her fingers. Instantly, a man in a discrete charcoal suit materialized from the shadows of a marble pillar. It was Elias, her chief of security and personal fixer.
"Elias," Victoria said, not looking at him. "Genevieve is making a move on the board tomorrow. Dig into her Cayman accounts. I want to know exactly whose money she used to buy that dress, and I want it on my desk by dawn."
