Then a single gunshot cracked through the black, reverberating off the walls.
Chaos erupted—shouts, the scrape of chairs, the thud of bodies hitting the floor.
In the confusion, I felt a cold hand on my arm.
Adrian’s voice, low and urgent, whispered in my ear: “You never understood, Elena. I am your father.”
My breath caught. The truth slammed into me like the river’s current.
All those years he’d “cared” for me, the injections, the secret serum—he’d crafted me to inherit his empire, to keep the bloodline alive.
The toxin in my veins was his insurance policy, a failsafe if I ever turned.
Now, as the room lay in shadow, his revelation hung in the air, a gut‑punch of betrayal.
Vanessa’s eyes met mine, a silent question burning behind her stare.
Outside, sirens wailed, growing louder, as the boardroom’s fate hung in the balance.
