Chapter 3

Once my mother was safe, I changed back into the gray work uniform, pulled my cap low, and slipped silently back into the second floor of the main house.

The master bedroom on the second floor — that used to be my room.

Now, it was filled with sounds that turned my stomach.

"Elias, does this wedding dress look good on me?"

Hannah's voice dripped with a sweetness that made me sick.

Through the half-open door, I watched the scene inside, cold and still.

Hannah was wearing my wedding dress — the one I'd spent six months designing by hand, a one-of-a-kind piece worth millions — and she was striking poses in front of the full-length mirror like she owned the place.

Elias was sprawled on my leather sofa, a glass of red wine in his hand, gazing at her through half-lidded eyes.

"Beautiful. My Hannah looks good in anything. A thousand times better than that cold, workaholic Grace."

He got up and walked over, wrapping his arms around Hannah's waist from behind.

My heart went completely numb.

This was the man I had loved for five years.

While I was working around the clock on a national project, he was in my bedroom, holding the nanny's daughter in his arms, trampling everything I had built.

"But Elias, the waist is a little tight. Grace is way too skinny — no curves at all. Why don't we just cut it and let it out a bit?"

Hannah pouted, tugging at the fitted waist of the dress with a frown.

"Sure, whatever you want. As long as you're happy, I'd tear this whole house down if you asked."

Elias nuzzled her nose with an indulgent smile.

"Besides, after tomorrow, everything that belongs to the Astor family — including Astor Group — will be ours."

"That's why you're so smart, Elias. Using that drug to make the old woman lose her mind — otherwise, how would we have gotten her to sign the proxy share agreement so easily?"

Hannah laughed, pleased with herself.

"Shh, keep it down." Elias pressed a hand over her mouth, a flash of cold cruelty crossing his eyes. "Not a word of this to anyone. Grace may be gone, but the old guard at Astor family is still watching. The equity transfer ceremony at tomorrow's wedding cannot go wrong."

"What's there to worry about? Grace is ash. The old woman is locked in the basement. The Astor family is an empty shell right now. Once you sign the transfer papers tomorrow, it all belongs to the Vance family."

Hannah leaned back into Elias's arms, laughing freely.

Standing in the hallway, I quietly pressed stop on the voice recorder in my pocket.

The first gift was ready.

I didn't burst through that door.

Right now, I had nothing — no leverage, no backing. Storming in would only tip them off.

What I wanted was to watch them soar to the very peak of their triumph, drunk on victory — and then drag them straight down to hell, with no way back.

I turned and walked toward the study at the end of the hall.

That was where the Astor family's true secrets were kept. And that was where I would find everything I needed to fight back.

The study door had a fingerprint and passcode lock.

I entered the code from memory and stepped inside.

The room was a wreck — papers scattered everywhere, shelves rifled through. Hannah and her mother and Elias had clearly torn through this place more than once.

But they didn't know. The Astor family's real secrets were never kept anywhere obvious.

I crossed to the bookshelf, pulled out a thick copy of Das Kapital, and pressed hard on the panel at the back of the shelf.

A soft click — and the shelf slid slowly aside, revealing a hidden safe.

I entered the twelve-digit code that only my mother and I knew.

The safe opened.

Inside, lying perfectly still, were several documents — and a black seal engraved with the Astor family crest.

The Astor Family Trust — Supreme Control Authorization.

As long as this seal was in my hands, any transfer of equity or movement of funds within Astor Group required my approval.

The so-called proxy agreement Martha had gotten her hands on? Nothing but a worthless piece of paper.

I tucked the documents and the seal safely against my body, then reached into the hidden compartment of the safe and pulled out a small USB drive.

This was the backup plan I'd left for myself before I faked my death.

Inside were the access keys to every one of Astor Group's hidden accounts — and a Trojan program capable of severing Astor Group's entire financial network in one move.

Elias. You want Astor Group so badly?

Fine. I'll give it to you.

Let's see if you can swallow it whole.