“I know you,” Emily said, her voice gaining strength despite the fear. “You’re the woman who came to our house last year. The blonde in the expensive coat. I was in the back room—I heard everything. You were yelling at my sister. You told her to stay away from Adrian or you’d destroy our lives. You threw money at her. You told her her baby didn’t deserve to be born.”
Silence slammed into the room.
Adrian slowly turned his head toward Victoria.
The pain in his eyes had turned into something far darker.
“Adrian… don’t listen to her,” Victoria said quickly, reaching for him. “You know I love you. We’re getting married in two months—”
He stepped back sharply, as if her touch disgusted him.
“A year ago,” he said, his voice low and trembling with restrained rage, “you showed me photos. You said you hired an investigator. You told me Rachel had taken money from my rivals… that she betrayed me and ran away with someone else.”
Victoria’s composure began to crack. “It was true! I did it to protect you! She was after your money—”
“You killed her!” Adrian roared.
The sound echoed through the entire mansion.