Chapter 9 — The Voice Behind the Plan
Marcus answered the phone and placed it on speaker.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Eleanor’s cold voice came through.
“Is it done?”
Vivienne felt a chill.
Marcus swallowed.
“What do you mean?”
A pause.
Then Eleanor said:
“Don’t play innocent with me, Marcus.”
Her voice became sharper.
“The girl found the files, didn’t she?”
Everyone froze.
Vivienne looked at Natalie.
She knows.
Eleanor continued:
“I warned Ethan years ago.”
A bitter laugh.
“He was too weak.”
Vivienne stepped closer to the phone.
“Too weak for what?”
Silence.
Eleanor stopped breathing.
Because she recognized the voice.
“Vivienne.”
Her tone changed.
Not fear.
Anger.
“You should not have opened that door.”
Vivienne smiled coldly.
“The same way I should not have married your son?”
Eleanor became quiet.
Then she said:
“You have no idea what your father was involved in.”
Vivienne tightened her grip.
“My father was murdered because of you.”
“No.”
Eleanor’s voice became terrifyingly calm.
“Your father died because he refused to understand the rules.”
Natalie immediately recorded the call.
Vivienne felt her heartbeat increase.
“What rules?”
Eleanor answered:
“The rule that powerful families survive.”
A pause.
“And weak people disappear.”
The call ended.
Nobody moved.
Because Eleanor had just confirmed everything.
Marcus looked at Vivienne.
“She admitted it.”
Vivienne looked toward the window.
Outside, the sun was beginning to rise.
The woman who entered the wedding ballroom as a victim was gone.
Now there was only someone who wanted justice.
But before they could leave, another message appeared on Vivienne’s phone.
Unknown number.
One sentence.
Ethan WAS NOT THE ONLY ONE INSIDE YOUR HOME.
Vivienne stared at the message.
Her face changed.
Because suddenly she remembered.
The night before the wedding…
Someone had entered her office.
Someone had accessed her computer.
Someone had been searching for something.
Not the ring.
Not her money.
Something else.
Something hidden.
She looked at the flash drive.
The file called BLACK ROSE.
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And she realized…
The biggest secret had not been revealed yet.
