Chapter 2: The Rain and the Revelation
Clara released his tie, giving him a shove that sent him reeling back. She didn't look at them again. She turned her back on the stunned family, walking through the mansion’s grand entrance and out into the torrential downpour.
A silver luxury sedan was waiting at the curb, its engine purring like a caged animal. She slipped into the back seat, the leather cool against her skin. She didn't cry. She didn't shake. She was entirely at peace.
"Did they take the bait?" the driver asked—a voice she had only ever heard through secure lines.
May you like
"Hook, line, and sinker," Clara replied. She watched the mansion shrink in the rearview mirror.
She wasn't just a fiancée. She was a forensic auditor who had been undercover for twenty-four months. She had walked into their home, into their lives, and into their trust, all to dismantle the Van Doren empire from the inside out. They had thought she was a social climber; they hadn't realized she was the wall they were destined to crash into. She lifted her phone and dialed. "The trap worked. Initiate Phase Two."
