Chapter 3: The Swap in the Shadows
Victoria didn't flinch. She didn't scream, nor did she display the fragile vulnerability of a betrayed bride. Instead, she set her empty hands calmly on the edge of the altar table, looking down at her husband with an expression of absolute, chilling detachment.
"Looking for your answer, Julian?" Victoria's voice was smooth, quiet, and carried effortlessly across the silent room. "You thought you were so clever, meeting with your offshore chemist in secret. You thought I was too blind with affection to notice the missing funds from the corporate R&D accounts."
Julian stared at her, his throat completely paralyzed. "Victoria... what... what are you talking about?"
"I learned about your deadly little plan three weeks ago," Victoria continued calmly, stepping away from the altar. "When you ordered the private chemist to synthesize a fast-acting neurotoxin that mimics a sudden cardiac arrest, you forgot one fundamental rule of running an empire: the people who handle the logistics always report to the primary shareholder."
She gestured toward the serving carts lined up against the wall.
May you like
"Without your knowledge, the serving trays had already been switched by my security detail three hours before the ceremony. The glass you handed me was clean. But the secondary decanter—the one you poured your own celebratory glass from while hiding behind the bar—was filled from the exact same batch you intended for me."
The trap he had meticulously designed to inherit her fortune had become his own executioner's block.
