Chapter 2: The Hidden Pact
Behind Silas’s broad shoulders, away from Eleanor’s tear-filled eyes, the narrative fractured.
Elara, buried in Silas’s coat, let her face fall blank. The terror that had been plastered on her expression seconds ago vanished like fog in the sun. A cold, sharp smile touched her lips. She didn't look like a victim; she looked like a business partner who had just closed a difficult deal.
Silas, still maintaining the facade for his wife, pressed a reassuring hand onto Elara’s back. He squeezed once—a signal.
Julian, reeling from the shove, scrambled to his feet, dazed and desperate. "Dad, wait! She—she tripped! She’s lying, she—"
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"Enough!" Silas barked, not looking at his son. "Eleanor, call the police. And tell the board of directors that the succession plan is officially dissolved. Julian is no longer fit to lead this company."
Eleanor, blinded by the image of her husband’s "heroism," nodded through her tears and reached for the house phone.
