Chapter 6 - The Trap Snaps Shut
The atmosphere in the grand parlor froze instantly.
The crackling fire in the hearth suddenly sounded deafening. Outside, wind battered the tall French windows, blowing autumn leaves against the glass.
Victoria stared at Daniel. For three long seconds, she tried to maintain her playful facade, but the sudden, icy firmness in Daniel’s voice made her skin crawl.
“Daniel, don't be ridiculous,” she laughed, a high-pitched, nervous sound. “It’s red wine. You know I only drink white wine in the evenings. It gives me migraines.”
“Just one sip, Victoria,” Daniel insisted softly, his voice devoid of any warmth or weakness.
“I said no!” she snapped, stepping back, her tone sharpening into anger. “Why are you being so strange lately? You’re acting paranoid!”
“Am I?” Daniel stood up smoothly. The physical weakness he had feigned for the past two days vanished instantly. He pulled himself up to his full six-foot-two height, towering over her, his presence suffocating the room. “Or am I acting like a man who knows that glass contains three drops of concentrated thallium and digitalis?”
Victoria went dead white.
The glass of wine in her hand slipped from her trembling fingers, crashing onto the hardwood floor, dark red liquid splattering across her emerald dress like fresh blood.
“I... I don't know what you’re talking about—” she stammered, backing toward the hallway doors.
“I know about the butter, Victoria,” Daniel said, stepping forward with deliberate, crushing momentum. “I know about the crushed pills. I know about the ten thousand dollars you offered a six-year-old girl to keep her mouth shut.”
Victoria reached the double doors, grabbing the brass handles, but when she pulled them open, two broad-shouldered men in plainclothes tactical gear stepped into the doorway, blocking her escape.
Panic—raw, animalistic terror—flooded her face.
“I know about Aegis Global,” Daniel continued, pulling his phone from his pocket and laying it on the coffee table. “I know about your twelve-million-dollar debt to Julian Vance. And I know you sent him an encrypted text twenty minutes ago telling him that I would be dead before midnight.”
“Daniel... please!” Victoria sobbed, sinking to her knees on the ruined floor, her elegant persona completely disintegrated into pathetic hysterics. “They forced me! Julian threatened to kill my mother! He said he would ruin me! I had no choice!”
“Everyone has a choice, Victoria,” Daniel said coldly, looking down at her as if she were a dirty smudge on his floor. “You chose to poison a man who gave you everything. You chose to target a child.”
The door to the study opened, and Federal Prosecutor Sarah Jenkins walked in, accompanied by four uniformed FBI agents and Detective Frank Carter (no relation to Daniel).
“Victoria Lang,” Prosecutor Jenkins declared, pulling out an official arrest warrant. “You are under arrest for attempted aggravated murder, corporate espionage, witness tampering, and conspiracy to commit murder for hire.”
May you like
As the FBI agents stepped forward, snapping steel handcuffs around Victoria’s delicate wrists, Daniel knelt beside her, looking into her tear-streaked face one last time.
“Your rehearsal dinner is canceled, Victoria,” Daniel whispered softly. “And Julian Vance is meeting you at the federal penitentiary tomorrow morning.”
