Chapter 3 : The Viper’s Den
Chapter 3 : The Viper’s Den
Across the city, in the lavish, heavily guarded Blackwood Manor, chaos was erupting.
Victoria paced the length of her father’s mahogany-paneled library, her yellow designer dress stained with the muddy water from the street. She was sobbing hysterically, throwing her diamond earrings onto a glass coffee table.
"He humiliated me, Father!" Victoria shrieked, her face twisted in a mask of ugly vanity. "He threw me out in front of the governor! He froze my credit cards! You have to destroy him. Liquidate Vanguard Holdings and leave him begging on the streets!"
Richard Blackwood, a ruthless corporate titan with a heart made of cold iron, sat behind his desk, smoking a cigar. He didn't look angry at Marcus; he looked furiously disappointed in his daughter.
"You foolish, arrogant child," Richard snarled, slamming his fist onto the desk. "You were supposed to keep Marcus blind and compliant! That was the entire point of this marriage! And instead, you let your petty vanity expose us. If that brat is Elena’s daughter, she is the rightful heir to the Sterling trust. She is a massive liability."
Victoria scoffed, crossing her arms. "She’s a street rat. What can a seven-year-old do?"
"She can inherit fifty-one percent of the empire we have spent the last five years trying to steal!" Richard roared, standing up. "Marcus is sentimental, but he is a genius in the boardroom. If he finds out we were behind the arson that killed Elena, we won't just lose our money. We will go to federal prison."
Richard pressed a button on his intercom. "Get my legal team on the line immediately. I want an emergency injunction filed by tomorrow morning. We are going to claim that Marcus is mentally unstable and unfit to care for a traumatized child. We will take custody of the girl through the family courts, and we will use her as a hostage to force Marcus into signing over his company."
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Victoria smiled cruelly, her tears instantly drying. "Take the brat, take the money. I want to see the look on Marcus's face when we rip that little beggar from his arms."
But the Blackwoods had severely underestimated the man they had pushed to the edge. Back at the Sterling penthouse, Marcus had not slept a wink. He had spent the entire night decrypting the SD card his sister had left behind. As the files loaded onto his secure server, a cold, merciless smile touched his lips. He had all the proof he needed. The Blackwoods were preparing for a legal battle, but Marcus was about to unleash an extinction-level event.
