MY HUSBAND SMASHED A PLATE AGAINST MY HEAD IN FRONT OF HIS ENTIRE FAMILY—BECAUSE I REFUSED TO GIVE HIS MOTHER MY CONDO

"Alexander," Julian said, his voice dropping an octave into pure, lethal rage. "You poisoned a innocent infant. Your own nephew."

"He is an obstacle!" Alexander spat, his eyes wild with jealousy. "Father always loved you more! He gave you the CEO title! He gave you the Vance legacy! I took the pain of the fire, while you lived in luxury with your fake wife and your pathetic baby!"

Maria drew her weapon, aiming directly at Alexander’s chest. "Give us the chemical compound code for the antidote, Alexander! Now!"

Alexander smiled wickedly, slowly reaching into his jacket pocket. Julian’s reflexes kicked in—he lunged forward, grabbing Alexander’s wrist and smashing him against the mahogany wall. But Alexander didn't pull a gun; he pulled out a small glass vial filled with a glowing blue liquid.

"This is the only dose of the synthetic cure in existence," Alexander whispered, his eyes glinting with madness. "If this glass breaks, your boy dies in less than two hours."

Julian held Alexander pressed against the wall, his hand tightly wrapped around his brother’s throat. "What do you want?"

"I want you to sign over every asset, every offshore account, every patent owned by Vance Global to my offshore entity," Alexander demanded. "And then... I want you to drop your gun and let Maria shoot you."

Julian stared at his brother. "What?"

Alexander laughed hysterically. "Did you really think Maria was just your loyal security officer, Julian? Ask her! Ask her who paid her tuition at the elite tactical academy in Berlin ten years ago! Ask her who gave her the contract to infiltrate Vance Security!"

Julian slowly turned his head to look at Maria.

Maria’s gun was trembling slightly. Her face was pale, tears brimming in her sharp eyes.