In the cavernous, wood-paneled study of the Ruiz mansion in Beverly Hills, Leland Ruiz polished a golf club with a soft cloth. He was a man in his sixties, with a patrician air and the cold eyes of a predator.
His younger brother, Bennet, paced the expensive rug, his movements jerky with anxiety. "Leland, we have a problem. The man I hired... he's vanished."
Leland's polishing cloth paused. "What do you mean, vanished?"
"He's not answering his phone. He's not at his apartment. He's just... gone," Bennet said, his voice tight.
Leland's brow furrowed. "And Alicia? Any word from the police?"
"That's the strangest part. There's no record of a crash on Mulholland that night. The Porsche is gone, too."
A musical voice drifted from the doorway. "Maybe she just got lucky and is hiding somewhere, licking her wounds."
Breonna Ruiz, the "true heir," glided in, wearing a silk robe and carrying a glass of champagne. She was stunningly beautiful and radiated an aura of entitled privilege.
She draped herself over Bennet's arm-a brief, possessive gesture-and smiled at Leland. "Daddy, you worry too much. What can one little orphan girl who we kicked to the curb possibly do?"
Bennet nodded in agreement. "Breonna's right. Maybe the guy took the money and ran. Alicia is probably too scared to ever show her face again."
Leland wasn't convinced. "I'm not worried about her. I'm worried about loose ends. The man we used cannot be traced back to us."
Just then, Leland's personal assistant knocked and entered, his face pale. He held out a tablet. "Sir. You need to see the latest headline from TMZ."
On the screen was a crystal-clear photo of Alicia, sitting in a coffee shop, deep in conversation with her agent, Elliot Vance. She looked calm, poised, and powerful. Nothing like a victim.
The headline read: [EXCLUSIVE] After Public Downfall, Alicia Ruiz Plots Comeback with Super-Agent Elliot Vance.
Breonna's smile froze, then twisted into a snarl. "Impossible! How dare she!"
Bennet's face went slack with shock. He couldn't comprehend how she was not only alive, but already planning her next move.
Leland stared at the photo, his eyes locked on Alicia's. "She's changed."
He felt a cold knot of dread in his stomach. Things were spinning out of his control. A girl who should be dead was back, and she seemed stronger.
"Where did she get the money to hire Elliot Vance?" Breonna hissed, her voice thick with jealousy. "That vampire doesn't work for free."
A terrible thought occurred to Bennet. "Unless... she has a new backer."
The idea hung in the air, thick and poisonous. It wasn't Alicia they feared. It was the unknown, powerful figure who might now be standing behind her.
"Bennet, find out!" Leland commanded, his voice a low growl. "Find out who she's been meeting. Find out where her money is coming from. I want to know what she's holding in her hand!"
He turned to Breonna. "You. Get our PR team on it. I want every piece of dirt on her re-circulated. I want her buried in bad press so deep she can never dig herself out."
Breonna's eyes glittered with malice. "With pleasure, Daddy. I'll remind her who the real Miss Ruiz is."
The atmosphere in the study crackled with a new, unfamiliar fear.
Leland picked up the golf club, his knuckles white. With a sudden roar of fury, he swung it, smashing a crystal decanter on his desk into a thousand glittering pieces.
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