The elevator chime pierced the penthouse at 6:00 AM. Nigel smoothed his lapels, ready to intercept intruders.
Steel doors slid open.
Cordelia Bartlett strode out, trench coat swirling. Four Blackwater-tier guards flanked her. Nigel raised a hand: "Mr. and Mrs. Camacho are—"
Alex Stone slammed his shoulder into the butler's chest. Nigel skidded across marble.
Allegra emerged from the hallway, clutching Rosalie. She leaned against the doorframe, surgical incision burning beneath her silk robe. Sweat beaded on her pale forehead.
Cordelia ripped off her sunglasses. The CEO mask shattered. She rushed forward—then froze, noticing her sister's wince. Gentle. Her hug became a careful cradle, avoiding the bandaged abdomen.
Whoa, Rosalie's mental voice chirped. Auntie who loses a kidney to a crypto bro?
Allegra flinched. Coffee sloshed over her hand—but the real pain was the vision of Cordelia bleeding out in a Bangkok alley.
"Ally!" Cordelia dabbed the burn, eyes narrowing at Allegra's tremor. "What did that bastard—"
"Julian." Allegra gripped her sister's wrist. "The crypto returns... check the IP. Now."
Cordelia went statue-still. She hadn't told a soul about Julian.
"The baby—" Nigel wheezed from the floor, fumbling for his walkie-talkie. "Mr. Camacho said she was—"
Alex snatched the radio and dunked it into a Ming vase. Bubbles rose in the murky water.
Cordelia didn't glance at Nigel. Her gaze locked on Rosalie—alive, breathing, staring. Kyler's lie crystallized: psychotic break over a dead child. Rage ignited in her eyes.
She whipped out her phone. "Freeze the twenty-million wire to Julian Vanguard. Flag it as fraud." Hanging up, she stared at Allegra: "How?"
"Mother's intuition." Allegra pressed Rosalie's warm cheek to Cordelia's palm—proof of life. "Now we're even."
Cordelia trembled. From her bag's hidden lining, she produced a matte-black phone. "Military encryption. Kyler's bugs are deaf to this."
Allegra clasped the cold metal. A loaded gun.
The master bedroom door clicked open. Kyler emerged in silk pajamas, feigning sleepiness. His smile died at the armed guards.
"Cordelia! What a—"
"I'm taking Ally shopping." Cordelia slid into her spoiled heiress persona, but venom laced every word. "This mausoleum reeks of incompetence."
Kyler stepped closer, oozing false concern. "Her doctor ordered bed rest."
"Funny." Cordelia's laugh was ice shards. "Doctors also declared my niece dead last night." She nodded at Rosalie's stirring form. "Your incompetence spans life and death, Kyler."
His face purpled. The guards shifted, hands brushing jacket hems where weapons bulged. Kyler's fists clenched—powerless in his own domain.
