Downstairs in the sunlit solarium, the atmosphere was tense. Claudius stormed in, pouring himself another drink.
Beatriz Lucas sat on the floral-patterned sofa, sipping tea. She was the picture of corporate elegance, a stark contrast to the family drama unfolding. A large sapphire ring sparkled on her finger—a recent gift from Claudius.
“She knows,” Claudius said, downing his scotch. “She knows about the Cayman accounts. She called it Blue Water Holdings.”
Beatriz’s hand jerked, splashing hot tea on her wrist. “How? She’s just a glorified paralegal. Her job was to make you look good, not audit our ledgers.”
“We underestimated her,” Victoria said from her high-backed chair. “Perhaps the old fox Elliott gave her an insurance policy.”
“She’s changed,” Claudius muttered. “The way she looked at me… like she was calculating my net worth before liquidating me.”
Beatriz stood and walked over to straighten Claudius’s tie, an intimate and possessive gesture. “It doesn’t matter. If she won’t leave that room, she’s just a crazy woman. We can fake a psychiatric evaluation. Declare her incompetent. Then custody, and control of her escrowed funds, comes to us.”
Victoria nodded. “I’ve already contacted Dr. Evans. He’ll be here with a straitjacket in thirty minutes.”
In the red-lit suite upstairs, Callie pressed the satellite phone to her ear. The connection was clear. She wasn’t listening to a bugged intercom; she was listening to a feed from a microphone disguised as a cufflink, a gift she’d given Claudius two weeks ago.
Static crackled, then voices came through her tiny earpiece.
“…once she’s in the asylum, we can have our wedding on the Amalfi Coast,” Beatriz’s voice drifted through.
Callie’s hand tightened around the phone. Beatriz. Her so-called friend, the woman who had once strategized with her on Morton Media acquisitions, was now planning a wedding on the ashes of Callie’s life.
A wave of nausea—the ghost of the heartbroken, betrayed old Callie. But the strategist crushed it. Emotions were data, and data demanded action.
“You want to be the lady of the house?” Callie whispered to the silent room. “Let me give you a proper housewarming.”
She dialed a new number. “Mr. Davies,” she said, her voice composed. “It’s time. Execute Contingency Plan Alpha. Yes, the SEC referral. And have the car ready at the south gate. You now have a sixty-minute window.”
Callie moved. She walked to the bed. There would be no chemical warfare, no desperate struggle. She pulled the heavy silk sheets from the bed and began braiding them into a strong, load-bearing rope. Her escape would be silent, precise, and utterly unexpected.
