## Chapter 6: The Truth Unveiled
# The Glass Inheritance
Victoria laughed, a harsh, jagged sound. “How did you get past security? Someone call the police!”
“The police are already here, Victoria,” Julian said, stepping onto the stage. He held up a tablet, connected to the massive projector screens meant for the charity slideshow. “But they aren't here for Emily.”
With a swipe of his finger, the screens changed. Instead of photos of orphans and hospitals, they showed bank statements. Dozens of them. Transfers from the Blackwood Foundation to offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands.
“What is this?” a major donor shouted from the front row.
“This,” Julian said, his voice echoing, “is the reason my wife was so desperate to frame Emily. She needed a scandal to distract from her own crimes. Over the last five years, Victoria has embezzled nearly twelve million dollars from this foundation to fund her family’s failing estate in Italy.”
Victoria’s face went white. She lunged for the tablet, but Julian held it out of reach.
“You’re lying!” she screamed, her poise disintegrating. “He’s doing this to protect his mistress!”
“I’m doing this to protect the truth,” Julian said. He looked down at Emily. “And the woman I love.”
The room erupted. Cameras flashed as the socialites realized they were witnessing the scandal of the century. Two men in suits—actual federal agents Julian had contacted—stepped from the wings of the stage.
“Victoria Blackwood, you’re under investigation for wire fraud and embezzlement,” the agent said.
Victoria looked around at the crowd, the people who had kissed her ring for years. They were all pulling away, their faces filled with judgment. She looked at Emily, her eyes burning with a final, impotent rage.
“You think you’ve won?” Victoria hissed as they led her away. “He’ll get bored of you in a month!”
May you like
Emily didn't blink. “Maybe. But at least I’ll be able to sleep at night.”
As Victoria was escorted out through the service entrance—a poetic irony not lost on anyone—the ballroom remained in a state of shock. Julian stepped off the stage and walked straight to Emily.
