Chapter 4: The Architect of Lies
"What are you doing down here?!"
A voice thundered from the top of the staircase. Elena spun around.
Her father, Arthur, stood there in his flawless black tuxedo. Two large, armed private security guards flanked him.
"She's alive," Elena cried out, her voice breaking with a mixture of profound relief and unadulterated rage. "You told me she burned in the crash! You stood next to me at the funeral and held my hand!"
Arthur’s face was stone-cold. Completely devoid of any fatherly warmth or guilt.
"She was going to divorce me, Elena," Arthur said simply, descending the stairs. "She had gathered documentation of my offshore embezzlement. If she went to the authorities, I would have lost the company and gone to federal prison. This was the only way to protect our legacy."
He motioned to his guards.
May you like
"Lock the steel door," Arthur ordered. "Take Marcus to the study and keep him there until the guests leave. Elena, you are going to walk upstairs, smile, and marry this man to secure our corporate merger. Or your mother will never see the light of day again."
Marcus stepped directly in front of Elena, shielding her. "You are absolutely out of your mind."
