Chapter 5 - The Sister’s Betrayal
Back at Blackwood House, the atmosphere had deteriorated from corporate panic into toxic domestic civil war.
Olivia Vale sat in front of the massive mahogany vanity in the master bedroom—the very room Helena had shared with Adrian for six years. The gold-framed mirror reflected a young woman who looked thoroughly terrified. The white ceremonial coat lay crumpled in the corner like discarded trash, ignored by everyone.
The bedroom door slammed open so hard the frame splintered.
Adrian strode into the room, his eyes bloodshot, his hair disheveled. He looked like a feral animal trapped in a burning cage.
“Where is it?” Adrian demanded, grabbing Olivia by the shoulders and hauling her out of the vanity chair.
“Adrian! You’re hurting me!” Olivia screamed, trying to pry his heavy hands off her arms.
“Where did she put the master cryptographic keys to the offshore server?” Adrian shouted, shaking her violently. “Your father left them in a safety deposit box in Portland, and Helena has already filed a federal writ of replevin to seize them! If she locks us out of the offshore accounts by midnight, we won't even be able to pay our personal security detail!”
“I don't know!” Olivia sobbed, tears streaming down her face as the horrific reality of what she had traded her sister for finally crashed down upon her. “I don't know anything about offshore accounts! You said Helena was just a figurehead! You said once we signed the resolution, everything would belong to us!”
Adrian shoved her away with such force that she stumbled backward, crashing hard against the edge of the mahogany bed before collapsing onto the floor.
He didn't even look down at her.
“You’re useless,” Adrian hissed, his voice venomous. “Both of you. Helena warned me you were ambitious, but I thought you were just stupid. Turns out you’re both.”
He turned and stormed out of the bedroom, slamming the heavy door behind him.
Olivia lay curled on the Persian rug, weeping uncontrollably. The crown she had schemed for, the title she had betrayed her own sister to steal, turned out to be nothing more than a heavy iron collar in a dungeon.
Her phone buzzed on the floor beside her hand.
She reached out with a shaking finger and picked it up. A text message from an unknown number flashed across the screen:
Your personal accounts at the First Marine Bank of Grayhaven have been frozen pursuant to a civil asset forfeiture petition filed by Vale Logistics LLC.
May you like
Olivia stared at the screen in absolute horror.
Helena hadn't just taken the company. She had taken everything down to the last penny Olivia had stashed in her private savings. She was completely, utterly destitute—abandoned by Adrian, despised by the council, and stripped of every illusion of power she had ever harbored.
