The slap silenced the ballroom.

The silence in the study was absolute, broken only by the crackle of the rain against the tall leaded-glass windows.

"You're insane," Celeste said, her voice dropping into a razor-sharp whisper. "You can't cover up a double murder, Marcus. Julian knows we're here. The police know!"

Marcus smiled—a cold, mechanical stretching of his lips that didn't reach his dark eyes. "Julian Ross is currently sitting in his car two miles away, completely unaware that his cell phone signal has been jammed by our perimeter transport vehicle. And as for the police... Chief Vance of the local precinct owes his entire career to Lydia's political donations. By the time the arson investigators arrive, there won't be enough left of this wing to prove anything other than an electrical fire."

Lydia stepped forward, her cane tapping sharply against the hardwood floor. She looked at Anna, her eyes narrowed in pure disgust.

"You should have stayed buried in Buffalo, girl," Lydia said coldly. "I gave you a life. I let you live in that state facility instead of having you quietly eliminated eighteen years ago. You should have been grateful."

Anna didn't flinch. She stepped out from behind Celeste, her head held high, looking Lydia straight in the eye.

"You didn't spare me out of mercy, Lydia," Anna said, her voice ringing clear and strong through the room. "You kept me alive because you were terrified that if you killed a child, your conscience—whatever tiny, shriveled piece of it you have left—would drive you mad. You were a coward then, and you're a coward now."

Lydia’s face flushed a deep, ugly red. "Shoot them, Marcus. Do it now."

Marcus raised the gun higher, his finger tightening around the trigger. "Goodbye, Celeste. You really were a lovely wife while it lasted."

CRASH!

Without warning, the tall leaded-glass window behind Marcus exploded inward in a shower of sharp crystal and heavy wood.

A heavy steel grappling hook swung through the shattered window, accompanied by the deafening roar of a flashbang grenade bursting inside the study. A blinding white light and a concussive shockwave knocked Marcus sideways, sending his gun skittering across the floor.

Lydia screamed, falling back against the mahogany desk as thick white smoke filled the room.

"Get down!" Celeste screamed, tackling Anna to the floor beneath the heavy oak table just as three armed men clad in black tactical gear burst through the shattered window, their submachine guns raised.

"State Police! Hands in the air! Don't move!" a booming voice shouted through the smoke.

Marcus scrambled across the floor, reaching desperately for his fallen pistol.

"Freeze!" a tactical officer barked, stepping on Marcus’s hand with a heavy combat boot. A sharp crack echoed through the room as Marcus let out a guttural howl of pain, his hand crushed beneath the boot. The officer yanked Marcus’s arms behind his back, snapping heavy steel handcuffs around his wrists.

Through the clearing smoke, a tall figure stepped through the ruined window frame, wearing a rain-soaked trench coat and holding a tablet displaying a live warrant.

It was Julian Ross—and beside him stood Assistant District Attorney Sarah Sterling.

"Sorry we're late, Celeste," Julian said, stepping over the broken glass with a tired smile. "The jamming signal was a nice touch, but Marcus forgot that I filed an emergency federal habeas corpus petition three hours ago. The FBI and State Police have been tracking his location via his satellite phone since midnight."

ADA Sterling walked over to Lydia, who was trembling violently against the desk, her face pale as a sheet.

"Lydia Vance," Sterling announced, pulling a document from her coat. "You are under arrest for grand larceny, wire fraud, falsification of legal documents, child endangerment, and attempted murder. You have the right to remain silent."

"You can't arrest me!" Lydia shrieked as an officer cuffed her wrists behind her back. "I am a Vance! This estate belongs to me! My brother was a fool! He didn't deserve that money!"

Celeste stood up slowly, helping Anna to her feet. She picked up the three leather-bound ledger books from the safe and held them tightly against her chest.

She walked over to where Marcus was being held against the wall by two state troopers. He looked up at her, his hair disheveled, blood dripping from a cut on his forehead, his eyes wild with desperation.

"Celeste... please," Marcus begged, his confident composure completely shattered. "Listen to me... I was forced into this by Lydia! She threatened to ruin my firm! I loved you, Celeste! I can give you everything back—"

Celeste looked down at him with a silence so vast, so absolute, it was more crushing than any slap.

She reached down, unclasped her silver heart pendant from her neck, and dropped it into his hand.