Chapter 9 - THE FRACTURE
Victoria pulled her wrist free, taking three swift steps back into the hallway.
"You're insane," Victoria breathed, her heart hammering against her ribs.
"I’m efficient," Sophia corrected, smoothing down her silk robe. "Your brother signed the transfer documents two hours ago. Tomorrow at 5:00 PM, the merger closes, forty billion dollars clears through my routing accounts, and your father’s legacy becomes an empty shell."
Victoria didn't answer. She turned and ran up the stairs toward Ethan’s master suite, throwing the double doors open without knocking.
Ethan was asleep, but he sat up abruptly as the light flooded the room. "Victoria? What the hell are you doing?"
"Ethan, get up!" Victoria shouted, her voice trembling. "She's raiding the study safe! She's scanning Father's private trust records! She just threatened to frame me!"
Sophia walked into the bedroom behind her, wearing a soft cardigan over her nightgown, her eyes wide with hurt, tears already welling in her lower lids.
"Ethan..." Sophia whimpered softly, wrapping her arms around herself. "I came down to get a glass of water, and Victoria was in the study going through your private desk drawers. When I asked her what she was doing, she grabbed me and started screaming that I was destroying the family..."
Ethan looked from his sister's flushed, panicked face to his wife's trembling, tear-streaked eyes.
The choice took him less than two seconds.
"Get out of my room, Victoria," Ethan commanded, his voice cold and disgusted.
"Ethan, listen to me!" Victoria cried out. "She's lying! She played you from the beginning! Look at her—she's doing the exact same thing she did to Father!"
"I SAID GET OUT!" Ethan roared, stepping out of bed and pointing toward the hallway. "You've been trying to sabotage my leadership since yesterday! You're just as bitter as Father because I'm the one closing the Vance-Gauthier deal!"
Victoria stood frozen, looking at her brother. The realization hit her like a physical blow: Ethan was completely lost in the trap. He would burn the entire family to protect his fragile pride.
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"You fool," Victoria whispered, tears finally slipping down her face. "She isn't going to make you king, Ethan. She's going to make you a pauper."
She turned and walked out, the heavy bedroom doors slamming shut behind her.
