Chapter 6 - The Return of the Master
The heavy front doors of the mansion clicked shut behind Dante as he stepped into the grand foyer. His tall, imposing figure cast an intimidating shadow across the polished marble floor.
Victoria rushed toward him, her face contrived into an expression of profound exhaustion and manufactured distress. She threw her arms around his neck, burying her face against his chest in a theatrical display of relief.
"Dante, darling, you're back early," she murmured, letting out a trembling sigh designed to sound like weeks of suppressed anxiety. "Thank heaven. It has been absolute chaos here while you were away."
Dante didn't hug her back. His arms remained at his sides, his dark, piercing eyes staring straight ahead over her shoulder. The chilling coldness in his gaze made Victoria step back instinctively, an uneasy flicker crossing her features.
"Chaos, Victoria?" Dante's voice was a low, controlled rumble that vibrated through the silent foyer. "In my house?"
"Well—not chaos in the traditional sense," Victoria quickly recovered, smoothing down her designer dress and adopting an expression of grave concern. "It's the staff, Dante. Specifically... your head housekeeper, Grace. I didn't want to bother you in New York with trivial matters, but things have gotten entirely out of hand."
From the top of the grand staircase, Emma and Chloe appeared, clutching each other's hands as they looked down into the foyer. Behind them stood Grace, her face calm but watchful.
Victoria immediately seized the moment, raising her voice so it carried up the stairs.
"See? Look at them, Dante. They've been completely corrupted by her lack of discipline. But that's not even the worst of it." Victoria turned back to Dante, opening the sleek leather folder she had retrieved from his private study. "While you were away, I conducted a routine audit of the household accounts, as you always encourage me to be proactive with the estate's management. Look at these transfer logs."
She shoved the printed documents into his hands.
"Grace has been systematically embezzling funds from your offshore corporate accounts for over three years. Millions of dollars, funneled straight into a secret account under her maiden name. I caught her trying to access the terminal again just this afternoon."
Victoria looked up at him, her eyes wide with manufactured righteousness. "She's a thief, Dante. And worse, she's been poisoning the girls' minds against me, teaching them to disrespect their future mother. You need to fire her immediately—and hand her over to federal authorities before she does even more damage."
Silence descended upon the grand foyer. The air felt thick, charged with an invisible, suffocating tension.
Dante slowly looked down at the papers in his hands. He didn't read them. Instead, he let out a single, humorless laugh—a sharp, cynical sound that made Victoria's blood run cold.
"You're very thorough, Victoria," Dante said softly, lifting his gaze to meet hers. "You fabricated transfer logs, mirrored the offshore interface, and even staged an audit trail. A truly impressive performance."
May you like
Victoria's smile faltered, replaced by a sudden, frantic confusion. "Dante? What... what are you talking about? These are right here in black and white—"
"Marcus," Dante said without looking away from Victoria's widening eyes. "Bring up the main display."
