Chapter 6 - The Anatomy of a Lie
At 7:00 AM, Julian returned to the penthouse.
He instructed his private security team to secretly secure all external elevators and service stairwells.
Inside the dining room, Victoria was dressed in a pristine designer silk blouse, sipping freshly squeezed orange juice while browsing luxury real estate listings on her iPad.
"Julian," Victoria smiled sweetly as he walked in, putting on her practiced facade of loving domesticity. "Did you take care of that awful maid? The agency should have sent a replacement by now."
Julian didn't answer. He walked to the sideboard, poured himself a black coffee, and leaned against the counter, watching her with cold, calculating eyes.
"Victoria," Julian asked mildly. "Do you remember the night the twins were born?"
Victoria’s fingers hesitated on the glass screen for a microsecond before she looked up with a soft, manufactured sigh of sorrow. "Of course I do, darling. It was the most tragic night of our lives. I held Elena’s hand until she slipped away. I promised her I would raise her boys as my own."
"Did she speak to you before she died?" Julian inquired, taking a slow sip.
"She... she was too weak," Victoria said, looking away toward the window. "She just whispered that she loved you and asked me to take care of the family."
"That's strange," Julian murmured, setting his cup down with a sharp clack. "Because according to Dr. Arthur Vance’s private bank ledger, he received an offshore wire transfer of two million dollars from your personal Cayman trust at 3:15 AM that exact same morning."
Victoria went completely rigid. The color drained from her face, leaving her as pale as chalk.
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"What... what are you talking about?" she stammered, her voice tightening. "Arthur was our doctor. That was for medical expenses!"
"Medical expenses don't require an untraceable Cayman routing number, Victoria," Julian said, his voice dropping to a terrifying register. "Nor do they require buying eighty gallons of industrial accelerant twelve hours before a hospital morgue mysteriously burns to the ground."
