Chapter 8 - The Calculated Entrance
When Lily had finally found Clara in the private dressing room, crying hysterically and barely able to breathe, she had recounted every single detail and word she had heard in the dark corridor. Clara had listened with terrifying calm, pulling her daughter into a tight embrace. Her heart bled for her innocent child, but her mind instantly sharpened into diamond-hard resolve.
Clara had not panicked. She immediately called her private security team to secure every exit of the Grand Regent Hotel and alerted the federal financial crimes division, who were already investigating Julian Thorne for international money laundering.
Clara knew she couldn't simply stop the toast in private; she needed Patrick, Victoria, and Julian to expose themselves completely in front of two hundred wealthy board members, shareholders, and media reporters. She waited for the exact second Victoria held the glass of champagne, trapped by her own arrogance.
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Now, standing in the middle of the glittering ballroom, Clara looked at Patrick’s collapsing, terrified face with cool, unyielding triumph. The trap was sprung, and there was no escape.
👉 Read PART 9 to see Victoria try to wriggle out of the trap in front of the crowd!
