Chapter 6 - The Screen of Judgment
Claire’s face went completely bloodless.
“No!” Claire screamed, dropping all pretense of elegance. “The technicians haven't finished calibrating the sound! Julian, shut off the main power!”
Julian turned to dash toward the control booth, but two burly men in plain black suits stepped out from behind the velvet curtains, blocking his path. They weren't Ashford security. They flashed badges. Federal agents.
Adrian had signaled his personal security detail thirty seconds after Mara handed him the first photograph.
High above the ballroom floor, the massive, twelve-foot LED wall flickered to life. The guests turned their heads toward the display, expecting romantic montages of Adrian and Claire vacationing in Aspen or Saint-Tropez.
Instead, the screen illuminated a pristine audio waveform accompanied by timestamped text logs.
A woman’s voice—crisp, arrogant, and unmistakably Claire’s—blared through the state-of-the-art surround sound speakers:
*“The prenuptial agreement is ironclad. Once the minister finishes the ceremony tomorrow afternoon, Adrian boards the yacht alone to greet the overseas investors. Ensure the fuel lines leak into the engine manifold twenty minutes off the coast. Make sure he burns before the coast guard can respond.”*
A man’s voice answered: *“And the eight point four million?”*
Claire’s voice: *“Half now, half when the fifty-million-dollar insurance claim clears. The funeral will be closed-casket.”*
Silence fell over the ballroom. A silence so thick, so heavy, that the ticking of the grandfather clock in the foyer sounded like thunder.
May you like
👉 *Click to read Part 7: How did Claire react when her empire of lies collapsed?*
***
