Chapter 46 - The Stolen Cipher
For three agonizing seconds, the only sound in the grand library was the crash of the Atlantic waves against the bluffs below. Valerie stared into my eyes, searching for a tremor, a flinch, any sign of the timid woman who had once stood terrified in that dressing room while makeup was poured over her head.
She found none.
Her hand began to shake. Her knuckles turned white around the matte-black casing of the detonator. She realized, with sudden, terrifying clarity, that I wasn't the broken sister she remembered. The fire that Daniel had lit inside me had burned away every vestige of mercy.
With a feral hiss, Valerie didn't press the button—she hurled the heavy detonator straight at my face and lunged across the desk.
I ducked instinctively, the hard plastic glancing off my shoulder plate with a dull thud. Before I could recover, Valerie’s fingers hooked into the torn neckline of my dress, dragging me downward into the scatter of crystal and paperwork. The desk gave way beneath our combined weight, sending the heavy vintage snifter shattering across the hardwood floor.
"You took everything that was supposed to be mine!" Valerie snarled, her manicured fingers clawing for my throat. "Father chose you! He gave you the public empire, the society marriage, the Montgomery name—while I was forced to forge our fortune in the European underworld!"
"You chose exile!" I gasped, twisting my body to leverage my hips. The tactical training Julian had drilled into me during the weeks of Daniel’s siege took over. I drove my elbow upward into her ribs, feeling the sharp crunch of bone through her silk suit.
Valerie screamed, releasing her grip and stumbling backward against the marble fireplace. Her hand swept across the mantle, knocking down an antique bronze bust, and came back holding a thin, silver-bladed letter opener.
"Serena, move!" Julian roared, advancing into the room, his gun leveled.
"No, Julian! Don't shoot!" I shouted, scrambling to my feet, glass shards grinding under my heels. "She has the master offshore cipher memorized! If you kill her, twenty million in frozen trust accounts disappear into the dark web forever!"
Valerie backed toward the shattered French doors leading out onto the stormy cliff terrace, rain already sweeping across the parquet floors. Blood trickled from a split in her lower lip, staining her immaculate ivory jacket.
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"You think you’ve won, little sister?" Valerie laughed breathlessly, holding the blade defensively before her. "Daniel wasn't the only dog I had on a leash. Look out your front gates, Serena. The real cleanup crew has arrived."
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