"I Had No Idea Why She’d Set Me Up… Until The Truth Came Out And Left Her Speechless.

The heavy steel door of the prison visitation room shut with a loud, metallic clack, locking out the noise of the maximum-security state facility.

I sat at a cold metal table, separated from the rest of the room by a thick panel of reinforced glass. Moments later, the guard escorted Vanessa inside.

She looked completely unrecognizable. The tailored designer gowns and diamond jewelry were replaced by a faded orange jumpsuit. Bruises colored her left jaw line—proof of the violent prison fight the nurse had mentioned. Yet as she sat down across from me and picked up the heavy plastic telephone receiver, a flicker of her old, venomous pride lit up her eyes.

I picked up my receiver and pressed it to my ear. "You said you had information about Julian’s contingency fund, Vanessa."

Vanessa let out a dry, rasping laugh. "Always straight to business, aren't you, Maya? No 'How are you holding up in prison, Vanessa?' No small talk?"

"We aren't friends, Vanessa. We never were," I replied coldly. "Tell me why I’m here, or I walk out that door."

Vanessa’s expression hardened. She leaned closer to the glass, her dark eyes narrowing. "I didn't call you here to give you Julian’s money, Maya. I called you here to tell you that you’re celebrating your victory way too soon."

My brow furrowed. "Julian is facing thirty years in federal prison. Your father is ruined. There’s nothing left for you to play with."

"Do you really think Julian was the mastermind behind forty million dollars of corporate embezzlement?" Vanessa whispered, a chilling smile spreading across her lips. "Julian is lazy, greedy, and arrogant. He couldn't set up a multi-layered offshore laundering system in the Caymans if his life depended on it."

A cold knot began to tighten in my stomach. "What are you saying?"

"Julian was just the front man," Vanessa revealed, her voice dripping with toxic delight. "The real architect of the scheme—the person who actually forged your father’s signature seven years ago and arranged the hit-and-run—was never exposed at the Gala."

My breath hitched. "Who?"

"Someone who sits at the very top of Vance Enterprises," Vanessa purred. "Someone who watched you clear your father's name while keeping his own hands completely spotless. Julian was getting cold feet in holding, so the architect offered him a deal: take the fall, keep his mouth shut, and once the heat dies down, he’ll inherit the entire offshore reserve."

I stared at her through the glass, trying to spot a lie in her face. But there was no deception in her eyes—only pure, vengeful glee. She wanted to destroy my newfound peace.

"Why tell me this?" I asked, forcing my voice to remain steady.

"Because I hate you, Maya," Vanessa sneered, her fingers gripping the plastic receiver until her knuckles turned white. "But I hate him even more for leaving my family to rot in prison while he lives in luxury. You want the whole truth for your saintly father? Dig into the foundation transfers from seven years ago—specifically the accounts approved by Lord Harrison Vance."

The name hit me like a physical blow.

Lord Harrison. Daniel’s grandfather. The founding patriarch of the dynasty.

Before I could ask another question, Vanessa hung up her receiver, stood up, and signaled to the guard. As she was led away back into the dark corridor, she glanced back over her shoulder one last time, mouthing three silent words: Trust no one.

I stepped out of the facility into the pouring rain, my head spinning. Daniel was waiting for me inside the idling town car. When I opened the door and pulled myself into the leather seat, he took one look at my pale face and immediately took my ice-cold hand.

"Maya, what happened?" Daniel asked urgently. "What did she say?"

I looked into Daniel’s eyes—eyes that held nothing but deep, genuine love for me. Lord Harrison was the man who raised Daniel after his parents passed away. He was Daniel's ultimate hero and mentor.

If Vanessa was telling the truth, exposing the patriarch wouldn't just tear the company apart—it would completely destroy the man I loved.