Chapter 2

"Impossible!"

Julian gripped the second-floor railing, his face flushed red. "That body, the blonde hair, the perfume... There's absolutely no way I mistook her for Eleanor!"

I leaned against the edge of the console, not even bothering to lift my eyelids.

"Julian, did you fail to grasp even the basic genetic inheritance of an old-money family? Aunt Bellis is Eleanor's biological aunt. Their bone structure and hair color are practically identical. You turned off the lights, and add to that your brain being addled by the billion-dollar merger—"

I shifted my gaze to the corner. "Aunt, last night you were wearing Eleanor's emerald necklace, weren't you? And you used her rose perfume?"

Aunt Bellis snapped open her diamond-studded folding fan to cover half her face, shooting a look of disgust at the second floor. "What an idiot. You’re not just blind, you’re as clumsy and barbaric as an uncivilized hillbilly."

The hall exploded.

The way the relatives looked at Julian instantly shifted from "respect" to mockery.

"So he actually slept with Bellis..."

"I told you, Eleanor has always been above it all. How could she ever fall for an opportunistic bottom-feeder like him?"

My cousin even laughed out loud, pointing directly at Julian on the second floor without any hesitation. "Julian, you could have at least switched on a lamp! Using an aunt's photo to force a niece to abdicate... is your Wall Street elite brain filled with sewer waste?"

The roaring laughter of the entire room twisted Julian's facial features.

He slammed his fist onto the railing, his face contorted. "Shut up! So what if I slept with the wrong person?! I am the only one who can manage this billion-dollar merger!"

"Madam, I want Eleanor, and I want the Vice Chairman seat on the board! Without me, the Beman family's capital chain will break by the end of the month!"

The laughter was snuffed out instantly.

Everyone reined in their expressions and looked toward the mother-in-law at the head of the table.

Money was indeed the most important thing to this old-money family.

The mother-in-law caressed her jade bangle, her eyes icy, completely devoid of guilt.

She cast a glance at Eleanor, who sat at the end of the long table remaining as silent as an ice sculpture, and then stared dead at me.

"Arthur, you have been wronged," she began. "But the one-billion-dollar fund is vital to this family. We must prioritize the big picture."

"Starting tomorrow, the family will announce to the public that you committed adultery during your marriage, and that Eleanor was forced to divorce you and is now engaged to Julian."

"Mother!" Eleanor slammed her champagne glass onto the tabletop.

"Shut up! You are a daughter of the Beman family!" The mother-in-law slammed her hand on the table. "Butler, take Arthur to the South Wing and put him under house arrest. Confiscate his phone. He is not to take a single step outside until he signs the papers!"

On the second floor, Julian let out a maniacal laugh. "Hear that, you piece of trash? Your mother-in-law is going to lock you up like a dog and send your wife to my bed!"

Several bodyguards closed in from the side doors.

I didn't resist. I simply loosened my tie, exchanged a glance with Eleanor, and curled my lips into a smile.

"Madam, you are cold-blooded enough. But Julian—" I smiled as I looked up at the second floor. "Are you ready to pay the price for sleeping with the wrong person?"

"Stop trying to act mysterious!"

"Sleeping with the heir is a game of power. But sleeping with Aunt Bellis..." My tone suddenly turned freezing. "Did you not know that her legal husband is a psychopath who uses human blood as paint?"

The hand Aunt Bellis was using to fan herself stopped abruptly.

"Richard Crawford. Swiss high-risk psychiatric hospital. Five years ago, a young master from a branch family simply touched Bellis's arm at a banquet." I stared dead at Julian. "Three days later, Richard used a scalpel to slice open the muscle of his right arm, and used a polisher to grind his arm bone into a piece of 'art'."

Julian's smile froze; his Adam's apple bobbed.

"And you, not only did you screw his wife, you even posted the photo to a group chat of two hundred people."

I clicked the presenter pointer.

An encrypted email popped up on the big screen:

[Richard Crawford — Departure and Bail Application Approved]

[Estimated Arrival at New York JFK Airport: 23:00 Tonight]

"If I were you, the billion-dollar merger should be the least of your worries right now. You should be worrying if your skeleton is qualified to be exhibited in Richard's basement."

Staring at the glaring flight countdown on the screen, Julian's eyes were instantly filled with terror.

He scrambled frantically down the stairs, pleading with the mother-in-law, "Madam, you have to protect me! You can't let me die—I'm the only one who can maneuver this billion-dollar funds pool! I have to sign the papers tomorrow morning, or Wall Street won't wire the money!"

Faced with a cash cow on the verge of an emotional breakdown, the mother-in-law's previously harsh and cold face instantly softened.

As the woman who controlled the absolute power of the Beman family, her greatest skill was the hypocritical art of manipulating people.

"Calm down, Julian." The mother-in-law personally poured a glass of warm water and handed it to him, using an extremely soothing, bewitching tone. "Even if Richard is discharged early, this is Manhattan. This is the Beman Estate. Our family has the top private armed security in the entire country. As long as you sign those papers smoothly tomorrow morning and let that billion into the family account, you will be the greatest, most meritorious hero of the Beman family."

She reached out and gently patted Julian's stiff shoulder, her eyes full of the certainty of her empty promises. "Rest easy in the estate. I assure you, not even a fly will be able to get near your room tonight. As long as you are inside the estate, even a madman won't be able to touch a hair on your head. As soon as the funds arrive, I will arrange a private jet to fly you out so you can lay low."

The mother-in-law's words were like a powerful tranquilizer.

Julian recovered a bit of color in his face, nodding repeatedly. "Right... Right! I hold a billion in my hand, and there is top-tier security here. There's no way a lunatic can get in..."

I stood where I was, nothing but a cold sneer in my eyes.

"Take Arthur to the South Wing!" the mother-in-law commanded, reverting to her cold face.

The bodyguards were just about to make their move.

Creak—

The two heavy mahogany doors suddenly let out a long, dull hum as they were slowly pushed open.

The old butler walked in trembling, holding a black plastic package in both hands. Tears mingled with cold sweat sliding down his face.

His eyes were fixed dead on Julian, as if looking at a corpse.

"Madam, a black box truck with no license plates... smashed through the gates and dropped this off..."

The old butler shivered as he pulled out a card, using a quivering voice to read out a short sentence that made everyone's blood run cold—

[Judging from the photo, your skeletal proportions are an excellent match with my wife's. Mr. Julian, I very much look forward to our dissection and interview shortly, alongside my wife. — R.C]

Julian's face went instantly corpse-white.

Smack. The folding fan in Aunt Bellis's hand dropped flat onto the floor.