The single word from the speakerphone echoed in the pristine, brightly lit jewelry boutique.
*“Everything.”*
The call clicked dead.
Vanessa’s blood turned to ice. Her arrogant smirk shattered, replaced by pure, unadulterated panic. She stumbled backward, her trembling hands flying to her chest, resting right over the massive teardrop diamond necklace Ryan had supposedly bought her an hour ago.
“Catherine, I… I was joking,” Vanessa stammered, her voice cracking. “It’s a misunderstanding!”
Catherine slipped the black smartphone back into her crisp white blazer. She didn’t look angry.
She looked bored.
“Save it,” Catherine said, her voice smooth as crushed glass. “Did you really think a woman who built a billion-dollar empire wouldn’t run a simple background check?”
Vanessa stopped breathing.
“We know about the three other wealthy fiancés, Vanessa. Or should I say, *Chloe*?”
The fake name. The drained bank accounts. The hidden past. Catherine knew it all.
“Ryan never loved you,” Catherine stepped forward, effortlessly reclaiming all the power in the room. “He’s my Vice President of Acquisitions. His job is to identify hostile takeovers. To us, you were just a corporate exercise.”
Vanessa’s eyes frantically darted toward the exit. She had to run. She still had the multimillion-dollar diamond around her neck. She could pawn it, flee the country, disappear—
But as she spun toward the exit, the heavy glass doors of the boutique suddenly clicked shut.
The magnetic lock engaged with a heavy *thud*.
Two armed security guards stepped out from behind the mirrored walls.
“That necklace you’re wearing?” Catherine whispered, adjusting her own pearls with absolute calm. “Ryan didn’t buy it. He borrowed it from my private vault. It’s company property.”
Police sirens began to wail in the distance, growing rapidly louder.
“And my son just reported it stolen.”
Catherine offered one last, chilling smile.
“You told me to stay out of your way. Don’t worry, my dear. I hear the state penitentiary doesn’t cross paths with my estate.”