CHAPTER 3: THE VERDICT
Alexander stood up slowly. Very slowly.
The panicked, desperate son vanished, replaced by a terrifying, absolute stillness. He turned around to face the staircase, his gaze climbing the steps until it locked onto Victoria, who was now clutching the mahogany banister at the top landing, shivering under the weight of his eyes.
"You pushed her," Alexander said. His voice was not a shout; it was a quiet, deadly decree that cut through the cavernous space clearer than thunder.
Victoria shook her head violently, tears instantly filling her eyes as she began descending the steps, keeping a wide distance from the bloodstain at the bottom. "Alexander, please—you have to understand! She was provoking me! She said terrible things about our future, about our wedding! I panicked, I wasn't thinking!"
"You tried to kill my mother," Alexander repeated, his voice devoid of any human warmth.
"No! That's not true!" Victoria cried out, her voice pitching into a hysterical shriek as she reached the bottom step, reaching toward him with manicured hands. "I just wanted her gone! I wanted her out of our lives so we could finally have a fresh start without her constant judgment!"
Silence fell like a heavy verdict over the grand foyer. The only sound remaining was the distant rumble of thunder outside and the labored, shallow breathing of Evelyn on the floor behind him.
Alexander took the tablet from Marcus's hands, his knuckles turning stark white around the frame as he stared at the frozen image of Victoria’s hands against his mother's chest.
"You're leaving this house tonight," Alexander said.
Victoria stared at him in utter horror, her mouth agape. "Alexander... please. Look at me. I love you! We have built our entire lives together!"
Alexander laughed once—a hollow, broken sound that carried no humor, only deep, irreparable damage.
"No," he said, looking at her as if seeing her true face for the very first time. "You never loved me. You loved my name. My money. My house."
Victoria’s frantic panic instantly twisted into sharp, ugly desperation. Her tone hardened, her eyes narrowing as she stepped closer. "You can't do this to me! You need my family’s backing for the merger next month! I gave up three years of my life for you! I gave up everything for you!"
Alexander leaned in closer, his dark eyes burning with cold rage, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper.
"And tonight, you give it all back."
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He gestured to the security detail standing nearby. "Marcus. Escort Miss Lane out of this building immediately. Transfer her personal items to a hotel in a cardboard box. If she sets foot on this property again, have her arrested for criminal trespass. And forward that video footage directly to the district attorney's office."
"Alexander! No! You can't do this to me! Do you know who my father is?!" Victoria screamed as two broad-shouldered security officers stepped forward, seizing her firmly by the arms. She thrashed against their grip, her champagne dress tearing slightly at the shoulder as they physically dragged her toward the heavy mahogany front doors. "Alexander! Listen to me!"
