But then—
A voice cut through the moment.
“How touching.”
She froze.
Slowly… she turned.
Adrian stood in the doorway.
Clapping.
Smiling.
“I thought you’d find him sooner,” he said.
Victoria stood up, her expression turning cold again.
“It was you.”
“Of course,” he replied. “Did you really think I’d let them all die?”
Her voice shook with rage.
“You threw them into the river!”
“Yes,” he said calmly. “But one… was worth keeping.”
The silence was suffocating.
“Worth… keeping?”
He stepped closer to the bed.
“My blood. My heir.”
Victoria felt something inside her snap.
“You’re a monster.”
“No,” he said. “I’m practical.”
Her hands clenched.
“And the other four…?”
He met her eyes.
And said nothing.
That was enough.
Victoria closed her eyes briefly.
When she opened them again—
There was no grief left.
Only resolve.
“Then tonight… it ends.”
Adrian smirked.
“You think you can stop me?”
At that exact moment—
The lights went out.
Sirens.
Footsteps.
Shouting.
“Police! Don’t move!”
Adrian’s expression shifted.
“What did you do…?”
Victoria looked at him calmly.
“I told you. This was just the beginning.”
She held up a small device.
“Three years,” she said. “Watching. Waiting. Recording.”
