CHAPTER 5 THE SISTER WHO CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD
The ballroom fell into absolute silence.
Not the silence of confusion.
The silence of people realizing the story they believed for years had just been ripped apart.
Every gaze fixed on the woman standing beneath the grand entrance.
She carried herself with effortless confidence.
Dark emerald dress.
Black gloves.
A single strand of pearls.
She looked no older than forty, yet her eyes held the weight of someone who had survived a lifetime of secrets.
"Catherine..."
Alexander repeated quietly.
The woman inclined her head.
"It's been a long time."
Victoria felt her knees weaken.
Richard's lips parted, but no words came out.
Only one thought echoed in his mind.
She wasn't supposed to be alive.
Alexander took a slow step forward.
"I attended Charlotte's funeral."
"You stood beside me."
Catherine nodded.
"I did."
"You identified the body."
"I did."
"You signed the death certificate."
"I did."
Each answer landed with unnerving calm.
Alexander's voice hardened.
"So why are you here telling everyone my wife never died?"
For the first time, Catherine's composed expression cracked.
A shadow of regret crossed her face.
"Because..."
"I lied."
The ballroom erupted into whispers.
"What?"
"She admitted it!"
"My God..."
Even seasoned politicians looked stunned.
Lying about a death certificate was no small crime.
Lying about the death of the wife of one of the world's most powerful businessmen was something else entirely.
Emily stared at Catherine.
Something about her felt strangely familiar.
Not her face.
Her voice.
A scent.
A memory buried so deeply it felt more like a dream.
Catherine noticed Emily watching.
For a fleeting second, emotion flickered across her face.
She quickly buried it.
"You've grown."
Emily frowned.
"...Have we met?"
Catherine didn't answer.
Instead, she looked at Alexander.
"You deserve the truth."
"I should have told you six years ago."
Alexander folded his arms.
"Then start talking."
Catherine drew a slow breath.
"Charlotte never wanted your fortune."
Alexander remained silent.
"You know that."
He nodded once.
"She married you because she loved you."
Another nod.
"But after Emily was born..."
The room froze.
Emily?
Every eye turned toward the young maid.
Catherine continued.
"Someone inside Blackwood Global learned that Charlotte had gained access to your family's trust documents."
Richard slowly closed his eyes.
He knew exactly where this was going.
"They believed Charlotte would inherit voting rights if anything happened to you."
"So they decided to remove her."
Alexander's jaw tightened.
"You have names?"
"I have one."
She looked directly at Richard Sterling.
"You."
Gasps echoed across the ballroom.
Richard shook his head violently.
"She's lying!"
"I never..."
"You organized the meeting."
Catherine interrupted.
"You hired the men."
"You arranged the accident."
Richard's breathing became frantic.
"It wasn't an accident?"
Someone whispered.
Alexander's eyes darkened.
"Charlotte's car..."
"...was sabotaged?"
Catherine nodded.
"Yes."
"But they failed."
The room held its breath.
"They pushed her vehicle off the coastal highway."
"Everyone believed she drowned."
"But she survived."
Alexander took an involuntary step forward.
His usually controlled expression finally cracked.
"...She survived?"
"Yes."
"Then where is she?"
Catherine looked down.
For the first time since entering the ballroom...
Her confidence disappeared.
"I don't know."
The answer hit harder than anyone expected.
Alexander stared at her.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"I helped her escape."
"I treated her injuries."
"I hid her."
"For three weeks."
"And then..."
Catherine's voice trembled.
"...she disappeared."
Victoria suddenly laughed.
It was sharp.
Almost hysterical.
"This is ridiculous."
"You have no proof."
"You expect everyone to believe a bedtime story?"
Several guests hesitated.
She had a point.
Everything so far rested on Catherine's testimony.
Alexander noticed it too.
He calmly asked,
"Proof?"
Catherine smiled faintly.
"I knew you'd ask."
She opened her handbag.
Richard's face turned white.
"No..."
She couldn't have it.
She couldn't.
From inside the bag, Catherine removed a small silver pendant.
Old.
Scratched.
Heart-shaped.
Alexander's breathing stopped.
He recognized it instantly.
He had given it to Charlotte on their wedding day.
Inside the pendant...
They had placed a tiny photograph.
One picture.
Only one.
Alexander reached for it with trembling hands.
He opened the pendant.
The tiny photograph was still there.
A younger Alexander.
Charlotte beside him.
Both laughing.
No photographer had ever received that image.
It had never been published.
Only two copies had ever existed.
Alexander held one.
Charlotte had worn the other around her neck.
His voice became almost inaudible.
"Where..."
"...did you get this?"
Catherine answered softly.
"Charlotte gave it to me."
Before anyone could speak again...
A loud ringtone shattered the silence.
Every head turned.
Richard Sterling.
His phone.
He froze.
Hayes immediately confiscated it.
"Sir."
He handed the phone to Alexander.
The screen displayed a single message.
UNKNOWN NUMBER
STOP TALKING.
Another message arrived.
Everyone watched it appear.
PHASE ONE HAS FAILED.
Victoria stared at the screen in horror.
A third message appeared almost instantly.
ACTIVATE PHASE TWO.
Alexander looked up slowly.
His instincts screamed.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
He had planned for betrayal.
He had planned for panic.
He had planned for violence.
But not...
This.
A deafening explosion rocked the entire mansion.
BOOM!
The crystal chandeliers swayed violently.
Guests screamed.
Windows shattered across the ballroom.
The lights flickered once...
Twice...
Then the entire estate plunged into darkness.
Emergency alarms began screaming through Blackwood Manor.
Red security lights flooded the room.
Smoke drifted beneath the ceiling.
Someone shouted,
"Fire!"
Another voice screamed,
"The east wing exploded!"
Hayes grabbed his radio.
"All units!"
Before he could finish...
Every security monitor inside the ballroom went black.
One by one.
Disconnected.
Alexander's expression turned icy.
He whispered only four words.
"They're coming now."
In the crimson emergency lighting...
A masked figure could be seen standing outside the shattered entrance doors.
Then another.
Then another.
And then...
More than a dozen armed silhouettes emerged from the darkness surrounding Blackwood Manor.
The conspiracy had never been about protecting its secrets.
It had always been about making sure...
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No one inside the ballroom lived long enough to tell them.
End of Chapter 5.
