Victoria turned toward the trembling judge, holding up a medical file bearing Beatrice's hospital seal. "Here is the official laboratory toxicology report proving chemical poisoning over ten long years!""The Sterling Apex Group demands justice, Your Honor!" Victoria proclaimed, her voice reaching a theatrical crescendo. "We do not ask for a simple prison sentence for this beast!""We demand the ultimate capital punishment!" Victoria yelled, her sharp face twisting into a bloodthirsty sneer. "We demand that Ethan Vance be sentenced to death by hanging!"A loud gasp rippled through the entire gallery. Reporters furiously scribbled in their notebooks, their pens scratching loudly on paper.Victoria looked back at Ethan, expecting to see him trembling in tears and begging on his knees. But Ethan sat entirely still, his dark eyes looking at her as if she were a buzzing fly.Smirking at his calm demeanor, Victoria turned back to the judge with fake, patronizing pity. "Look at him, Your Hon

Sirens wailed outside as complete chaos tore through the grand courtroom. Reporters shouted, cameras flashed like blinding lightning, and people pushed past wooden chairs in a wild panic.Two paramedics rushed down the center aisle, pushing a wheeled stretcher straight toward the pool of blood. They lifted Charlotte’s limp, pale body off the floor, placing an oxygen mask over her face as blood dripped from her lips.Nearby, two armed court bailiffs twisted Beatrice’s arms behind her back, locking heavy steel handcuffs around her wrists. The cold metal dug deep into her skin, making her scream in pure agony."Eldest sister! Wake up! Please save me!" Beatrice shrieked, thrashing wildly as the guards dragged her down the aisle. "I only changed the hospital papers to protect our family! Charlotte, don't let them take me to jail!"Charlotte did not move at all, her eyes closed tight as the paramedics wheeled her away into the screaming crowd. Her breathing was weak, her body completely bro

Meanwhile, across the city, the grand Sterling family mansion felt like a cold, suffocating tomb. The golden chandeliers were turned off, and the long marble hallways were completely dark.Upstairs on the second floor, Fourth Sister Victoria sat curled up on the cold floorboards of her private bedroom. The room was a complete disaster, littered with torn legal briefs and shattered glass.Her expensive designer suit was wrinkled and covered in dust, and her bare knees were pulled tightly against her chest. Her eyes were red, swollen, and staring blankly into the shadows like a dead woman's.On the desk beside her, three different telephones were ringing non-stop, their harsh electronic chimes echoing like funeral bells. Every major conglomerate, high-society board, and corporate partner in the province was calling to terminate their contracts.The state bar association had already sent a formal courier delivering the official decree: Victoria Sterling was permanently stripped of her leg

Charlotte gasped, her corporate poise shattering instantly. She rushed across the room, dropping to her knees beside the thrashing young man."Julian! Julian, hold on!" Charlotte cried out, her own headache forgotten as she desperately grabbed his shaking shoulders. "Butler Thomas! Call the private doctors immediately!"Julian opened his eyes, blinking rapidly as if waking from a terrible nightmare. He looked at Harper, who was still trembling on the settee, and let out a pathetic, broken sob."Sister Harper... please forgive me!" Julian wept, his voice cracking with heartbreaking, flawless sorrow. "My vision went completely black! The pain in my arms blinded me... I thought you were a shadow demon attacking me in the dark!"Charlotte’s head snapped toward Harper, her eyes blazing with fierce, icy reprimand. "Harper! What on earth is wrong with you?!"Harper sat frozen in utter disbelief, her jaw hanging slightly open. She looked at Julian’s weeping face, her mind spinning with sheer,

Ethan set his porcelain teacup down on the wooden table with a soft, quiet click. He did not look at Charlotte. Instead, his dark eyes shifted, locking calmly onto the elderly man standing nervously by the door."Butler Thomas," Ethan called out, his deep voice carrying a strange, chilling peacefulness. "You have managed the Sterling household for three decades. You know every secret buried in those walls."Butler Thomas flinched, his old hands gripping the handles of Julian’s wheelchair so tightly his knuckles turned white. He swallowed hard, completely terrified of Ethan’s freezing gaze."Answer your Chairwoman honestly, Thomas," Ethan commanded softly. "In the ten years after Grandfather Sterling passed away, did I ever once sit at the family dining table?"Charlotte frowned deeply, crossing her arms over her expensive cashmere coat. "What a ridiculous question! Of course you ate with us! We fed you the finest meals every single day!""Did you, Charlotte?" Ethan asked, his voice co