Chapter 377-
A pause. “Brought there, sir?”
“She’s not to be harmed. But she’s not to leave, either. Post security at the main entrances. No phone, no internet, no contact with the outside world.” I
pulled up the surveillance photo of Claire entering the editing suite: Tell her it’s for her own protection. That there s been a credible threat and we need to
keep her safe until it’s resolved.”
“And if she refuses?”
“She won’t.” I closed the file with more force than necessary. “Because if she does, I have her arrested for conspiracy to commit murder.”
Another beat of silence. Then: “Understood, I’ll handle it personally.”
“Good. And Adrian? No one knows about this except you, me, and the security team. Not my mother, not Blake, no one.”
“Yes, sir.”
I ended the call and sat back, staring at the darkening skyline.
This wasn’t mercy. It was….. containment. A chance to confront Claire privately, to understand why she’d done something so reckless, so vicious. To see if
there was any explanation that could justify what she’d put Rosa Cruz through.
She’d been careless, I told myself. Jealous and stupid, but not truly malicious. She probably thought the video would just scare Rosa, make Sophia back off.
She couldn’t have anticipated the severity of the reaction.
It was an accident. A terrible, tragic accident born of jealousy and poor judgment.
I needed to believe that.
My phone buzzed. Sophia’s number.
I stared at it, thumb hovering over the screen. She’d asked me what I was going to do about Claire. I’d told her I’d handle it.
I just hadn’t told her how.
I answered on the fourth ring.
“Lucas.” Her voice was flat, scraped raw. “Did you find out who did it?”
No greeting. No preamble. Just the question that had probably been eating her alive for the past day and a half.
‘Yeah.” I kept my tone neutral. “I know who sent the video.”
Silence. Then, very quietly: Tell me.”
“Claire.”
The word hung between us like a blade.
11:05 am
Chapter 377
Thear her breathing change–sharper, faster. “You’re sure?”
“Completely. I have surveillance footage, financial records, digital forensics. She commissioned a deepfake video editing service, paid cash, and sent it from a burner phone three blacks from her partment. I paused. “There’s no question it was her.
Another beat of silence. When she spoke again, her voice had gone cold. Dangerously cold.
“I want her dead.”
The bluntness of it should have shocked me. It didn’t.
*Sophia-
“Don’t.” The word cracked like a whip. “Don’t you dare tell me to be reasonable. That bitch tried to kill my mother. My mother, Lucas. The only person who
ever- Her voice broke. “She’s lying in that hospital bed like a corpse. The doctors say even if she wakes up, there might be brain damage. Permanent
damage. Because Claire Vanderbilt wanted to hurt me through her.”
I closed my eyes. “I know.”
“So what are you going to do about it?” The question was sharp, accusatory. “Are you going to protect your fiancée? Make excuses for her like you always
do?”
2
“I’ve already dealt with it.”
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