Chapter 3 - Shattered Illusions
The private medical suite inside the Vance mansion hummed with quiet efficiency as Victoria’s elite personal physicians worked frantically to stabilize Mia. Outside the heavy oak doors, the party guests had been detained by Victoria’s security team, transformed from privileged spectators into helpless witnesses of an empire's collapse.
Victoria paced the hallway, her mind flashing back to the years of engineered estrangement. Eleanor had spent decades ruling the Vance family like a medieval dictator, banishing anyone who showed independence, seizing corporate assets, and systematically breaking the spirits of those weaker than her. Mia, their younger sister who had been kept hidden abroad to protect her from Eleanor's toxic orbit, had returned home believing people could change. She had paid for that naive hope with her blood.
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A doctor stepped out of the suite, nodding reassuringly. "She’s stable, Ms. Thorne. The baby has a strong heartbeat, though she experienced severe trauma. She needs complete rest."
Victoria closed her eyes for a brief moment, letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. When she opened them again, her eyes were hardened steel. It was time to dismantle Eleanor’s world piece by piece.
