Marcus leaned closer. “And the maid?”
Victoria’s smile vanished. “Fire her. She looks at him like he matters.”
I saved the recording.
The next morning, Victoria entered my room carrying flowers like a performance. Lily stood near the window, folding towels.
“My poor darling,” Victoria said loudly, in case anyone was listening. “I’ve spoken to a specialist. A private care center. Very peaceful.”
I looked up. “You want to send me away?”
“For your own good.” Her eyes flicked toward Lily. “And we’ll need to reduce staff. Some people are getting too attached.”
Lily’s fingers paused.
Victoria stepped closer to her. “Pack your things by tonight.”
“No,” I said.
The room went silent.
Victoria turned slowly. “Excuse me?”
“Lily stays.”
Her face hardened. “You don’t give orders anymore, Julian.”
I let the silence stretch. Then I smiled faintly.
That was the first time fear touched her eyes.
She recovered fast. “Fine. Keep your little maid. It won’t matter.”
But it did matter.
Because Lily had already found something.
That evening, she slipped into my room holding a torn envelope. “Sir… I found this in Miss Victoria’s trash.”
Inside were copies of forged medical documents, a draft guardianship petition, and emails between Victoria, Marcus, and a board member named Sterling. They had planned to declare me mentally incompetent.
At the bottom was a payment receipt.
The doctor they had bribed was not my doctor.
It was the man who had signed my false injury report.
They thought they had trapped a broken man.
They had actually handed evidence to the majority shareholder, CEO, and legal owner of every asset they were trying to steal.
I looked at Lily. “Are you afraid?”
She swallowed. “Yes.”
“Good,” I said softly. “Then you understand what they should be.”
By sunrise, my lawyers had the files. By noon, my security team had locked every executive server. By evening, I invited everyone back to the ballroom.
Victoria arrived smiling, dressed in white, thinking it was an engagement announcement.
In a way, it was.
Just not hers.
The ballroom doors swang open, just as they had three days ago, but the atmosphere was entirely different. There was no champagne waiting on silver trays tonight. Instead, a wall of corporate security officers lined the perimeter of the grand room, their faces like stone.
Victoria walked in, her white silk dress trailing elegantly behind her. She held her head high, radiating triumph. Behind her, Marcus and Sterling followed, exchanging subtle nods of satisfaction. They believed tonight was the night they would formally present the medical guardianship papers to the family and a few select board members under the guise of an “emergency intervention.”
“Julian, darling,” Victoria purred, stepping into the center of the room where I sat in my wheelchair. “You invited everyone back so soon? You really should be resting.”
“I felt it was necessary,” I replied, my voice carrying cleanly across the marble floor. “Since we have so much to discuss.”
Marcus stepped forward, patting his breast pocket where the forged legal documents rested. “We’re just glad you’re facing reality, man. We’re all here to support you through the transition.”
“Transition,” I repeated, letting the word hang in the air. “An interesting choice of words.”
I looked past them toward the back of the room. Lily stood there, dressed in her simple uniform, holding a sleek black tablet. When I caught her eye, she gave a firm, resolute nod.
