Chapter 1 - The Illusion Shatters
The woman in the emerald dress flinched as if she had been struck.
Her perfectly contoured face went pale, the false bravado instantly dissolving into panic.
“What did you just say?” she demanded, though her voice lacked its earlier venom.
Elise did not raise her voice, but the acoustics of The Marquette Room carried every syllable.
“Your name isn’t Camilla Sterling. The real Camilla Sterling died in a boating accident in Saint-Tropez three years ago. You’re wearing her identity, you’re driving her imported car, and you are using her offshore trust to mask the fact that you work for Vanguard Holdings.”
Graham Mercer’s eyes snapped from the waitress to the woman sitting across from him.
The silence in the restaurant was absolute, heavier than the crystal chandeliers overhead.
“Graham, she’s crazy,” the woman stammered, standing up so fast her chair scraped violently against the hardwood. “She’s a disgruntled waitress making things up.”
Graham did not look at her.
He kept his gaze locked on Elise, his analytical mind processing the impossible data she had just dropped on his table.
“Vanguard Holdings is the firm trying to short my stock ahead of the Tokyo merger,” Graham said quietly.
Elise nodded once.
“She’s a corporate plant, Mr. Mercer. And if you sign those acquisition papers tomorrow morning, she gets a seven-figure payout while your company tanks.”
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The woman didn’t wait for Graham to respond.
She grabbed her designer clutch and practically sprinted toward the coat check, leaving her wine and her dignity behind.
