Chapter 4 - The Unraveling
The Villano Estate sat high in the crest of the city's western hills, a fortress of modern stone, glass, and iron guards.
By the next afternoon, Mireia was sitting in the estate's massive library, a cup of tea in her hands, watching the rain fall over the sprawling gardens below. For the first time in six years, her mind felt quiet.
The door opened, and Darius stepped in, dressed in a sharp charcoal suit. He carried a leather folder under his arm.
"Your sister is downstairs," Darius said calmly.
Mireia stood up quickly. "Alyssa?"
"She bypassed your parents and came straight here. My security vetted her. She came alone."
Two minutes later, Alyssa burst into the library. Her eyes were red, her hair slightly unkempt. She didn't look like the flawless, perfect younger sister Caleb had pined after for eight years—she looked furious and terrified.
"Mireia!" Alyssa ran across the room and threw her arms around her sister.
Mireia hesitated for a fraction of a second before hugging her back.
"I am so sorry," Alyssa sobbed, pulling back to look at Mireia's face. "I had no idea. I swear to God, Mireia, I never gave him a single signal. He came to my apartment last night after he left the restaurant. He was drunk, shouting that he sacrificed everything for me, that he only proposed to you to stay close to me!"
Mireia felt a cold spike in her chest. "What did you do?"
"I slapped him," Alyssa said, her eyes flashing with genuine anger. "I threw a vase at his head and called the cops to kick him out! He’s disgusting, Mireia. He used you. He used our family. And Mom and Dad... Mom and Dad are calling me selfish because I refused to lie for Caleb!"
Mireia felt a heavy weight lift from her heart. Her sister hadn't betrayed her. Alyssa was innocent in Caleb’s sick game.
"Thank you, Alyssa," Mireia whispered.
Darius, standing quietly by the bookshelf, stepped forward. "Miss Alyssa Dalton's statement confirms what my investigators found this morning."
He opened the leather folder and laid several documents on the desk.
"Caleb wasn't just emotionally manipulating you, Mireia," Darius said coldly. "He was systematically draining your trust fund. Over the last three years, he funneled nearly two million dollars from your inheritance into his Wren Harbor project under the guise of 'investment management.'"
Mireia stared at the bank records on the desk. Her blood ran cold. "He stole from me?"
"He didn't just steal," Darius said, his dark eyes narrowing. "He counted on you being too forgiving to check the books. He counted on marrying you so the money would legally merge."
Darius looked at her, his posture rigid, his voice commanding. "Tonight is the annual Commerce Gala at the Grand Plaza. Caleb has spent weeks preparing to launch his public image there. He thinks he can recover."
Mireia’s hands clenched into fists. The sadness inside her was completely gone now, replaced by a dark, searing rage.
"What do you want to do, Mireia?" Darius asked, his voice low, tempting. "I can crush him in the dark. Or you can walk into that room and tear his world down yourself."
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Mireia looked at Darius, then down at the stole funds, and finally at her sister.
"Give me a dress," Mireia said softly. "I'm going to the gala."
