The boys were holding the maid like they were afraid someone would rip her away.

"Lock them in the lower vault," Andrew ordered without looking back, gesturing toward the groaning security chief and his two stunned subordinates.

Marcus wiped a smear of blood from his lip, glaring up at Andrew with pure malice as the two guards reluctantly surrendered their sidearms and helped their boss to his feet. "You're making a catastrophic mistake, Moretti," Marcus hissed through bruised teeth as he was marched out of the dining room toward the basement corridors. "You have no idea what kind of storm you're walking into. Some secrets are meant to stay buried in the ashes."

"Let them try," Andrew replied coldly.

The heavy oak doors of the dining room clicked shut, leaving only Andrew, Clara, and the two wide-eyed boys in the sprawling, opulent room. Vanessa stood near the fireplace, breathing heavily, her chest heaving beneath the blue silk dress, her fingers tightly gripping the carved marble mantelpiece for support.

"Vanessa," Andrew said, turning his gaze toward his fiancée. The word felt filthy in his mouth now. "Sit down."

"I am not sitting down anywhere," Vanessa snapped, her voice rising hysterically. "You're taking the word of a tramp—a psychotic imposter over me? Over the woman who has stood by your side, raised your sons, and managed your household for three years? Have you completely lost your mind, Andrew?"

"Look at her, Vanessa," Andrew commanded, stepping closer to his former fiancée, his face inches from hers. "Look at the scar on her wrist. Listen to her voice. And then tell me why Marcus looked like he had just seen a ghost when he walked through that door."

Vanessa’s eyes flicked nervously toward Clara, who was still kneeling on the floor with the boys. A bitter, venomous smirk suddenly twisted Vanessa’s perfect red lips.

"Fine," Vanessa spat, her tone shifting from panic to icy defiance. "You want the truth? Yes, she survived. Are you happy now? The fire was planned, Andrew—not by me, but by her father’s old business associates who wanted your shipping routes. Clara found out, and instead of protecting you, she cut a deal to fake her own death and run off with a fortune in bearer bonds, leaving you to pick up the pieces!"

Clara gasped, her eyes widening in sheer disbelief. "That’s a lie! Vanessa, you know that’s a lie! You were the one—"

"Shut up!" Vanessa screamed, lunging forward with a heavy crystal candlestick she had snatched from the mantelpiece.