Chapter 1: The Weight of Stones
The impact didn't kill Victoria, but the silence that followed nearly did.
She lay splayed across the cold, jagged landscaping stones of the Sterling estate, her silk dress stained with mud and her own blood. Every breath felt like inhaling shattered glass. Above her, the grey New York sky framed the imposing balcony, and standing on it was Julian—her husband, her captor, and now, her attempted murderer.
"Stop making a scene," Eleanor Sterling’s voice cut through the air, cold and sharp as a scalpel. Julian’s mother didn't offer a hand. She didn't call 911. She merely adjusted her designer coat, looking at Victoria as if she were a spilled drink on an expensive rug.
"Move! I sit on the hospital board!" Julian bellowed from the balcony, his face contorted in a mix of panic and unbridled rage. He was already spinning the narrative, preparing to use his power to sweep this under the rug.
The flashing lights of a lone police cruiser cut through the gravel driveway. Officer Davis, a local cop who hadn't yet been bought by Sterling money, rushed over.
Victoria felt her consciousness slipping. With the last ounce of strength in her body, she raised a trembling, blood-stained finger, pointing directly up at the balcony.
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"He... he pushed me," she gasped, her voice cracking.
Julian’s eyes widened, his manicured facade completely fracturing into a primal, terrifying scream of fury. He knew the perfect life he had engineered was beginning to crack.
