Chapter 2 - The Midnight Visitor
A sharp, three-beat knock echoed through the cavernous foyer. It was a measured, arrogant sound, completely unlike the frantic pounding of desperate debtors seeking shelter from the storm. Victoria glided out of the library, her dark silk dress whispering against the marble floorboards.
When she pulled open the heavy oak entrance, the freezing rain did not dare touch her. Standing on the threshold was a woman in a tailored white trench coat, entirely dry despite the hurricane raging inches behind her. She looked thirty, with sharp cheekbones and piercing amber eyes that carried the unmistakable, arrogant light of high society—and old money.
"You're late with the audit, Actuary," the woman said, her American accent crisp and cutting. She casually stepped past Victoria into the foyer, peeling off her leather gloves.
"The Manor is closed to unsolicited accounts," Victoria replied, her voice dropping to a sub-zero register. She raised her stylus, ready to freeze the air in the intruder’s lungs. "Identify your deficit or vacate the grounds."
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The woman turned, a mocking smirk playing on her lips. From her coat pocket, she produced a heavy, solid-gold coin embossed with the crest of the Obsidian Manor—a token of absolute immunity that hadn't been minted since the 1800s.
"I don't have a deficit, Victoria," the woman said, tossing the gold coin onto the reception table where it spun with a deafening ring. "My name is Elena Sterling. I’m Julian’s daughter. And according to your own faulty ledger, my father just resurrected himself using your bank account."
