Chapter 14 - The Clean Slate
Nora stepped over Julian’s body, walking over to the pantry door. She pulled the brass handle open, revealing Victoria Vance sitting on the floor, tied up, tears streaming down her bruised face, terrified beyond human comprehension.
"Get up, Victoria," Nora ordered softly.
Victoria scrambled to her feet, shaking violently, leaning against the pantry shelves for support. "P-please... don't kill me... please..."
Nora looked at the duplicate—at the face that was a mirror image of her own youth, preserved through surgery and ambition.
"You have a choice, Victoria," Nora said, her voice calm and authoritative. "Option one: I unlock that door, call the police, and hand you over as an accomplice to a violent home invasion and double murder. You will spend thirty years in a high-security prison."
Victoria sobbed, shaking her head frantically. "Option two! What is option two?!"
"Option two," Nora continued, "is that you step into the role you were paid to play."
Victoria froze, her sobbing instantly cutting off. "What?"
"Julian Vance and an unknown intruder broke into my home today," Nora explained, her tone dripping with dark genius. "They attempted to extort the Saint-Martin estate. Rachel killed Julian in a dispute over money, and I killed Rachel in self-defense. You, Victoria Vance, do not exist. You will take the Swiss offshore funds that Julian set up, you will leave this country under a new identity that I will provide, and you will never, ever set foot in Europe again."
Victoria stared at Nora, realizing the terrifying genius of the plan. Nora was using Julian’s own fraudulent framework to cleanse her estate, eliminate her enemies, and secure her fortune without a single stain on her reputation.
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"I'll go," Victoria whispered frantically. "I'll go right now! I'll never come back! I swear it!"
"Good," Nora said. She reached out, unfastening the zip-ties from Victoria’s wrists. "Chloe will drive you to the airstrip on the north side of the estate. There is a private light aircraft waiting. You will be in South America before sunset."
