Chapter 124

The news of Victoria's suicide broke at dawn, spreading through Ravenshore City like wildfire.

She had plunged from the twentieth floor of the Oceanview Grand Hotel, her body shattering upon impact with the concrete below.

Police found Evelyn's contact information in the hotel room where Victoria had been staying.

With Richard deceased and Margaret traveling overseas, Evelyn became the only relative available to identify the remains.

The phone call jolted Evelyn awake at 7:03 a.m. Her fingers trembled as she answered.

Even after ending the call, she lay paralyzed in bed, convinced this must be some cruel nightmare.

Only when she pinched her arm hard enough to leave bruises did reality sink in.

She dressed in a frenzy, forgetting breakfast, forgetting everything except the urgent need to reach the crime scene.

Meanwhile, in his penthouse office, Dominic Blackwood received his own briefing.

"Sir, witnesses confirm she jumped voluntarily," reported Nathan Cross, his voice clinical. "The moment officers entered, she sprinted to the window. No hesitation. Pure guilt drove her over the edge."

Dominic's coffee cup paused mid-air. His eyes darkened like gathering storm clouds. "Triple surveillance on Julian Whitmore," he commanded. "Immediately."

Victoria and Julian had been inseparable.

If Victoria wanted Dominic dead, Julian certainly shared that desire.

The assassination attempt might have deeper roots than a scorned woman's revenge.

Victoria could have been merely a pawn - but a dead pawn told no tales.

Police barricades surrounded the Oceanview Grand when Evelyn arrived.

An officer escorted her past yellow tape, up the elevator, toward room V906.

"Miss Thorne," the detective said gently, "we've tentatively identified the victim as your half-sister Victoria Thorne. But we require formal confirmation." His pen tapped the notepad. "Time of death approximately 5:17 a.m."

Evelyn's throat constricted. Each breath felt like swallowing broken glass.

The metallic tang of blood hit her nostrils before they even turned the corridor.

Her stomach lurched at the crimson streaks painting the carpet.

When the coroner lifted the white sheet, Evelyn's world tilted violently.

The face staring back bore no resemblance to the beautiful, cruel sister she remembered.

Only pulped flesh and splintered bone remained.

Evelyn barely made it to the wastebasket before vomiting.

Four years of medical school hadn't prepared her for this.

Dissecting cadavers in sterile labs was nothing like confronting butchered family.

"Miss Thorne?" The officer steadied her swaying body. "Should we get you water?"

Evelyn's pulse thundered in her ears. "I...can't... Just run DNA tests. Please."

"That requires days, maybe weeks—"

"Then do it!" Her scream echoed off the walls. "That...that thing isn't Victoria!"

Tears carved hot paths down her cheeks.

This wasn't grief - not exactly.

Their relationship had been poison since childhood.

But hatred and death existed in different universes entirely.

As attendants wheeled the body away, Evelyn collapsed into a patrol car's backseat.

Her mind raced with terrible questions:

Why would Victoria choose suicide?

What final argument had she had with Julian?

And most chilling of all - was this truly a suicide at all?