My sister walked into my wedding wearing a white bridal dress

I didn't pick up the folder. I kept my eyes locked on his, refusing to lower my gaze.

"You don't have the power you think you have," I said, keeping my tone steady. "The world knows Victoria's crimes. The federal authorities are monitoring every transaction linked to the Sterling estate. If you touch a single share, you trigger a global freeze."

"The federal authorities work on warrants, Lila," Nicholas said smoothly. "And warrants require living suspects. To the United States government, I am a philanthropic foreign investor operating through Sterling Global Logistics. They welcome my capital."

He leaned forward, his eyes burning into mine. "You girls have been playing checkers in the nursery while I've been playing chess on a continental board. Victoria’s little wedding stunt—the white dress, the poison, the forged wills—did you honestly think that was entirely her idea?"

A sudden, sickening cold pooled in my stomach. I turned to look at Mia. Her eyes widened in horror.

"What did you say?" Mia breathed.

"Victoria was desperate," Nicholas purred. "She came to me in Geneva three months ago, begging for financial backing to save her collapsing shell companies. I told her I would fund her salvation under one condition: she had to break you, Mia. And she had to ruin Lila’s wedding."

"Why?" Celeste cried out, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Why would you want to destroy your own daughters' lives?"

"Because diamonds are only formed under unbearable pressure," Nicholas replied without an ounce of remorse. "I wanted to see who would break and who would rule. Mia had the ambition, but lacked the spine. Lila had the moral fortitude, but lacked the killer instinct. Celeste... well, Celeste was a hidden variable."

He checked his platinum watch. "It is precisely 11:30 PM. Inside that folder is an irrevocable power of attorney transfer. You will surrender all controlling interest in the Sterling-Vance conglomerate. In return, I will grant each of you a trust fund of fifty million dollars and a one-way ticket to any corner of the globe you choose."

"And if we refuse?" I asked.

Nicholas's eyes darkened, the gentleman's veneer stripping away to reveal the cold sociopath beneath. "If you refuse, the gas line beneath this estate—which my men have already connected to a remote valve—will suffer a tragic catastrophic failure before sunrise. And history will record that the three tragic Sterling sisters died in an accidental explosion, leaving their long-lost father to inherit the ashes."

"You wouldn't dare," Mia whispered, stepping forward. "There are cameras. Neighbors. Police."

"The cameras looped ten minutes ago, Mia," Nicholas smiled. "You have thirty minutes to sign. I’ll be waiting in the study. Make yourselves useful and pour me a scotch."