Chapter 3
Richard didn't pay attention.
Neither did Isabella.
But the elderly gardener standing near the gate quietly lifted his head.
The lights weren't passing by.
They were coming closer.
Slowly.
Purposefully.
Elena watched them without changing expression.
Richard folded his arms.
"So that's it?"
"You're leaving?"
She answered without taking her eyes off the road.
"I already left..."
"...long before tonight."
Those words lingered in the air.
Richard opened his mouth to respond—
Then stopped.
The distant headlights suddenly became brighter.
Far brighter.
Too bright to belong to an ordinary car.
The low growl of an expensive engine rolled across the empty street.
Every servant instinctively turned toward the entrance gates.
The laughter from inside the villa faded.
Even the musicians stopped playing for a brief second.
The headlights continued approaching.
Closer.
Closer.
Until the entire driveway was flooded with brilliant white light.
Richard instinctively shielded his eyes.
Isabella's confident smile slowly disappeared.
The massive black luxury SUV glided through the open gates with effortless authority.
No horn.
No hurry.
No hesitation.
It stopped directly behind Elena.
The engine remained running.
Then—
Silence.
Complete silence.
No music.
No laughter.
Only the whisper of cold wind moving across the marble.
And no one outside the villa realized...
that the man sitting inside that vehicle already knew a truth capable of destroying every certainty Richard Laurent had built his life upon.
The driver's door remained closed.
For one endless heartbeat...
No one moved.
No one breathed.
May you like
Then—
The rear passenger door slowly began to open...
