The first thing Julian Hale heard when he walked into his mansion was his mother screaming.
Not crying.
Not calling his name.
Screaming.
A sound filled with pure terror.
Julian froze behind the glass doors leading to the backyard.
The bouquet of rare red roses slipped from his hand.
One by one, the flowers fell onto the marble floor.
Because in front of him, inside the glowing infinity pool, was his 78-year-old mother, Martha.
Her fragile hands desperately grabbed at the edge.
Her purple nightgown dragged her down like an anchor.
“Please…” Martha coughed, barely keeping her face above the water. “Someone… help me…”
Standing above her was Bianca Laurent.
Julian’s fiancée.
The woman he had planned to surprise that night.
The woman he thought would become part of his family.
But the woman standing beside the pool was not the woman he knew.
Bianca looked down at Martha with a cold smile.
“Still pretending to be helpless?” Bianca whispered.
Julian’s heart stopped.
“What did you say?” Martha gasped.
Bianca leaned closer.
“You heard me.”
Martha shook her head.
“Bianca… please… pull me out.”
Instead, Bianca stepped closer and pushed Martha’s hand away with her heel.
“You really thought Julian would choose you over me?”
Martha’s eyes filled with fear.
“He loves me. I’m his mother.”
Bianca laughed softly.
“And after I marry him, this house will finally belong to me.”
Julian felt his hands tighten into fists.
The woman he planned to marry was threatening his mother.
His own mother.
But he stayed hidden.
Because he needed to hear the truth.
Bianca looked around to make sure no one was watching.
Then she whispered:
“You know what’s funny, Martha? Nobody will believe an old woman who forgets things.”
Martha’s face changed.
“What are you talking about?”
Bianca smiled.
“I already started telling people your memory is getting worse.”
Julian’s blood ran cold.
Because suddenly he understood.
This wasn’t an accident.
This was a plan.
A plan that had started long before tonight.
And then Bianca said the one sentence that changed everything.
“After the wedding, you won’t be alive long enough to complain.”
Julian stepped away from the shadows.
His voice was calm.
But deadly.
“Say that again.”
Bianca turned around.
