Diana's breath hitched in her throat. Ariana squirmed where she stood. They were both rattled by this new development, but Diana had to remain strong for them both. Apparently, the battle was not over.
"Oh, so you're the one making threats now?" she teased.
"A while ago, you were powerless. And I can make that happen again. Even your mysterious hero wouldn't be able to save you."
"I never needed one," Zara shot back, and Diana winced.
Although Zara truly did need one, there was no way she would admit that to them. She had to show she was the powerful woman they had gravely underestimated.
"And unlike you…" Zara continued. "I'm not here to make threats. I'm here to make promises. When I return, I won't scream. I won't cry. I won't scheme like you. I'll come with the law in one hand and power in the other—and I will erase you from everything the Blake name touches."
Diana's eyes narrowed. She had thought putting Zara through all this would break her indomitable spirit. But it had done the opposite—it had fueled the fire even more.
"It's just a matter of time," Zara added.
Diana finally stepped back, a sign of her resolve breaking, and Zara knew she had successfully passed her message. Ashamed to remain there any longer, Diana turned to leave.
"Come on. Let's go," she said, dragging a reluctant Ariana out of the police department. Zara's eyes followed them until they got into their car and drove off.
***
The drive home was rough—not physically, but mentally—for Diana.
The whole spectacle had left her speechless.
From Bertha and the mysterious man rushing in to save the day and completely unravel their plans, to the blocks of glittering gold sprawled across the officer's desk...
A lot of things didn't add up.
How had Zara—or Bertha—gotten their hands on that much money?
Usually, their class of society was wealthy, but using solid gold as currency was next level.
That kind of wealth required powerful infrastructure to move, protect, and hide it. Not to mention, as nobles, they were constantly under scrutiny. Which meant that the chances of Zara pulling that off on her own were next to impossible.
Only the insanely rich—the kind who could bypass legal barriers—could do something like that.
Diana became increasingly worried as her thoughts scanned over who the mystery man could be.
Could it be Diego Vasquez? The so-called mystery husband Zara had supposedly had for a year?
No. That was unlikely. If he were that rich, the entire Blake family would know of him.
Then who was he?
Meanwhile, Ariana sat motionless, trying to fight back tears.
"Would you just bawl already?" Diana snapped. "Since you're so quick to accept defeat."
"Oh, what should I do, Diana?" Ariana asked, her voice pitiful. "We've basically lost. The next thing we'll see is her and her minion, Bertha, barging through our gates to seize our house."
SLAP!
Ariana gasped, her cheek stinging red from the slap.
She'd been ranting and babbling, but one slap was all it took to reset her yapping.
"Get yourself together!" Diana yelled. "Did you really think the whole scandal with Diego Vasquez happened by chance?"
She stared straight into Ariana's eyes, who looked away in shame.
"No. It happened for a reason, sis. That's destiny trying to tell us we are the rightful heirs to the Blake empire. And I will not sit down and let our chance get wasted just because you can't put your act together."
Diana pointed a firm finger at her.
"All right. So what do we do next?" Ariana asked.
Diana smiled. The reset process was complete.
"She talked different. She seemed… different," Ariana noted quietly.
And Diana couldn't help but agree.
"She is," Diana said, leaning forward on the edge of the car seat. "That wasn't the Zara we used to toy with. That was someone who's seen a lot—and didn't flinch. Someone with backing."
"She's not working alone?"
Diana shot her a glare.
"Oh, what? You think she told Bertha to pull those gold bars from her handbag and bribe the Imperial City Police?"
Ariana bowed her head, her cheeks still hot with shame. "I see your point."
"She's never been this composed," Diana murmured. "She didn't threaten us like a child. She made a vow."
Ariana sat beside her sister, less fiery now. "So what do we do?"
Diana smiled—this was the part she was good at. The game plan.
"We have two things to do. First, we have to ensure the scandal she's wrapped in is as real and as damaging as it seems."
"You don't think she cheated?"
"Zara has always been careful about her future. She would never do something that would jeopardize it. Even if it meant turning down anonymous men."
"So?"
"It's possible she actually did cheat, but we don't know for sure. And there's too much at stake now. We'll have to prove it somehow… and shower it with a sprinkle of exaggeration. The media would eat her alive, and there'd be no chance of Daddy ever forgiving her."
"Sounds like a plan," Ariana said. "But you mentioned two things."
Diana looked at her, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
"We have to get ahead of her. She's trying to reclaim power. We climb higher. Beat her at what she's good at."
"How?"
Diana leaned in, brushing a strand of hair from Ariana's face.
"How would you like a position as the Executive Secretary of Blake Bank Inc.?"
***
Meanwhile, back at the police department, Zara was beaming with joy, but she was yet to find out one thing.
"So why don't you tell me?"
Bertha blinked. "Tell you what?"
"How you pulled it off. How I got out of jail."
"Don't you see the gold?"
Zara placed her hands on her hips, giving Bertha a sarcastic look.
"What?" Bertha asked, acting clueless.
"That kind of gold doesn't just fall from the sky, Bertha. And i'm sure you don't have stacks of gold in your apartment or something. Besides, getting me out of jail would cost more than money, there would have to be connections too."
"And…?", Bertha added.
"Bertha, stop…" Zara said, seemingly having enough and that was enough to break Bertha.
"I know.", she replied like a child caught in a naughty act.
Zara crossed her arms, her voice getting sharper. "So where did all that gold come from?"
Bertha looked down. The next words she said where the last Zara ever wanted to hear.
"Kai Frost."
Zara froze.
"No."
"Zara—"
"No, no, no," she said, almost laughing in disbelief. "You went to him? Do you know what kind of man he is?"
"I do. That's why I was careful."
"You were never careful enough. And now I owe him?"
Bertha didn't answer.
"Bertha, tell me—what did you do?"
Bertha hesitated for a beat, then finally said, "We both came to an agreement."
Zara slapped her palm against her forehead. Her breath grew heavy.
"I didn't want to be involved with this man," she muttered. "I would've rather stayed behind bars."
"What kind of agreement?" she asked, a tad bit frustrated.
Bertha fidgeted with her fingers, finding it hard to mince the words of truth. Nevertheless, she found her footing, and the next thing that came out of her mouth shook Zara to the bone.
"A contract."