The daughter revealed her mother's secret infidelity, which led to the disintegration of the entire family.

The perfect opportunity arrived on Saturday night. Richard had organized an intimate dinner to celebrate the success of the merger. At the grand dining table, beneath the Baccarat crystal chandelier, sat Richard at the head, Victoria to his right, Emma to his left, and Julian Vance, the guest of honor, sitting across from Emma.

The clinking of silver against porcelain sounded like a countdown.

"A toast to Julian," Richard said, raising his glass of red wine, his eyes shining with gratitude. "Without your boldness in the negotiations, the Chicago partners would have eaten us alive. You're more than my VP, son. You're like a boy of my own."

Julian smiled, though a drop of cold sweat slid down his temple. Victoria downed her wine in a single gulp. "Thank you, Richard. I do it for the family," Julian replied, avoiding Emma's gaze.

Emma slowly stood up. She picked up her crystal glass. "I'd like to propose a toast as well," she said, her voice resonating with a deathly calm. "To loyalty. To trust. And to the sacrifices made behind closed doors."

Richard smiled at his daughter, but Victoria instantly went pale. "Emma, sit down," her mother hissed.

Ignoring her, Emma pulled out her cell phone and, with a single tap, synced it to the house's smart system. The massive flat screen in the adjacent living room flared to life. There was no sound, only high-definition video. The entire dining room fell dead silent as the screen played the footage of Julian stumbling into the master suite behind Victoria. The timestamp in the upper corner read 2:00 PM on a Tuesday. Richard had been in Chicago.

The sound of a glass shattering against the floor broke the spell. It was Richard's. The Carter patriarch stood up, his face shifting from sheer bewilderment to a purplish-red of pure rage. He looked at the screen, then at his wife, and finally at the man he called a son.