And then it hit Julia all at once—she knew exactly where she had seen that woman before. Larissa had worked as Victor’s secretary. The pieces clicked into place immediately: this woman was no ordinary opportunist. She was a poisoner who targeted wealthy men.
Without hesitating, Julia flung the dust cloth straight at Larissa’s face. In the split second of confusion that followed, she knocked the glass out of Oleg’s hand. It shattered across the floor.
“Have you lost your mind?” Oleg shouted. “There was poison in that wine,” Julia said, breathing hard. “Your girlfriend just put it there.”
Larissa clutched her chest and switched instantly into wounded innocence. “Oleg, she’s unstable. Throw her out. She’s jealous and looking for attention.” But Julia didn’t back down.
“Because of that woman, my husband is dead and I went to prison for his murder,” she said evenly. Then she told Oleg the truth about her past and where she knew Larissa from. Oleg turned slowly toward his girlfriend, whose hands were now visibly shaking.
“Larissa,” he said in a low voice, stepping closer, “why are you trembling?” She started to explain, but Oleg slammed his fist into the wall beside her head. The sound alone was enough. Terrified, Larissa broke.
She dropped to the floor, crying and begging for another chance, clutching at his pant leg. Oleg looked down at her with open disgust. “Get out of my house,” he said. “And out of my life.” Smearing mascara across her face, Larissa fled the estate.
Oleg gave Julia a curt thank-you and told her to take the rest of the day off, but that was the end of his generosity. A couple of days later, Julia passed all the photos and documents to Arsen, who was stunned by the poisoning attempt. He promised her he would see the whole thing through and bring everyone involved to justice, including Larissa.
Once he had enough hard evidence, Arsen went to law enforcement. Investigators quickly opened cases involving both the Strickland family and the fugitive poisoner. The next morning, the supposedly dead heir walked into his stepmother’s office in an expensive suit and shut the door behind him…
