Chapter 7

Early the next month, Holly arrived at Bauman Manor with the invitation Vincent had given her. To her surprise, Vincent was there too.

He walked over and gave her a cold once-over. "So you actually showed up. Looking for your next meal ticket already?"

He leaned close to her ear and sneered, "Everyone knows I had my fun with you and dumped you. You really think any decent guy would want you now?"

Holly glared at him. "Thanks to you, everyone knows how good I am in bed. Your friends are practically lining up to ask me out."

Vincent's expression darkened, and he grabbed her wrist.

"You shouldn't be here. I'll give you more money if that's what it takes. I'll give you enough to live comfortably for the rest of your life. But you need to leave. Now," he said through clenched teeth.

Holly had a feeling Vincent knew something she didn't.

"Vincent, do you—"

"Vincent!" Tiffany called, cutting her off.

Tiffany hurried over, hooked her arm through Vincent's, and pulled him away from Holly. "You promised you'd stay away from her."

Vincent stiffened. "Tiff, I..."

Tiffany looked on the verge of tears. She turned and ran off. Vincent immediately hurried after her, but not before glancing back at Holly.

Holly couldn't quite read his expression. It seemed to hold both a warning and something almost like a plea.

She was glad to see them go. The last thing she needed was either of them getting in her way.

She discreetly looked around, then slipped up the stairs to the top floor when no one was watching.

Around the corner, two burly bodyguards stood guard outside a heavy, intricately carved wooden door. Whatever was behind it, someone clearly wanted to keep it hidden.

Holly wondered what could possibly require such tight security. Pretending to be drunk, she staggered toward them.

Her red dress hugged her curves, and neither guard suspected a thing. One of them even reached out to steady her.

"Miss, you're not supposed to be up here."

With a quick flick of her wrist, Holly jabbed a needle filled with anesthetic into the side of his neck.

The other guard froze in shock. Before he could call out, Holly struck him across the back of the neck with the edge of her hand.

Both men crumpled to the floor without a sound. Holly quickly searched one of them, found a key, and unlocked the heavy door.

The sight that greeted her made her blood run cold. Inside were handcuffs, whips, iron cages, and an enormous screen.

Holly switched on the projector. The screen filled with distorted figures under harsh white lights. Desperate sobs mingled with obscene laughter.

Holly finally understood. The Vesper Gala was nothing but a front for powerful men to prey on women, one victim after another.

Before midnight, it looked like any other gathering of the wealthy. But once midnight passed, Lachlan would invite a select group of guests upstairs, where they would abuse the women.

Some of the women had even died from what they'd endured.

If a victim had no powerful connections, they simply dumped her body and paid people to keep quiet.

But when a victim had influential connections, as some of the actresses did, they made her death look like a suicide or accident to keep the public from finding out the truth.

Lachlan even recorded the abuse so he and his friends could watch it later.

And that was just the tip of the iceberg. There had to be a massive drug trafficking network behind it all, along with money laundering on an enormous scale.

Holly's hands trembled as she copied the evidence. She had to get it out of there. She couldn't let the Baumans keep getting away with what they'd done.

As soon as she finished, she hurried to the door. But the moment she opened it, an alarm sounded.

Lachlan must have realized someone had broken into the room.

Holly hurried downstairs, only to find every exit from the ballroom blocked. The guests began whispering nervously, and the crowd grew increasingly restless.

Lachlan appeared on the curved staircase and raised his voice.

"Everyone, please stay calm. A valuable antique has gone missing, so we've temporarily closed off the exits while we search for it. We can't risk letting anyone leave with it."

He'd barely finished speaking when Tiffany pointed straight at Holly and shouted, "It was her! I've been watching her, and I saw her sneaking upstairs earlier! She must've taken it!"

Everyone turned to look at Holly.

"Wasn't she Mr. Murdoch's sugar baby? And now she's stealing?"

"He dumped her. Guess she's desperate for money."

"Didn't Mr. Murdoch give her money when they split up? How's she broke already? You think she's on drugs?"

The whispers grew louder. Some guests looked at Holly with contempt, others with curiosity, and a few seemed to be enjoying her humiliation.

Lachlan fixed her with a cold stare, a faint, mocking smile playing on his lips. "Ms. Rosen?"

Vincent watched her from the crowd, his expression unreadable. After a moment, he let out a quiet sigh of disappointment.

"Holly, if you needed money, you could've just asked me. You didn't have to resort to stealing."

Lachlan approached her slowly, his eyes never leaving her face. "Hand it over, Ms. Rosen. You know how much it means to me."

Holly met his gaze and held up her purse. "I didn't steal anything. If you don't believe me, you can search my bag."

Lachlan narrowed his eyes and reached for it.

Before he could take the purse, Holly slipped her free hand beneath her skirt and drew the small pistol strapped to her thigh. In one swift motion, she pressed the barrel against his forehead.

She straightened and said in a cold, clear voice, "Lachlan Bauman, you're under arrest."

Just then, the manor's front doors burst open. Armed police officers stormed into the ballroom and quickly secured the area.

The team leader hurried over to Holly, snapped to attention, and saluted.

"Detective Rosen, the tactical unit is in position and awaiting your orders."