Chapter 596

Chapter 596

The news of Lorelei's downfall spread through Silverlight City like wildfire.

One by one, the people she had threatened and manipulated began to come forward.

The most important of them was Xanthe.

Xanthe was a well-known socialite in Silverlight City's elite circles.

What very few people knew was that Lorelei had once blackmailed her with compromising photos.

Years ago, Xanthe had made a mistake — a brief affair that unraveled her carefully kept life.

Lorelei found out. She got the photos, and she held them like a loaded gun.

"She put the pictures right in front of me and told me that if I didn't do what she said, she'd send them to my husband. To everyone who knew me."

Xanthe's voice trembled. "My husband is a very traditional man. If he ever found out, he would have divorced me. I would have had nothing left."

"So I had no choice but to do what she told me. All these years, I passed messages for her, laundered money for her, and helped her pull in the people she needed."

"I know I'm guilty. But I was forced into it. She had those photos. If I stepped out of line, she'd go public, and I'd be finished."

Louisa watched her in silence.

She was waiting. Waiting for Xanthe to finish.

"Ms. Forbes, I know it's probably too late for me to be saying any of this now."

Xanthe's tears finally fell. "But I can't keep living under Lorelei's thumb. I want to make it right. I have the evidence she used to threaten me, and records of everything she made me do over the years. All of it — I'll hand it over."

She paused, then added, "And there's more. Lorelei has had her hooks in other women too. I know of at least a few other wives she's been controlling the same way. If you need them, I can reach out."

Something shifted in Louisa's eyes.

Xanthe's evidence mattered. And her connections to the other victims mattered even more.

With their testimonies, Lorelei's case would be airtight.

"Mrs. Boleyn, we'd welcome your cooperation."

Louisa's tone was measured. "But you need to understand — once you testify, Lorelei may come after you."

"I don't care."

Xanthe wiped her eyes, her gaze hardening. "I've been living in fear for years. I'm done with it. Even if she retaliates, I'm not backing down. I just want this to be over."

Louisa studied her for a moment, then gave a single nod.

"Alright. Sadie, take Mrs. Boleyn to give her statement. Make sure we collect everything she has."

"Yes, Ms. Forbes."

Sadie nodded and led Xanthe out of the room.

Xanthe's testimony added another ironclad count to Lorelei's growing list of crimes.

On the other side of the investigation, Nicholas and Julian had been digging deeper — and what they'd uncovered was damning.

Lorelei had been running her money-laundering operation through a front organization called the 'JM Chamber of Commerce' — a business association on paper, and nothing but a financial shell in reality.

For years, she had used it to wash enormous sums of dirty money into clean accounts.

"We've traced over five hundred million dollars moving through the JM Chamber over the years."

Nicholas's voice was grave. "The vast majority came from illegal sources. Lorelei ran it all through the Chamber to make it look legitimate."

"And that's not all. The core members of the Chamber? All her people. They managed the funds, transferred assets, and handled the operations she couldn't put her name on."

There was one more layer beneath all of it — the Taylor family.

Layla, the woman who had posed as Louisa's savior, was a Taylor. Years ago, the Taylor family had used her to get access to the surveillance footage from the gala. Then they played the role of rescuers, earning Adeline's trust and gratitude under completely false pretenses.

Every thread led back to Lorelei.

"The Taylor family has been collecting favors from Lorelei for years — contracts, deals, opportunities that should never have gone their way."

Julian's voice was ice. "They're just as dirty as she is."

"Louisa, we have it all."

He set a thick folder down in front of her. "The money trail from the JM Chamber is fully mapped. Most of it leads directly to Lorelei's personal accounts. The Taylor family's involvement is documented. Layla was their plant — placed in Adeline's life from the very beginning."

Louisa picked up the file and flipped through it quickly.

Her expression grew colder with every page.

"Good."

She set it down. "With this, Lorelei has nowhere left to run."

"What about Layla?" Nicholas asked.

"She answers for everything."

Louisa's voice left no room for debate. "She impersonated my mother-in-law's rescuer. She lied to Adeline's face for years. And she was part of Lorelei's operation. She's going to be held accountable."

"Already taken care of." Julian gave a short nod. "I've got people bringing her in now."

By that point, Layla had already caught wind of what was coming.

She was moving fast — stuffing her luggage with the money she had drained from Adeline over the years, desperate to get out of the city before the walls closed in.

She knew that if she was caught, it was over.

She made it as far as the front door.

The police were already waiting.

"Layla Scott, you are a suspect in a fraud investigation. You need to come with us."

The color drained from her face instantly.

Her knees buckled. She barely stayed upright.

"No — it wasn't me — I didn't — "

She was still stammering when the officer stepped forward. No one was listening.

"Layla Scott, please cooperate with the investigation."

The handcuffs clicked shut around her wrists.

Her tears came then — hot and useless.

She knew it was over.

Impersonating Adeline's rescuer. Deceiving her for years. Conspiring with Lorelei.

There was enough to bury her.

With Xanthe's testimony, the JM Chamber exposed, and Layla in custody, Lorelei's empire came apart completely.

Her assets were frozen. Her companies, seized. Her allies and business partners scrambled to distance themselves, cutting ties before her wreckage could pull them under too.

Lorelei had finally run out of road.

But Louisa knew it still wasn't enough.

The core of it all — the old case, the one that had taken her parents from her — hadn't been fully proven yet.

She needed more. She needed every last piece of evidence.

Lorelei would pay for everything she had done. Not just some of it.

All of it.