Chapter 7 - The Secret Inside the Diamond
Victoria waited until Damian and Serena left for a charity dinner.
Then she locked herself inside the bathroom and examined the necklace under a magnifying mirror.
She pressed the clasp twice.
Nothing happened.
She rotated the small sapphire beneath it.
A red light blinked once.
Victoria nearly dropped the necklace.
She called the number written on the back of her father’s letter.
A woman answered.
“Vale Secure Archive.”
Victoria said nothing.
The woman continued.
“Ms. Vale, if you are calling from the pendant, the authentication is already complete.”
Her name was Mara Chen.
She had once directed cybersecurity for Vale Holdings before leaving the company after a disagreement with Serena.
Mara explained that Edward had secretly commissioned the pendant after discovering attempts to access his private records.
The diamond concealed a tiny camera.
The clasp held a microphone.
When activated, the necklace could encrypt and transmit audio and video to an independent archive beyond the company’s internal network.
“It isn’t constantly recording,” Mara said. “Your father believed privacy mattered. It only activates when you press the sapphire for three seconds.”
“Can it broadcast live?”
A pause followed.
“It can. But only through a system your father authorized.”
“What system?”
“Vale House.”
Edward had built the mansion’s ballroom with a private emergency communication network. Every screen, speaker and security camera could be controlled through an isolated channel.
The necklace had been paired with that system.
Victoria stared at herself in the mirror.
“Why would my father build something like this?”
“He said powerful people hide crimes behind closed doors. He wanted one room where the doors could never protect them.”
Mara warned her not to activate the broadcast without evidence.
A public accusation could be dismissed.
A complete confession could not.
Victoria thanked her and ended the call.
Then the bathroom handle moved.
Damian’s voice came through the door.
“Victoria? Who are you talking to?”
She looked at the blinking pendant in her hand.
May you like
The red light went dark one second before the door opened.
👉 Victoria had discovered how to expose them—but first she had to convince Damian she remained completely unaware.
