**Chapter 3: The Masquerade Unfolds**
**Onward Tower Penthouse — 7:15 AM**
Sunlight sliced through the penthouse, glinting off the empty crystal tumbler Clifford still gripped. Tania stood frozen in the doorway, her reflection in the floor-to-ceiling windows a fractured mosaic of last night's sequins and smudged mascara. The kiss—*that* kiss—hung between them like a live wire.
"The press is calling it 'the scandal of the season,'" Clifford said, tossing his phone onto the sofa. A tabloid headline screamed: **BILLIONAIRE'S BLACK SWAN: CLIFFORD ONWARD'S MYSTERY FIANCEÉ SAVAGES LOVE RIVAL!** Beneath it, a blurred photo of Tania's palm meeting Daniel's cheek.
"Crowe's team already leaked the bail hearing," he continued, his voice taut. "Your father's judge received an anonymous 'donation' this morning. They're denying bail."
Tania's stomach dropped. "You promised he'd walk."
"He *will*." Clifford stalked toward her, his limp pronounced. "But Crowe's moving faster. The gala photos weren't enough—he wants blood." He paused, his gaze flicking to her lips. "We need to accelerate the plan."
"Accelerate *how*?"
A knock cut through the tension. Eleanor Onward swept in, her ivory sheath dress a silent rebuke to Tania's crumpled gown. "Darling," she purred, ignoring Tania, "Marshall's called an emergency board vote. He's claiming you're… *compromised*." Her eyes raked over Tania. "And he's brought a gift."
She slid a USB across the marble counter. Clifford plugged it in, and security footage bloomed on the screen: Tania's father, hours before his arrest, handing a sealed envelope to a man in a hoodie. Crowe's voiceover hissed: *"Your little vigilante's daddy wasn't just framed—he was willing. How long before she betrays you too?"*
**Midtown Detention Center — 11:00 AM**
The visitation room reeked of bleach and despair. Tania's father, hunched in orange scrubs, pressed a shaking hand to the glass. "The envelope was blank," he rasped. "Crowe's men threatened your mom's hospice care. I had no choice—"
"Why didn't you tell me?" Tania whispered.
"Crowe owns the guards here. He said he'd make you disappear if I talked." His eyes widened suddenly. "That bullet Clifford took years ago—it wasn't random. Crowe's sniper missed *you*. You were the target."
**Onward Tower — 3:00 PM**
"Your father's right," Clifford said, pacing. "Crowe tried to kill you when you were seventeen. Your mom's 'accident'… it was him."
Tania's world tilted. "You *knew*?"
"Not until now." He gripped her shoulders. "Crowe's not just after my empire—he's been erasing anyone connected to your family's old tech patents. Your parents invented something he wants. Something *I* need."
"What?"
Before he could answer, the elevator dinged. Daniel stepped out, a bruise blooming on his cheek. "Tania, you need to leave. Now."
Clifford's laugh was icy. "Still doing Crowe's dirty work?"
"Eleanor's working with him," Daniel said, desperation edging his voice. "They're planting evidence in your accounts. By tonight, you'll be arrested for laundering—and Tania along with you."
**Skyline Lounge — 8:00 PM**
Rain lashed the rooftop bar as Tania scrolled through Clifford's encrypted files. Patent schematics flickered: **Project Echo—a data chip merging AI with human memory**. Her parents' names glowed in the metadata.
"They designed this to treat Alzheimer's," Clifford said, appearing beside her. "Crowe wants it weaponized. Sold to the highest bidder."
"And you?" she asked, throat tight.
"I wanted to destroy him." His thumb traced her jaw, last night's tenderness resurfacing. "Now I just want to keep you alive."
A shadow shifted in the rain. Tania glimpsed the sniper too late.
**End of Chapter 3**