Marcus walked back to the master suite on the second floor, accompanied by Thomas Vance and two female security officers.

The walk-in closet was vast, the size of an ordinary apartment, filled with hundreds of designer dresses, fur coats, and walls of expensive handbags that Vanessa had purchased over the last six months using Marcus’s money.

Marcus pointed toward the open wardrobe.

"Pack only the clothing and personal effects she brought with her on the day she moved in," Marcus instructed the security officers coldly. "Every dress, shoe, piece of jewelry, and handbag purchased after our wedding date remains inside this house."

The officers moved quickly, systematically sorting through the garments.

Within twenty minutes, they had filled two plain canvas duffel bags with her pre-marital clothes—inexpensive, worn denim and fast-fashion blouses from before she had assumed the Sterling name.

On the velvet display island in the center of the closet sat a velvet box containing the six-carat diamond engagement ring Marcus had placed on her finger.

Beside it lay the platinum wedding band and three diamond tennis bracelets he had gifted her for her birthday.

Marcus picked up the velvet box, snapped it shut with a sharp click, and slipped it into his inner pocket.

Downstairs in the circular driveway, the distant sound of police sirens cut through the quiet night air, growing louder with every passing second.

Marcus walked out onto the second-floor balcony, watching two blue-and-white county cruiser lights flash across the towering oak trees lining the estate's private lane.

The heavy iron security gates swung inward to admit the police vehicles.

Behind him, Mrs. Gable stepped onto the balcony, holding a warm woolen blanket around her shoulders.

"Lily is still fast asleep, Mr. Sterling," the housekeeper murmured softly. "She didn't wake when the sirens started."

"Good," Marcus said, not turning his gaze from the arriving cruisers. "I don't want her to ever see that woman's face again."

"What will happen to the things she left behind?" Mrs. Gable asked, glancing back toward the piles of designer luxury items remaining in the master suite.

"Donate every stitch of fabric to the local women's crisis shelter," Marcus answered, his voice firm and unwavering. "Sell the jewelry and transfer every cent of the proceeds into an educational trust under Lily's name."

Marcus turned and walked toward the stairs, ready to watch the final curtain fall on Vanessa's cruel masquerade.