Chapter 10
Gideon Shaw arrived the next morning because Cassandro asked him to.
Not ordered.
Asked.
Cassandro wanted to see whether the old captain still believed he had choices.
Gideon entered the library, saw Damian under guard, and stopped.
That pause was enough.
Cassandro placed the photograph from Black Cedar on the table.
Gideon did not deny it.
“You knew Natalie was alive.”
“Yes.”
Vivienne turned toward him.
Damian cursed quietly.
Cassandro sat back.
“How long?”
“Since Black Cedar.”
“Three years?”
“Yes.”
The honesty almost felt insulting.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Gideon looked at Damian.
Then Vivienne.
“Because I thought they were right.”
Cassandro’s jaw tightened.
“About what?”
“That Natalie made you impossible to control.”
Silence.
There it was.
The language of the whole conspiracy.
Control.
Gideon continued.
“You stopped listening to old captains after you married her. You moved crews without asking your father’s generation. You started trusting Natalie’s judgment over men who built the house.”
“She was my wife.”
“She was outside blood.”
Cassandro almost laughed.
“So is Vivienne.”
Gideon hesitated.
“Vivienne understood structure.”
From across the room, Mrs. Keller whispered, “Meaning she obeyed you.”
Gideon ignored her.
Cassandro did not.
He looked at Vivienne.
“You were acceptable because you wanted the same house they wanted.”
Vivienne lifted her chin.
“I wanted stability.”
Cassandro smiled without humor.
There was that word.
Gideon continued.
“Natalie discovered Damian was buying loyalty. She threatened to expose everything.”
“And you helped hold her.”
“Yes.”
“Black Cedar?”
“Yes.”
“What happened there?”
Gideon looked away.
“She escaped.”
“When?”
“Six months later.”
Cassandro froze.
Not four days.
Not one relocation.
Six months.
“What did you do after?”
“We searched.”
“For three years?”
“No.”
Gideon looked at Vivienne.
“She did.”
Vivienne’s face changed.
Another betrayal.
Cassandro watched them.
Gideon continued.
“Vivienne never stopped because Natalie had heard the second plan.”
Cassandro leaned forward.
“What second plan?”
Gideon’s eyes moved toward Audrey’s room.
May you like
Then back to Cassandro.
“The one that begins after your wedding.”
