Chapter 1
Cascading crystal chandeliers cast a warm, golden light across the carved walnut paneling of the dining hall, illuminating a scene of breathtaking, curated perfection. The air was thick with the scent of white roses and melting ivory candles, their flames flickering in heavy silver candelabras. Every detail of Bastian Wells’s forty-fourth birthday dinner spoke of immense wealth and impeccable control. Around the grand table, guests in tailored silk and velvet murmured over crystal glasses and fine porcelain, bathed in the luminous, airy glow of the mansion.
Beside Bastian’s place setting rested an open velvet box, displaying a cushion where a luxury leather-strapped watch had sat only moments ago.
Audrey Lane, wearing a sophisticated black maid’s dress with a cinched waist and a pristine white apron, knelt gracefully beside six-year-old Felix. The boy looked remarkably like his father, dressed in a formal shirt, waistcoat, and tailored trousers. However, he was currently distracted, rubbing his small wrist beneath the oversized, heavy leather watch he had borrowed to emulate the man he idolized.
Audrey paused in smoothing his collar. Her expressive brows drew together as she noticed his discomfort. She gently turned his wrist, her slender fingers steady, to see what was bothering him beneath the dark leather strap.
Bastian noticed. His cold, perceptive eyes shifted from the dinner conversation, his attention settling directly on Audrey’s hands. He sat perfectly still in his tailored dark three-piece suit, a man entirely composed, though his broad shoulders tensed almost imperceptibly.
Standing opposite them, Celine Harcourt’s smile briefly tightened. Her sculpted midnight-blue evening gown shimmered as she shifted her weight. She had given Bastian that watch earlier today.
Audrey carefully unfastens the loose strap, her thumb brushing against something unnatural on the underside of the leather. With practiced grace, she lifted the watch away from Felix’s skin.
Looking directly at Bastian, Celine spoke, her voice airy, dismissive, and entirely too loud for the sudden quiet of the room. “He’s only playing with it.”
Despite the indulgent little smile she wore, Celine’s eyes returned immediately to Audrey’s hands, tracking the watch like a hawk.
Audrey did not look at Celine. She looked directly into Bastian’s cold eyes.
“Audrey, why remove my watch?” Bastian’s voice was deep, low, and measured.
Every guest stopped eating. The gentle clinking of silverware vanished. The entire table turned toward the head of the room. Audrey held the heavy timepiece carefully by its polished case, her softly rounded face pale but resolute. Her lips drew together, weighing the sheer danger of her next words.
Maintaining intense eye contact with Bastian, Audrey spoke softly, though her voice carried in the silent room. “There’s something under the strap.”
She raised the watch just enough to reveal a small, unfamiliar square patch attached beneath the leather. It was nearly translucent, completely out of place on a luxury timepiece. Audrey’s inner brows lifted anxiously, her shallow breathing giving away her fear, yet she kept her hands impeccably steady.
Celine looked directly at Bastian, her composure fracturing. “He wasn’t supposed to wear it.”
The words escaped far faster than her earlier reassurance. She attempted another small smile, but it failed to reach her eyes, which remained fixed on Bastian in absolute terror. Only after the silence stretched did she dare to glance toward Felix’s exposed wrist.
Bastian moved with lethal grace. He stood, drawing Felix close to his side with one hand, his family signet ring glinting in the candlelight. He angled his body between Celine and both the boy and Audrey, a physical barrier of pure intimidation.
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Holding Celine’s gaze, he asked in a deep, dangerously quiet voice, “Why shouldn’t my son wear it?”
Celine’s attempted smile completely disappeared. Felix looked up at his father, confused, while Audrey remained standing beside Bastian’s shoulder, holding the poisoned watch. The room held its breath.
