Chapter 5
The physical shift in the drawing room was absolute. By physically shielding the housemaid and his son, Dominic had drawn a line in the sand. The fifty guests remained frozen, their eyes locked on the low worktable, realizing they were witnessing the brutal deconstruction of the syndicate's future matriarch.
Juliette backed away until her spine hit the edge of a heavy silk drape. The bright, luminous light of the room offered her no shadows to hide within. She looked wildly around the cavernous space, desperately seeking an ally among the capos, but the hardened men refused to meet her eyes. The accusation of manipulating the boss's son had severed any political ties she held in that room.
"Dominic, you cannot believe this insanity!" Juliette pleaded, her hands shaking so violently the diamond brooch rattled in her palm. "She is a servant! She is trying to trap you! You cannot believe this girl and a confused child over me! Our families have an alliance!"
"Is an alliance built on the manipulation of my blood worth keeping?" Dominic asked, his voice a low, vibrating rumble that sent shivers down the spines of the criminals seated nearby.
"I was teaching him a lesson!" Juliette shrieked, tears of panic finally spilling over her rosy cheeks, ruining her elegant makeup. "He is too attached to her! A future boss cannot be soft on the help! I was securing a strong future for us!"
"Did you think I would crown a woman whose hands are stained with the emotional manipulation of a six-year-old?" Dominic inquired, his voice remaining perfectly steady.
He looked down at Juliette, his profile catching the warm golden light. The artistic tattoo on his neck shifted as his sharply defined jaw tightened again. He held a cold, unwavering stare, stripping away the diamonds and the satin, exposing the ruthless, pathetic rot underneath.
"I was doing it for you!" Juliette cried out, her voice pitching an octave higher as her panic fully set in. "You demand perfection in this house! The boy needs discipline! I was solving the problem!"
"Do you believe you have the right to decide who my son loves under my roof?" Dominic asked, his deep voice remaining terrifyingly calm, completely devoid of the hysteria radiating from the woman before him.
"You need me!" Juliette shrieked, grasping at the last shreds of her political power and family influence. "My family controls the western distribution lines! We built this alliance together! If you break this engagement, my father will start a war that will burn this city to the ground!"
"Do you think the threat of a war frightens me more than a monster sleeping in my bed?" Dominic asked softly.
He didn't wait for her to formulate another pathetic excuse. He turned his head slightly, his gaze locking onto his senior capo.
"Silas," Dominic commanded. His deep, measured voice broke the silence, carrying perfectly across the grand drawing room.
The senior capo immediately stood up from his velvet sofa, unbuttoning his tailored suit jacket to reveal the dark holster beneath. "Yes, Boss."
"Will you and two of your men escort this woman to the holding cells in the sub-basement?" Dominic asked, not taking his cold stare off Juliette.
"No! Please, Dominic! You can't put me in a cell!" Juliette screamed, kicking wildly as Silas and two massive enforcers approached her, grabbing her roughly by her arms and hauling her away from the drapes.
"Will you ensure she is kept entirely isolated?" Dominic continued, completely ignoring her thrashing and screaming. "We will discuss the exact nature of her punishment once I have verified her family had no knowledge of this stunt."
May you like
"My father will kill you!" Juliette screamed, her voice cracking with hysteria as the men dragged her backward, the delicate emerald satin fabric of her gown tearing audibly.
"Let him try," Dominic replied quietly, finally turning his back on her.
