Chapter 7
The bright, airy luminescence of the dining hall felt like an interrogation spotlight as Delphine stared at the heavy diamond engagement ring on her trembling finger. The soft, elegant warmth of the room provided no comfort for her shattered ambitions. She had played a dangerous, controlling game, assuming her beauty and her family's political capital made her immune to the boss's legendary wrath. She had miscalculated completely.
"You can't do this, Victor," Delphine whispered, her American accent cracking as genuine tears of frustration and panic finally spilled over her fair cheeks. "I love you. I did everything for you."
“Does love require a deadbolt and a cage to flourish?” Victor asked, his deep, low voice remaining devoid of any emotion.
He didn't wait for her pathetic, scrambling answer. Victor slowly turned his broad, powerful shoulders, breaking his terrifying focus on Delphine, and looked back down at the two women he was protecting.
Margot was weeping silently, her fragile shoulders shaking beneath her fine cashmere shawl. The terror of the confrontation was overwhelming for the seventy-three-year-old woman, but the relief of finally being heard, of finally being saved by her son, was absolute.
Nell remained steadfast by the matriarch's side. The beautiful housemaid’s expressive brows were drawn together in deep empathy. Her slender figure stood as a graceful pillar of strength in her sophisticated black maid dress. She continued to hold Margot's frail hand, offering a silent, unwavering comfort that the older woman desperately needed.
Victor looked directly into Nell’s eyes. The artistic tattoos across his hands flexed slightly as he rested his palm on the back of his mother's velvet chair.
“How long has this been happening, Nell?” Victor asked, his voice dropping into a register of profound, terrifyingly gentle inquiry.
Nell swallowed, maintaining eye contact with the towering Mafia boss. "Every evening you were called away on business, sir," she answered, her voice soft but steady, ringing clearly in the silent room. "Miss Crane would dismiss the medical staff early. She would escort your mother to the west wing suite herself."
“Did you see her turn the key?” Victor asked.
"Yes, Mr. Whitford. I saw her lock the door and take the key," Nell confirmed, her chin lifting slightly with quiet bravery. "I could hear your mother crying through the heavy wood. I tried to stay nearby, but Miss Crane threatened to fire me and blacklist me from the city if I spoke a word of it to you."
"You lying bitch!" Delphine screamed from across the table, entirely losing her mind. She pointed a manicured finger at Nell. "I will have you destroyed for this! You are nothing! You are a maid!"
Victor slowly turned his head back toward the hysterical woman.
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“Do you believe you possess the power to destroy anyone while standing in my shadow?” Victor asked.
The sheer, overwhelming menace radiating from the head of the table instantly silenced Delphine’s screaming. The bright, luminous colors of the engagement dinner were permanently stained by her exposure, her true, cruel nature laid bare beneath the warm golden light of the cascading chandeliers.
