Chapter 9
The night dragged on, heavy with the suffocating anticipation of impending violence. The mansion remained locked down, the cream marble floors patrolled by heavily armed guards. Deep in the basement holding cells, Celeste Wren paced the concrete floor of her cage. Her elegant satin evening gown was ruined, stained with dirt, and her diamond earrings had been confiscated.
The heavy iron door at the end of the corridor groaned open. Victor Hawthorne stepped into the damp, poorly lit space, his tailored dark three-piece suit looking profoundly out of place. He walked slowly toward Celeste's cell, his hands clasped behind his back.
Celeste rushed the bars, wrapping her hands tightly around the cold iron. Her polished facade was completely obliterated, replaced by a feral, desperate rage.
"You are going to die for this, Victor!" Celeste screamed, her voice echoing shrilly against the stone walls. "My father knows I am here! He is mobilizing the entire eastern seaboard! He will slaughter your men, he will kill your brother, and he will cut that little maid’s throat while you watch!"
Victor stopped just out of her reach. His neatly trimmed stubble cast sharp shadows across his angular face in the dim light. He looked at her with an expression of profound boredom.
"Do you truly believe your father will go to war for a daughter who sits rotting in a cage?" Victor asked, his deep, low voice vibrating through the bars.
"I am his blood!" Celeste shrieked, her fair skin splotchy and pale. "I am the heir to the Wren empire! He will burn this city to the ground to get me back!"
"If you are so incredibly valuable to his empire, why did he send you to marry into mine?" Victor asked, tilting his head slightly. "Did you not realize you were merely a pawn traded for access to my shipping ports?"
Celeste’s eyes widened, her chest heaving as the psychological blow landed. "You're lying! He loves me! He will destroy you!"
"Are you aware that I sent a courier to your father an hour ago, containing the financial ledgers detailing your embezzlement and a signed confession from the man you bribed?" Victor asked, stepping closer to the bars.
Celeste gasped, stumbling backward. "No... no, you couldn't have. He won't believe it."
"Do you think a mafia boss cares about paternal love when he realizes his own daughter has been stealing millions from a strategic ally and attempting to murder an heir?" Victor asked, his cold stare pinning her to the back wall of the cell. "Do you honestly believe he will risk his own life and his own empire to save a proven liability?"
Celeste sank to the concrete floor, the realization crashing over her like a physical weight. Her father was a ruthless man. If he knew she had failed so spectacularly, and that she was guilty of unauthorized treason, he would disown her to save himself. She was completely, utterly alone.
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"What are you going to do to me?" Celeste whispered, her voice entirely broken.
"Will you enjoy the rest of your life in this lightless box, Celeste?" Victor asked softly, turning his broad shoulders away from the cell. "Or will you eventually beg my guards for a quick end?"
