Chapter 4
Marceline’s heavy sobbing echoed terribly in the vast, brightly lit dining room. She gripped the tailored fabric of Evander’s trousers, her beautiful garnet silk gown pooling around her on the floor like spilled wine. Evander did not pull away, nor did he look down at her. His cold, perceptive eyes remained fixed on the microphone resting in his tattooed palm.
Daisy retreated a few steps, pressing her back against a carved walnut credenza. She crossed her arms over her neatly tied white apron, her heart hammering frantically against her ribs. She had known Marceline was cruel—the woman had threatened to fire her over a misplaced fork just hours ago—but she never imagined this staggering level of betrayal.
"Are you still there, Graham?" Evander asked into the device, his tone conversational, as if casually asking a colleague about the weather.
Static hissed over the small speaker. "I'm here. You have thirty minutes to clear the southern docks, Cole. Or the boy is gone forever."
"Where is the boy currently located?" Evander asked.
Graham let out a harsh, nervous laugh. "Do you think I'm an idiot? Do you think I'm going to give you my coordinates over an open wire?"
"Do you think my technicians haven't been tracing this analog signal since the moment you first spoke?" Evander asked.
The line went dead quiet. Evander’s bluff—or perhaps it wasn't a bluff at all—hung heavily in the golden air of the dining room.
Evander looked down at his weeping fiancée. "Marceline, why did you threaten to fire my housemaid earlier this evening?"
Marceline looked up, her meticulous makeup streaked with dark tears. She blinked in confusion, clearly thrown by the sudden shift in his interrogation. "What? Evander, why does that matter right now? Please, we have to save Leo!"
"Does my question confuse you?" Evander asked, his voice dropping to a dangerous, gravelly register.
"She... she was hovering!" Marceline stammered, looking frantically at Daisy across the room. "She was lingering around the table. I wanted everything perfect for tonight!"
Evander’s gaze shifted to Daisy. "Daisy, why were you lingering around my chair?"
Daisy straightened her posture, forcing herself to maintain eye contact with the terrifying Mafia boss. "Because she wouldn't let me finish setting the table, sir. She sent me to the kitchen to fetch new candles, even though the candelabras were full. When I returned, she was adjusting the velvet on your chair."
Evander returned his undivided attention to Marceline. "Did you need privacy to plant Graham’s device, Marceline?"
"I was forced!" Marceline screamed, her voice bordering on pure hysteria. "I told you, they were going to hurt him!"
"If they were forcing you to betray me, why were you discussing my shipment schedules with him?" Evander asked. He tapped the listening device lightly against his family signet ring, the metallic clink ringing out sharply. "Did you plan to run away with Graham once you secured the southern docks?"
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"No! Never!" Marceline cried out, reaching desperately for his hand.
"Will you lie to me again, Marceline?" Evander asked, pulling his hand away smoothly, just out of her reach. "Or will you finally tell me where my son is?"
