Mina Hollis hummed softly as she arranged flowers on the console

The cascading crystal chandeliers bathed the unfolding scene in an unforgiving, luminous glow. The thirty elite guests remained paralyzed in their velvet dining chairs, watching the confrontation with breathless terror. They were seasoned politicians and syndicate lieutenants, but none of them dared to intervene in a dispute involving the inner sanctum of Alden Kincaid’s mansion.

As Juliana approached, her fair, rosy skin had lost a fraction of its color, but she maintained a facade of absolute, high-society poise. She moved to step between Mina and the boy, but Alden anticipated the movement with predatory grace.

Alden stepped smoothly between Juliana and the open doorway, physically blocking his fiancée from the housemaid and the child. His towering, masculine frame cast a dark, protective shadow over Mina and Owen.

"Are you attempting to intervene, Juliana?" Alden asked.

His deep, low voice remained completely level. The controlled pause between his words was a calculated instrument of psychological torture. He did not raise his tone, but the sheer gravity of his presence forced Juliana to halt her advance.

Juliana looked directly into Alden’s cold, perceptive eyes. She forced her lips into a small, reassuring smile, attempting to wrap her cruelty in the delicate silk of benevolent devotion.

"I was keeping him safe," Juliana said.

Her tone was smoothly protective, her American accent dripping with a manufactured, maternal concern. She adjusted her sculpted satin gown, projecting an aura of complete innocence. Juliana’s eyes searched Alden’s expression for acceptance, silently urging him to validate her twisted version of events and dismiss the weeping maid.

"Do you define safety as locking a child in a lightless service corridor?" Alden inquired, his eyes narrowing into freezing slits.

"Alden, darling, you must understand," Juliana countered, her voice pitching slightly higher in defense. "His mother is completely unstable. She was mixed up with some very dangerous people outside of this estate. I discovered the threat and brought the boy here to protect him until the danger passed. I was going to tell you, but I didn't want to burden you with staff drama during our engagement."

"Did you believe I would not notice a prisoner residing within the walls of my own home?" Alden asked, his jawline clenching tight.

"He was well cared for!" Juliana insisted, her smile straining slightly at the edges. "He had food, he had blankets. I was doing them a favor. She should be thanking me."

Only after speaking her piece did Juliana tear her eyes away from Alden. She shifted her gaze downward, giving Owen a brief, venomous warning glance—a silent, terrifying command for the six-year-old boy to keep his mouth shut and play along with her lies.

Mina held Owen tighter against her sophisticated black maid dress, her heart hammering against her ribs. She glared at the socialite, her soft features hardening with a fierce, maternal outrage that completely eclipsed her fear of the mafia boss.

"Is this woman speaking the truth about your arrangements, Mina?" Alden asked, his cold gaze shifting briefly to the housemaid kneeling on the floor.

"She took him from his bed two months ago, sir," Mina answered, her voice trembling but clear. "She said if I didn't spy on your meetings and report back to her, she would make sure I never saw him again."