Chapter 5
The sheer audacity of the maid's defiance sent a ripple of shocked whispers through the frozen dinner guests. But before Estelle could launch another hysterical attack against Ada, a small, quiet voice broke through the suffocating tension, delivering a blow that no amount of political maneuvering could deflect.
Six-year-old Luca sat perfectly still in his small navy suit. He looked directly at Estelle, his young face devoid of malice but filled with a terrifying, innocent clarity. He did not understand the gravity of syndicate politics, but he understood exactly what he had seen.
"You burned Grandma’s real medicine," Luca stated, speaking with simple, absolute certainty.
The devastating impact of the child's truth struck the room like a physical shockwave. The silence was instantly replaced by the deafening sound of absolute ruin for Estelle Shaw.
"Luca, sweetie, you are confused," Estelle stammered, her voice cracking as she took a frantic step toward the boy. "You saw me throwing wrapping paper into the fire. It was just trash from the presents."
"No," Luca insisted, shaking his head. "It was the little orange bottles. You threw them in the fire in the study. Then you took my peppermints from my pocket and put them in Grandma's shiny box. I saw you."
"Shut your mouth, you stupid boy!" Estelle shrieked, losing her mind entirely as she raised her hand, stepping aggressively toward the six-year-old heir of the Ashford family.
Before her foot could even touch the ground, Dominic moved. The sheer, masculine power radiating from his broad shoulders was terrifying as he intercepted her path. He did not strike her, but his massive frame was an impenetrable wall of impending violence.
"If you take one more step toward my son, Estelle, it will be the last step you ever take," Dominic promised, his deep, controlled voice dropping into a register that shook the very foundation of the room.
Estelle froze, her chest heaving against the tight fabric of her luxurious gown. She looked around the crowded room, searching the faces of the capos and relatives for a single ally. She found none. The men who had smiled and drank her champagne minutes ago were now calculating the odds of a war, and they were firmly stepping away from the blast radius.
"Dominic, please," Estelle begged, tears of genuine terror finally spilling over her fair, rosy cheeks. "She is a burden! She is holding you back from expanding the territory! I did it for us! I did it to make you stronger!"
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"You attempted to murder my mother to make me stronger?" Dominic asked slowly, processing the absolute insanity of her logic.
"She was going to die soon anyway!" Estelle cried, desperately trying to salvage her leverage. "I just accelerated the timeline so we could focus on the wedding and the merger!"
