Chapter 3
The silence in the luminous dining room grew suffocating. The clean whites of the table linens and the gentle golden highlights reflecting off the brass candelabras stood in stark contrast to the ugly, brutal reality of what Sabina had done. Sabina’s fair skin paled dramatically, the rosy hue vanishing entirely as she withered beneath Rowan’s cold, unwavering stare.
“Rowan, please, you can’t possibly believe them,” Sabina stammered, her polished veneer cracking to reveal the panicked woman beneath. “The boy is confused, and this maid is a liar. She slipped in the kitchen while preparing the appetizers!”
Rowan did not break eye contact with her. He slowly released Tessa’s hand, standing to his full, imposing height. His broad shoulders cast a formidable shadow over the exquisite banquet table. He swept his dark gaze across the frozen dinner guests, his expression a mask of terrifying authority.
“Are you all waiting for a formal invitation to vacate my home?” Rowan asked the crowd.
The response was instantaneous and chaotic. Chairs scraped loudly against the cream marble floors. The elite guests, accustomed to the sudden and violent shifts in mafia politics, scrambled to their feet. They abandoned their fine porcelain plates and crystal glasses, fleeing the bright, airy room with hurried, whispered apologies. Within a matter of seconds, the sprawling banquet hall was entirely empty, save for Rowan, Sabina, Tessa, and Finn.
Sabina stood up, her elegant satin gown rustling violently. “This is an outrage! You are humiliating me in front of the entire syndicate over a pathetic, lying servant! Rowan, I am your fiancée! We are to be married next month!”
Rowan rested his tattooed hands on the edge of the carved walnut table. He tilted his head, his deep voice carrying a chilling, calculated cadence.
“Do you expect me to ignore the testimony of my own son in favor of a woman who lies as effortlessly as she breathes?” Rowan asked.
“He is just a child!” Sabina shrieked, pointing an accusing finger at Finn, who shrank back slightly in his chair. “She has been manipulating him! She spends hours with him at that piano, whispering poison into his ear so he’ll turn against me! She wants my place at this table, Rowan!”
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Tessa stepped slightly in front of Finn, her maternal instincts overriding her fear. Her sophisticated black maid dress rustled as she shielded the boy. “I have never spoken a single ill word about you to this child, Miss Sabina. I only taught him the scales.”
“Are my son’s musical lessons a threat to your fragile pride, Sabina?” Rowan asked, taking a slow, measured step around the edge of the table.
