Chapter 6
Beatrice finally admitted the harbor was the motive.
Not apology.
Explanation.
“The Marlowes would push us out within a year.”
I stared at her.
“Would they?”
“Yes.”
“Sofia?”
“Her father.”
Interesting.
Not entirely imaginary.
Sofia’s father had publicly criticized the Pike corridor twice.
He believed the arrangement was inefficient.
He wanted consolidation.
That was a real conflict.
Good.
Truth matters even when villains misuse it.
“So you believed this marriage threatened your branch.”
“It did.”
“And your solution was drugging the bride.”
Beatrice flinched at the blunt language.
She preferred strategy.
Influence.
Protection.
I kept returning to the plate.
“You wanted her impaired.”
“I wanted the Marlowes slowed down.”
“Through her body.”
Silence.
“Why not come to me?”
She laughed bitterly.
“Because you had already chosen.”
“Chosen what?”
“Your son.”
There.
Deeper wound.
Beatrice believed I had favored Lorenzo’s future over every older family branch.
Maybe I had.
Not intentionally.
But perception matters.
She continued.
“Every year, another route moves closer to direct Bianchi control.”
“Because half the old arrangements became personal kingdoms.”
“That doesn’t mean ours did.”
Fair.
The Pike corridor had performed well.
I knew that.
Maybe the marriage would eventually reduce their importance without good reason.
Possible.
I looked at her.
“You might have had an argument.”
Her face changed.
“You ruined it.”
Silence.
“Now nobody can hear ‘Pike corridor’ without remembering Sofia’s plate.”
That landed.
Bad methods do not merely fail.
They poison legitimate concerns around them.
Beatrice had tried to preserve her branch.
May you like
Instead she made everyone suspicious of every argument it raised.
That consequence would last longer than my anger.
