Chapter 4
The opulent grand salon was suffocatingly quiet. The ivory candles burning in their gilded candelabras seemed to cast harsh, judgmental shadows over Serena’s emerald gown. The polished, reassuring smile that usually charmed the syndicate members had completely evaporated, leaving behind a feral mask of desperation and cornered panic.
"That is an outrageous lie!" Serena shouted, stepping forward, her diamond earrings swinging wildly. The aristocratic polish was completely gone. "She is a lying whore trying to ruin our evening, Sebastian! I have never set foot in your bedroom with Gavin! She is trying to turn you against your own blood to extort this family!"
Sebastian did not look at Serena. The artistic negative-space tattoos on his hands stood out starkly as he moved with a profound, terrifying calm. He stepped smoothly beside Ivy and Milo, positioning his broad, masculine body deliberately between Serena and both witnesses. It was a physical shield, an unmistakable declaration of absolute protection that stripped away Serena's authority in a single, fluid movement.
He looked down at his six-year-old son, who was watching the scene with wide, confused eyes, still holding the wooden reindeer. Sebastian’s sharp, angular face softened for a fraction of a second, offering the boy a silent vow of safety, before turning his full, lethal attention back to his fiancée.
Serena’s smile had completely disappeared, her face draining of color as she realized her meticulously crafted coup had failed spectacularly. The room held its breath, suspended in silence, waiting for the apex predator to strike. She glanced involuntarily toward the marble staircase, a silent prayer that Gavin would appear to save her, but the landing remained empty.
Sebastian held Serena’s gaze with a cold, unwavering stare.
"Do you expect me to accept the premise that my son and my staff conspired to invent such a specific, treacherous lie, Serena?" Sebastian asked, his deep voice slicing through her frantic excuses with effortless, measured authority.
"He is six years old, Sebastian!" Serena cried, pointing a shaking finger at Milo. "Children have vivid imaginations! He heard the staff gossiping and twisted the words! You cannot take the word of a child and a lying maid over your future wife!"
"Is it your custom to blame a child for the treacherous filth that you orchestrated behind my back?" Sebastian asked, his tone so terrifyingly calm that several guests physically recoiled.
"I am protecting this family!" Serena shrieked defensively, slamming her hands against her sides. "Your brother is the one who initiated it! He said you were weak! He said he was taking over the eastern ports, and he forced me to comply to secure my own future! I was a victim!"
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The confession echoed off the mirrored walls, sealing her fate. She hadn't denied the affair; she had merely attempted to justify it as a necessary political survival tactic, confirming that Gavin was actively planning a violent internal coup.
"This reception is concluded," Sebastian announced, shifting his dark gaze to the fifty elite guests seated around the room. "Everyone who does not carry the Blackwell name, or work in my personal security detail, will vacate this room immediately."
