Chapter 2
The silence within the glass-roofed winter garden was absolute, pressing against the guests like a physical weight. The elite bosses, politicians, and socialites who populated Damon Vale's world understood the unwritten rules of his syndicate: loyalty was paramount, and betrayal was punished in blood. Watching the head of the Vale family hold the hand of the shivering, elderly woman he considered a mother, they all knew Celeste Arden had just crossed a fatal line.
"Damon, darling, you are making a scene over nothing," Celeste laughed nervously, taking a step toward him. Her champagne satin gown rustled loudly in the quiet room. "The estate is full of important guests. The staff quarters were needed for the extra security personnel. I simply relocated her to the most logical—"
"Do not speak another word," Damon commanded softly, his voice echoing off the glass walls. He did not look away from Martha, whose fair, rosy skin was pale and drawn from weeks in the freezing cold. He gently rubbed the back of her wrinkled hand with his thumb.
"I was fine, Damon, truly," Martha rasped, her voice weak. She pulled her thin knitted shawl tighter around her shoulders. "The dogs kept me warm. You shouldn't be angry with the lady of the house."
Damon’s eyes squeezed shut for a fraction of a second, a flash of pure, unadulterated agony crossing his sharp features. When he opened his eyes, the ruthless mafia boss had entirely taken over. He finally turned his gaze to his fiancée.
"You forced the woman who raised me to sleep on concrete," Damon said, stepping away from the velvet armchair to close the distance between him and Celeste. "While you slept in my bed, eating food she prepared, wearing jewels I bought you."
"I am your fiancée!" Celeste hissed, dropping the polished facade, her face flushing with humiliated rage. "My father is Elias Arden. Our marriage unites the two most powerful families on the eastern seaboard! You are going to humiliate me in front of our allies for a decrepit old nanny?"
"The engagement is over," Damon stated, his voice a glacial blade slicing through the warm golden light of the chandeliers.
Gasps rippled through the crowd. The Arden family was notoriously violent; breaking a blood pact of marriage was a direct declaration of war.
"You can't do this," Celeste breathed, her ruby earrings trembling as she shook her head. "My father will burn this estate to the ground."
"Let him try," Damon replied, his angular jaw locked in cold defiance. "Get out of my house, Celeste. If you are still on my property in five minutes, I will drag you to the kennels myself and lock the iron gate."
Celeste’s eyes widened in sheer terror as the Vale soldiers stationed around the room instantly stepped forward, hands resting on their concealed weapons. Without another word, she turned and fled the winter garden, her heavy satin gown sweeping behind her.
Damon ignored the murmurs of his guests. He turned his attention to the beautiful maid who had risked her own life to expose the truth.
"Elise," Damon said, his dark eyes softening only slightly. "Take Martha and Lucy to my private study. Have the kitchen send up hot tea and whatever food Martha wants. Do not leave their side."
"Yes, Mr. Vale," Elise nodded. She scooped Lucy into her arms, the little girl's red velvet dress bright against Elise's black uniform. She offered her free hand to Martha, gently guiding the elderly woman out of the room.
May you like
Damon turned back to the crowd, his eyes sweeping over the nervous faces of his peers.
"The reception is over," Damon announced. "I suggest you all go home and lock your doors. Tomorrow, the streets will not be safe."
