Chapter 3
The heavy mahogany doors of Elias’s private study clicked shut, sealing out the chaotic sounds of the dispersing party. The room was a sanctuary of dark leather, towering bookshelves, and a massive fireplace that crackled with burning oak. Elias guided Megan to the largest leather armchair near the fire, gently helping her sit while she clutched Oliver to her chest. Rosie remained perfectly content, sitting on the thick Persian rug, humming to herself as she played with a wooden block.
Megan was rocking back and forth, her tears soaking the white knitted cap with the red star. The newborn was awake now, his tiny, fair-skinned face looking up at his mother with wide, unseeing eyes.
"He's alive," Megan kept whispering, over and over, as if the words themselves were a spell keeping the nightmare at bay. "He's really alive."
Elias walked over to a crystal decanter on his desk, poured a small glass of amber liquid, and brought it to her. He knelt on the floor beside her chair, his tailored trousers pressing into the rug.
"Drink this, Megan. Just a sip. You need to calm your nerves," Elias instructed gently, offering the glass.
Megan took a small sip, coughing slightly as the alcohol burned her throat, but it did ground her frantic heartbeat. She looked at Elias, her clear, expressive eyes wide with a mixture of profound gratitude and sheer terror.
"How did she do it?" Elias asked, his voice a low, controlled rumble. He needed details. He needed to know how a child was stolen in his own fortified home.
"I went into early labor two weeks ago," Megan explained, her voice trembling as the traumatic memories resurfaced. "The estate doctor attended to me in the servant's quarters. It was a difficult birth. I passed out right after I heard him cry."
Elias’s jaw tightened. "And when you woke up?"
"Celine was there. And the doctor," Megan sobbed, clutching Oliver tighter. "They told me he didn't make it. They said his lungs weren't fully developed. I begged to see him, to hold him just once, but Celine said they had already taken the body away. She said it was for the best, that seeing a dead baby would break my mind."
Elias squeezed his eyes shut, a flash of pure, unadulterated fury crossing his sharp features. The estate doctor. A man on his payroll, trusted with the lives of his family and crew, had sold out a vulnerable woman for Celine Voss's coin.
"I am going to kill him," Elias swore softly, opening his dark eyes. The negative space tattoos on his hands flexed as he gripped the armrest of her chair.
"Elias, please," Megan pleaded, her fair, rosy skin pale in the firelight. "The Voss family will retaliate. You humiliated them in front of the entire syndicate. Celine won't let this go, and her father has the numbers to tear your empire apart. You should just let us leave. I'll take Oliver and we will disappear."
"You aren't going anywhere, Megan," Elias said, his tone absolute. "This is not just about Celine's jealousy. This is about a betrayal within my own ranks. If my doctor can be bought, who else is on their payroll?"
"But I'm just a maid," Megan whispered. "You can't go to war for me."
"You are the woman my daughter calls Mommy," Elias corrected her, his gaze shifting to Rosie, who was happily stacking her wooden blocks. "You have cared for her with more love than anyone else in this house. And you suffered unimaginable cruelty under my roof. The Whitmore family protects its own."
Before Megan could argue further, the heavy doors of the study opened. Silas, Elias's towering, scarred lieutenant, stepped into the room.
"Boss," Silas said grimly. "The Voss family has cleared the gates. But Victor made a call from his car. We intercepted the chatter. He's pulling his men from the docks and assembling them at his main compound."
"He's preparing for a strike," Elias nodded, standing up, his broad shoulders tense with kinetic energy. "Lock down the estate. Triple the guard on the perimeter. No one sleeps tonight."
"Understood," Silas said, turning to leave.
May you like
Elias looked back down at Megan. The terrified girl he had known yesterday was gone, replaced by a fiercely protective mother.
"You and the children will sleep in my master suite tonight. It's the most secure room in the house," Elias commanded softly. "I will not let them touch you again, Megan. I swear it on my life."
