Chapter 5
Upstairs in the private study, the atmosphere was a stark contrast to the heavy, violent tension of the dining hall. The room was lined with floor-to-ceiling mahogany bookshelves, smelling of aged leather and burning Cuban tobacco. Evelyn Reed engaged the heavy brass deadbolt on the door, her hands shaking only slightly as the lock clicked into place. She exhaled a long, shaky breath, her softly oval face pale but resolute.
Alfie sat quietly on a massive leather sofa, his small legs dangling above the Persian rug. He looked at Evelyn, his blue eyes wide with innocent confusion. “Is Lisette in trouble, Evelyn? Did I do something wrong by not eating the candy?”
Evelyn rushed over to the boy, kneeling on the rug so they were at eye level. She offered him a warm, comforting smile, reaching out to smooth the lapel of his formal dinner jacket.
“No, Alfie. You did exactly the right thing,” Evelyn assured him, her American accent soft and soothing. “You are very brave, and your father is very proud of you. Miss Lisette is the one who made a terrible mistake.”
Alfie looked down at his polished shoes. “She told me a secret yesterday. She said that after the wedding, she was going to send me to a special boarding school far away. She said my dad agreed to it, and that I wasn't allowed to tell him because it was a surprise. Was the candy going to send me away?”
Evelyn’s blood ran cold. The sheer malice of Lisette Shaw was astounding. She hadn't just tried to poison the boy on a whim; this was a calculated, prolonged campaign of psychological abuse designed to isolate Alfie from his father before finally eliminating him.
“She lied to you, Alfie,” Evelyn said fiercely, her expressive brows furrowing. “Your father would never send you away. He loves you more than anything in this world.”
Evelyn realized she possessed information that Damon needed immediately. The glass in the cake was the physical evidence, but the psychological manipulation proved premeditation. She stood up, smoothing her pristine white apron.
“Alfie, I need to go speak with your father for just one moment. I am going to ask the guards outside the door to step inside and stay with you. You will be perfectly safe. Do you understand?”
Alfie nodded, trusting the beautiful housemaid completely. Evelyn opened the door just enough to beckon two of Damon's heavily armed enforcers inside. Once they were positioned in the study, she slipped out into the grand hallway and made her way back to the sweeping marble staircase.
As she descended, she could hear the muffled, frantic sobbing of Lisette coming from the dining hall. Evelyn pushed the heavy oak doors open just as Lisette collapsed onto her knees on the hardwood floor, her sculpted satin gown pooling around her like a puddle of liquid silver.
Damon stood over her, his posture rigid and unyielding. He turned his cold, observant eyes toward the door as Evelyn entered, his sharp jaw setting in slight surprise at her return.
“Did I not instruct you to remain upstairs with my son, Evelyn?”
Evelyn stepped fully into the room, maintaining her elegant, polished posture despite the terrifying aura of the mafia boss.
“I secured him with your men, Mr. Whitmore,” Evelyn replied evenly. “But he just informed me of a conversation Miss Shaw had with him yesterday. I believed you needed to hear it immediately.”
Lisette’s head snapped up, her mascara running down her fair, rosy cheeks in dark, ugly streaks. “Don't listen to her, Damon! She’s making it up to ruin me!”
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Damon ignored the woman weeping at his feet. He kept his gaze locked on the housemaid, his deep voice carrying a dark, hungry curiosity.
“What exactly did my son share with you behind closed doors, Evelyn? Does it illuminate the depths of my fiancée's treachery?”
