Chapter 6
Evelyn stepped further into the dining hall, the crystal chandeliers reflecting off the pristine white collar of her maid's dress. She did not look at Lisette, directing her complete attention to Damon.
“Miss Shaw informed Alfie yesterday that he was being sent away to a boarding school immediately following your wedding, sir,” Evelyn reported, her voice clear and unwavering. “She explicitly instructed him to keep it a secret from you, claiming it was a surprise you had already authorized. She was isolating him, preparing him to disappear.”
A profound, deadly silence settled over Damon Whitmore. The muscles in his neck flexed violently, the small tattoo dancing above his collar. The revelation that this woman had been torturing his son psychologically, weaponizing the boy's trust against him, pushed his suppressed fury past the point of no return.
Lisette scrambled backward on her hands and knees, the expensive satin of her gown tearing slightly against a stray piece of glass that had fallen from a dropped plate.
“He misunderstood! He’s a child, Damon, his imagination is running wild! We talked about schools, yes, but it was for his own good! He needs discipline!”
Damon walked slowly toward her, his polished leather shoes making heavy, deliberate sounds against the wood. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a crisp, white handkerchief, methodically wiping a speck of dust from his signet ring.
“Do you honestly believe I cannot distinguish between a child's imagination and a calculated psychological attack, Lisette? Do you think I am foolish enough to believe my son invented such a specific, cruel lie?”
Lisette pressed her back against the legs of the heavy mahogany table, trapped. “Damon, please! I was just trying to help! You are so busy with the syndicate; you don't have time to raise him properly! I was going to manage him for you!”
“By feeding him broken glass at our engagement dinner?” Damon asked, his tone dropping an octave, carrying the full weight of his lethal authority. “Is murder your preferred method of child management, Lisette, or did you simply lack the patience to poison him slowly?”
Lisette covered her face with her hands, sobbing hysterically. “I panicked! The Marzanos were putting pressure on me! They said if he was still in the picture, the merger wouldn't go through! I didn't have a choice!”
The name dropped like a bomb in the quiet room. Evelyn’s expressive brows shot up. The Marzano family was Damon's biggest rival in the city, a brutal organization that had been fighting a bloody turf war with the Whitmore syndicate for a decade.
Damon froze. The handkerchief in his hand went entirely still. The attempted murder of his son was no longer just the act of a jealous, greedy woman. It was an orchestrated assassination attempt funded by his enemies.
He looked down at Lisette, his cold, observant eyes turning completely pitch black.
“Are you confessing to treason, Lisette? Did you sell the life of my seven-year-old son to the Marzano syndicate in exchange for a crown?”
Lisette realized her fatal mistake the second the words left her mouth. She had tried to shift the blame, but in doing so, she had admitted to conspiring with a rival cartel. She looked up at Damon, sheer, unadulterated terror paralyzing her vocal cords.
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Damon tossed the handkerchief onto the table. He leaned over, resting his heavily tattooed hands on his knees, bringing his face dangerously close to her trembling, tear-streaked face.
“How long did you truly believe you could operate as a rat in my house before I drowned you in your own blood?”
