Chapter 6
The heavy mahogany doors of the grand salon swung open violently. Marcus, a towering man with a heavily scarred face and a dark trench coat, stepped into the room, flanked by two equally intimidating enforcers. They moved with absolute, silent precision, ignoring the lavish Christmas decorations and focusing entirely on their boss.
"Will you escort my former fiancée to the holding cells in the sub-basement?" Gareth asked, not turning around to look at the weeping woman.
"No! No, please!" Vivian shrieked, kicking and thrashing wildly as the two enforcers reached out and grabbed her by the arms. They hauled her to her feet with effortless strength, the delicate emerald satin fabric of her evening gown tearing audibly at the seams. "I loved you, Gareth! You owe me! I secured your empire!"
"Will you ensure she is gagged if she continues to scream, Marcus?" Gareth inquired, casually adjusting the crisp white cuff of his shirt.
Marcus nodded grimly. "Yes, boss. Let's go, princess."
The enforcers dragged Vivian backward toward the doors. Her threats devolved into hysterical, panicked sobs that echoed down the grand hallway until the heavy doors clicked shut behind them, sealing the salon in a profound, suffocating silence once more. The engagement was violently, irreparably over.
Gareth let out a long, slow breath. The rigid tension in his broad shoulders relaxed by a fraction of an inch. He turned his full attention back to the older woman standing quietly beside the open wall panel.
"Are you harmed, Mother?" Gareth asked, his deep voice softening remarkably, losing the lethal edge it had carried moments before.
"I am tired, Gareth," Esther replied, her voice a low, gravelly rasp. "And I am thirsty. But I am alive."
"I will have the private physician brought to your quarters immediately," Gareth said, reaching out to gently support his mother's elbow. "I should have known. I should have seen through her lies."
"She is a master manipulator, son," Esther said, placing a weathered hand over Gareth's tattooed knuckles. "She isolated me, drugged my food, and forged the medical reports from the clinic in Switzerland. She told me you had ordered it because I had become a liability. In the haze of the medication, it was hard to separate truth from the nightmare."
"She will pay for every second you spent in the dark," Gareth vowed, his dark eyes burning with unshed emotion.
Gareth turned his head, his dark, swept-back hair catching the light of the crystal chandeliers, and looked across the room to where Sophie was standing. She was still keeping Finn tucked safely against her fitted black maid dress.
Sophie was shaking. Her elegant uniform felt incredibly thin in the aftermath of the violence. She had just witnessed the destruction of a massive mafia alliance, all because she had dared to open a brass bolt. She looked at the mafia boss, terrified of the unpredictable storm that was surely about to consume the estate.
Gareth walked slowly back across the polished marble floor. He dropped to one knee, completely ignoring the crease it put in his expensive tailored trousers, bringing himself down to his son's eye level.
"Are you alright, Finn?" Gareth asked quietly, his perceptive eyes searching his young face.
"I'm okay, Daddy," Finn answered, his lower lip trembling slightly. "But the present wasn't a toy. It was Grandma."
"I know, sweetie," Gareth murmured, pulling the little boy into a fierce, protective embrace. "And I am so glad she is back."
He stood up straight, lifting Finn effortlessly into his arms, keeping the boy tucked securely against his broad shoulders. He turned his attention back to Sophie.
"Sophie," Gareth said, his voice a low, intimate rumble. "You took a massive risk tonight."
"I couldn't just leave her in there, sir," Sophie whispered, her expressive eyes wide with residual fear, her hands folded tightly over her white apron. "I heard him talking about a quiet room. I knew something was profoundly wrong."
"Do you realize you just saved her life?" Gareth asked, his gaze lingering on her beautiful, delicate features. "She intended to starve her out."
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Sophie swallowed hard, the brutal reality of the mafia world crashing over her.
"Come," Gareth said gently, gesturing toward the interior of the mansion. "We cannot stay in this room. The estate is on lockdown, and the Arden family will likely retaliate before dawn once they realize Vivian is missing. We are moving to my private study."
