Chapter 6
"I will walk with you, sir," Verity whispered, her voice surprisingly steady despite the adrenaline coursing through her veins.
"Are we ready, then?" Soren asked.
He took a deliberate step forward. The crowd of fifty wedding guests and staff parted like the Red Sea, scrambling over champagne tables and upholstered chairs to clear a wide path toward the private elevator. The bright, cinematic lighting illuminated the stark contrast between the towering, dangerous mafia boss and the beautiful, delicate housemaid walking in perfect tandem beside him.
The two bodyguards lowered their weapons, stepping back to allow him passage. They knew a lost cause when they saw one. Cressida screamed orders from her chair, her luxurious formal gown crumpled, but her words fell on deaf ears. The reign of the false matriarch was over.
Soren and Verity reached the polished brass doors of the elevator. He pressed the call button. The soft chime felt deafening in the quiet ballroom. The doors slid open, revealing a brilliantly lit, mirrored interior.
"Shall we?" Soren asked, gesturing for Verity to enter first.
She stepped inside, her black A-line skirt swishing softly. Soren followed, turning to face the ballroom as the doors began to close. He locked eyes with Cressida one last time.
"Do you recommend praying, Cressida?" Soren asked, his cold gaze piercing through the closing gap. "Will your gods save you when I come back down?"
The brass doors shut with a heavy, satisfying click, sealing them in the quiet, ascending box. The hum of the elevator mechanics was the only sound.
Soren let out a long, slow breath. The rigid tension in his broad shoulders relaxed by a fraction of an inch. He looked down at the crumpled photograph still clenched in his hand, then turned his observant eyes to the young woman standing beside him.
"How did you gain access to her private safe, Verity?" Soren asked, his tone dropping the lethal edge, becoming intensely curious. "Are you aware of the security protocols on that wing?"
"I know them, sir," Verity replied, keeping her expressive eyes on the floor indicator above the door. "I was tasked with organizing her jewelry for the wedding banquet. She left the safe open for a brief moment to answer a phone call. I saw the edge of the paper sticking out from beneath a stack of ledgers."
"Did you know what it was before you took it?" he asked.
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"No," she admitted, looking up to meet his gaze. Her fair, rosy skin was pale, but her eyes held a fierce resolve. "But I knew she hated your wife. I knew she had been whispering lies to the capos about her abandoning you. When I saw the photo... I knew you had to see it. I knew you were breaking inside."
"Why does my pain matter to a housemaid?" Soren asked quietly, leaning slightly against the mirrored wall. "Is it customary for you to risk your life for your employer?"
