Chapter 8
The bright, airy lighting of the mansion illuminated the total collapse of Vivienne Shaw. She stood beside her velvet dining chair, her sculpted satin evening gown looking suddenly heavy and restrictive. She looked across the table at the dozens of powerful figures, realizing that not a single man was reaching for a weapon to defend her honor. Alexander’s authority was absolute.
"What are you doing, Alexander?" Vivienne whispered, genuine fear finally bleeding into her eyes.
"Am I the one who decided to torture a woman in a freezing cooler?" Alexander asked in response, his hands clasping behind his back. "Did I force you to reveal the blackened, rotten nature of your soul before the entire commission?"
"It was a mistake!" Vivienne cried, tears of frustration and terror spilling over her fair cheeks, ruining her pristine makeup. "I'll apologize! I'll buy her whatever she wants! Just let it go!"
"Can apologies cure frostbite?" Alexander asked, his tone dropping into a register of pure, concentrated ice. "Can money erase the memory of my son believing he caused the death of the only mother he has ever known?"
He turned his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over the silent, paralyzed guests.
"Is this dinner concluded?" Alexander asked the room at large.
The question was rhetorical, a lethal command disguised as an inquiry. The guests immediately understood. Chairs scraped against the rugs as the most powerful men and women in the American mafia stood up in unison. They didn't speak. They didn't offer their goodbyes. They simply turned and began to file out of the luminous dining hall, desperate to escape the blast radius of the Boss's wrath.
Within ninety seconds, the massive, opulent room was entirely empty of guests. The only people remaining were Alexander, Oliver, Nora, Vivienne, and the heavily armed security personnel standing quietly in the shadows near the marble columns.
"You are throwing away everything," Vivienne sobbed, clutching the edge of the mahogany table. "My father will declare war. He will shut down your supply lines."
"Will he?" Alexander asked, tilting his head. "Or will he thank me for returning his defective daughter before the ink on the contract dried?"
He looked toward the main doors.
"Will someone escort Ms. Shaw to the foyer?" Alexander asked the shadows.
Two massive men in dark suits stepped forward instantly. They didn't offer their arms; they simply stood flanking Vivienne, their expressions grim.
"Get your hands off me!" Vivienne shrieked, though the guards hadn't even touched her yet. She looked back at Alexander, her face twisted with absolute, venomous hatred. "You are choosing a maid over a queen! You are a fool!"
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"Are you ready to leave my house?" Alexander asked one final time, completely unaffected by her venom.
Realizing she had no power left, Vivienne turned and stormed toward the doors, the two guards following closely behind. Her furious footsteps echoed through the bright, airy room until the heavy doors slammed shut, plunging the dining hall back into a profound, ringing silence.
