Chapter 4 - A Blade Behind the Silk
The red diode blinked three times and went dark.
Roman crossed the room in three strides.
He reached up and tore the carved molding away from the corner of the painting.
A micro-transmitter the size of a coin fell into his open palm.
Harrison backed another step away from the center of the room.
"Roman, I didn't know that was there."
Roman did not answer him.
He crushed the transmitter beneath the heel of his leather boot.
"Marcus."
"Sir?"
"Escort my mother and Mr. Reed to their private suites."
Eleanor glared at her son.
"You will not lock me in my quarters."
"Marcus, post two men outside both doors," Roman commanded.
"No communication devices."
"No exterior contact."
Harrison stepped forward, his fists clenched.
"You can't hold us hostage in our own house!"
"Under maritime security protocols for this estate, I can do whatever is necessary."
Roman's voice was absolute.
"Until I know who authorized that entry code, you are all suspects."
Marcus stepped between Roman and Harrison.
"This way, Mr. Reed."
Harrison gave Roman a look poisoned with resentment.
"You're going to destroy this family before sunrise."
"Julian already did that three years ago," Roman replied.
Marcus escorted Eleanor and Harrison out into the grand hallway.
The heavy library doors clicked shut.
Only Roman and Claire remained in the room.
The fire crackled softly in the hearth.
Roman turned slowly to face the young woman.
"You spotted that transmitter in three seconds."
Claire stood with her hands folded in front of her apron.
"The light reflected in the mirror above the bar."
"A maid does not look for surveillance bugs in a family library."
"Perhaps I am observant."
"Perhaps you are a liar."
Roman closed the distance between them.
He stopped less than a foot away.
"I ran your background check six months ago when you were hired."
Claire did not flinch.
"And found nothing."
"I found a pristine record from a domestic agency in Portland."
"Then why are you questioning me?"
"Because the agency was bought out four years ago by a holding company."
Roman's eyes burned into hers.
"A holding company registered in Limassol, Cyprus."
Claire's breath caught in her throat.
"Julian's territory," she whispered.
"You knew my brother."
"I never met him."
"Then why are you in my house, Claire?"
Claire looked away toward the dark window shutters.
"My sister's name was Sarah Bennett."
The name struck Roman with unexpected weight.
"Julian's executive secretary."
"She vanished forty-eight hours before Julian's boat exploded in Monaco."
Claire's voice lost all its deference.
It became razor-sharp and cold as ice.
"The police told me she drowned."
"There was no body recovered," Roman said quietly.
"There was no investigation either," Claire spat.
"The Vale legal department smothered the French police report within twenty-four hours."
Roman was silent.
He remembered the legal filings Harrison had presented to him that week.
Harrison had told him it was standard protocol to protect the family from scandal.
"You came here to find proof," Roman said.
"I came here to find what happened to my sister."
"And did you find it?"
"Sarah left an encrypted audio file on a cloud server."
Claire reached into her pocket.
She did not pull out a scrub brush or a dusting cloth.
She pulled out an encrypted flash drive.
"She sent it to me ten minutes before her apartment in Nice was raided."
"What does it contain?"
"Your foster brother's voice."
Roman's jaw hardened.
"Harrison?"
"Harrison Reed was Julian's partner in the Cyprus accounts."
Claire took a step closer to Roman.
"Julian wasn't laundering money against your will, Roman."
"What are you saying?"
"Julian was trying to pull the funds out of the syndicate."
Roman stared at her.
"Julian was reckless, but he wasn't a traitor to this family."
"Then why did the boat explode?"
"Because Harrison Reed realized Julian was coming to you to confess."
The revelation hung in the cold library air.
The pieces of a three-year-old puzzle began falling into place with terrifying precision.
If Julian had survived the blast, he wouldn't come back as a brother.
He would come back as a ghost seeking retribution.
Suddenly, the mansion's lights died completely.
The low hum of the backup generators cut out mid-stroke.
The emergency red floor lamps flickered once and died.
Total darkness swallowed the grand library.
From the far end of the west wing, the sharp, muffled crack of a firearm echoed through the air.
Then a second shot followed.
Claire immediately dropped to a defensive crouch against the mahogany desk.
Her right hand reached beneath her apron.
When she withdrew her hand, she was holding a ceramic tactical knife she had hidden under her skirts.
Roman did not question where she got it.
He reached beneath the library desk and pulled out a tactical 12-gauge shotgun from the hidden rack.
He racked the shell into the chamber.
"Stay behind me," Roman said.
Claire stood up beside him in the pitch black.
"Not a chance, Mr. Vale."
The sound of shattering glass came from the conservatory directly beneath them.
May you like
The East Gate had not just been opened.
The perimeter had been completely breached.
