Chapter Four
1054 Words
The sight of her hands on him sent a sharp stab I never saw coming.
I couldn’t make any sense of it. Love had never existed between us. I barely knew him. But the audacity — the humiliating blow of finding my brand-new husband entangled with another woman on our wedding night sent shivers down my spine. "I couldn’t care less about your rules, Alexander,” I said, my voice trembling with rage.
I stood my ground. I wouldn’t let either of them see me break down. The woman in red let out a short laugh full of mockery. "Alex, take a look at that. Your little bird has claws. Should I leave you to clip those wings of hers?"
"Leave, Vivienne," Alexander said sharply. His eyes never left my face.
Vivienne frowned; her long fingernails slid down his chest before she finally pulled away. As she walked past me in the direction of the door, she leaned in, her heavy perfume filling the air between us. "He’ll never choose you, little girl," she said softly.
I paid no attention to her, moving farther into the shadows of the study as the heavy oak doors shut behind her.
"You have thirty seconds to explain why you're in this wing before I call security to remove you permanently," Alexander said, moving slowly around the desk at a slow pace. His shirt was still half-unbuttoned, his dark hair messy. He looked fierce, powerful, and dangerous.
"Julian called," I said, dropping the word between us like a bomb. He hacked into the house phone encryption. He claimed he owns the security company you used for the estate.
Alexander didn't flinch. He showed no surprise. He just reached for a crystal decanter and poured himself another amber splash.
"I know," he said softly.
I looked at him, completely stunned. "You... you know? You know your brother is spying on your house? He’s blackmailing me, Alexander! He told me to download your bidding ledger for the auction tomorrow, or he’ll kill my father!"
"Will you do it?" Alexander asked, taking a slow sip as he stepped into my space. He stood over me, his shadow completely overwhelming me.
"No!" I spoke loudly, furious at his emotional distance. "He said he’s going to fabricate documents linking me to your mother’s murder! He said, You’d rip me apart if you suspected I had anything to do with it!"
Alexander froze in front of me. The air in the room instantly went cold. In a split second, his large hand reached out, his fingers wrapping around my throat firmly. He didn’t choke me, but his grip was firm. A frightening reminder of how powerless I was.
"If I discover you had the slightest role to play in what happened to my mother, Clara, Julian won't have to fabricate a thing," Alexander spoke quietly, his voice dangerously soft, his eyes burning with an unsettling madness. "I will make sure you spend the rest of your short life wishing for death."
"I didn't do it!" I managed to say, my hands flying up to grip hold of his iron wrist. I forced myself to look directly into his dark eyes. "I was a child! Why can't you see that they're manipulating both of us?"
He stared at me for a few long seconds, his thumb pressing against my wrist. Then, he let go suddenly. I fell back against the bookcase, coughing as air returned to my lungs.
"Because the Linwood blood runs through you," he snarled, turning his back to me. "Your father destroyed my family. Your fiancé ruined yours. You're swimming with sharks, Clara; don’t be shocked when they bite."
"I'm not crying for your help!" I screamed; it finally broke loose. The betrayal, the forced vows, the dead mother, the woman in red, it all crashed down on me at once. "I hate you! I hate your brother! I wish the earth would open and take up your entire cruel family!"
Alexander watched my outburst without emotion. He didn't look angry; he seemed entertained by my fury.
"Your anger makes you lose focus," he noted, turning back to his computer screens. "If you want to survive this week, you need to learn to keep that locked away. Julian is watching. I am watching. One wrong move, and you're collateral damage."
"I am already collateral damage!" I wiped a bitter, angry tear off my cheek before it could fall. "You did this to me!"
"I gave you a choice," he responded coldly. "You traded your freedom for your father. Now live with the consequences. Go back to your room."
"What about Julian?" I demanded. "He’ll know I never got my hands on the files."
"Let him know," Alexander murmured, his voice dropping into a quiet final tone that made it clear the conversation was over. "Tomorrow is the auction. If he wants a war, I’ll show him how one is fought. Now get out before I lose my temper."
I glared at his broad shoulders, my chest heaving. I wanted to smash his expensive crystal. I wanted to tear down his meticulously organized office.
But I had no cards left to play. I was completely under his control.
I turned and slammed the heavy oak doors behind me, running blindly back through the corridors to the west wing. I rushed into my room, locked the bolt, and slumped against the door, barely holding myself together. I fought to draw air into my lungs, each breath shaky and desperate.
He was a monster in human form. But as I looked into the dark room, a horrifying realization slowly sank into my chest: Alexander was a monster who wore his teeth on the outside. Julian buried it beneath a smile. And in this house, the open monster was the only thing keeping me alive.
I dragged myself onto the huge, empty bed, completely exhausted, staring at the ceiling until my eyelids became too tired to fight sleep.
CRASH.
A thunderous sound of shattering glass exploded from the balcony.
I jerked upright; my heart pounded in my chest.
The French glass doors were completely shattered. Standing in the silver moonlight, a heavy, silenced pistol held steady in his black-gloved hands, was a shadowy figure behind the mask. And the weapon was aimed straight at my face.
- Writer
