The Syndicate’s Bride

23

Vanessa

“Do not forget to host the Logan’s annual banquet tonight,” I read out. “It is your duty and you will attend.” I finished, chuckling in disbelief. “He lays my life on the line one day, and the next, he texts, ordering me to attend his excuse of a party because he won’t be there,” I scoffed. "Isn't he a bastard?”

Alice, sitting across from me in my lab, absentmindedly nodded at my question, her eyes permanently glued to her computer. “Mr. Logan is... quite complex.”

I rolled my eyes. “What an understatement.”

“It won’t be that bad,” she said, trying to comfort me. “Everything’s ready, all you need to do is go.”

“That’s not the issue, Alice,” I said, taking a bite of my lunch. “The issue is he almost tried to kill me with that rubbish bet of his. If Ryan hadn’t intervened, I wouldn't be here talking to you right now.”

Hearing the seriousness in my voice, she stopped typing, letting out a sigh as she set her computer aside and looked at me fully for the first time since she opened her computer.

“Let’s have a chat, shall we?” she said, picking up her cup of coffee and taking a long sip before speaking.

“Your father’s a bastard,” she started, taking me by surprise. Alice never spoke ill about Mr. Logan, not even when I asked her to. “And I say this freely because this is the only place he can never find us.” Ah, makes sense. “And you also know how he is. If you refuse to do as he says, he will kill you, Vanessa. He’s already been so close a few times and the only way you win is by not letting him have his way.”

She continued and I listened attentively. “Your whole life you’ve told me in many ways how you wish to leave your father and his monstrous rule, and if you want to start, you must be smart. Do you have a plan?”

I shook my head. I really didn’t.

“But you are smart, Vanessa. You know better than to charge in without a plan. What’s your motto?”

“Wait, listen and plan,” I answered like a kid being told to recite her daily affirmations.

She nodded. “You have wished to leave your father for the longest time, but this is the moment you actually start to work towards it. You’ve grown bolder, that much I can tell. That right there is the beginning of your rebellion. Wait,” she emphasised. “You must wait, Vanessa. And to wait requires patience. So you must have patience.”

By the time she had finished, I was staring at her in awe. The things she said were things I already knew, but the way she worded was truly resounding. Sometimes, I forgot just how wise she was because she didn’t speak much.

“Wow,” I exhaled, “sometimes I forget you’re older than me by a good seven years, Alice.”

With a shrug, she repositioned her laptop on her thighs and smirked. “That’s because I’m still twenty at heart.”

I giggled. “Whatever makes you sleep at night.”

With a chuckle, she went back to her work, focusing intensely as the room dissolved into a comfortable silence.

I laid on the couch with a sigh. Alice was right. And as much as I was eager to stop bending to his will, refusing to attend the annual banquet was more like a declaration of war. I need to take baby steps first.

“Wait,” I whispered.

I just had to be patient.

“*” “*” “*”

As the host in father’s stead, I had to leave for the banquet three hours earlier, after making Ryan promise he’d attend the event.

I knew father almost had him killed merely a few days back, but somehow I felt that him refusing to attend the banquet would have been a show of cowardice to father’s actions, and I simply couldn’t let that happen. Father didn’t have to get the upper hand every time.

By around seven in the evening, the halls began to fill with guests all dressed in the colour of the day, champagne gold and red.

I stood by the door, greeting guests and ushering them into the house until my legs began to grow sore with every passing minute, and my smile was slowly turning into a grimace.

Ryan still hadn’t arrived and it was beginning to bother me. I already tried calling him but he didn’t pick my calls or return any of my messages. Still, I didn’t let it bother me that much since the banquet had merely just begun.

Owen paced the hall of the banquet, assessing the movement of every guest and making sure nothing seemed suspicious or amiss. He had followed me when I left the Manor earlier, refusing to leave me in the Logan estate even with father’s absence.

He and Ryan still hadn’t said a word to each other. They only acknowledged one another with a nod or a grunt of greetings, and a part of me believed it was because I was present. If I weren’t there, I was sure they wouldn’t so much as look at each other.

I wasn’t sure what sparked such tension between the two men, but I was certain they would eventually ignore it and engage peacefully with each other. Maybe it was an ego thing, I wouldn’t know, but I didn’t think I was far off. Most causes of disputes among men had been because of their inflated egos.

They never really changed.

“What a beautiful sight,” a familiar voice said at the entrance. I turned immediately, curious who it could be. But as my eyes met familiar piercing grey ones, my curiosity melted into annoyance. Tia Rossi gracefully walked through the door in her length flowing purple dress, looking just as good as she did in her own banquet.

Her hair was tied in a half bun, allowing part of her long black hair run down her back. Her makeup was flawless, as always, and her aura bright and bold. I had my reservations about the woman but I knew God’s favourites when I saw them, and aside from Ryan, she was definitely one of the few.

“Miss me, Miss. Logan?” She asked, a mischievous smirk on her lips.

“Welcome, Miss. Rossi.” I said instead, ignoring her usual unwarranted remarks.

“Oh? Still as hot tempered as before?” She teased, which only annoyed me.

“Try being at the verge of death and let’s see just how hot tempered you can be,” I snapped.

She hummed, closing in on me and dropping her voice to a whisper. “Baby, I already have, and unlike you who loves to keep up with that soft, fragile personality of yours,” she dipped her lips to my ears “I killed them all.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Who’s to say you’re not the one who attempted to murder me that night? It was your banquet after all.”

I had thought of the possibility of her being the perpetrator, but with no evidence, it was nothing more than a passing thought.

“Oh please,” she huffed, “do I strike you as the type to send others to do my dirty work?” Frankly, she didn’t, but that wasn’t enough to rule out of the list. “Plus, that fiancé of yours isn’t exactly the nicest when provoked. I’m not scared of him, don’t get me wrong, I just know when and when not to provoke people like him.”

“What? Are you expecting a round of applause for your discernment?”

She chuckled as I narrowed my eyes at her, tracing her fingers over my shoulders as she walked past me, ending the conversation. “You’re beginning to sound like him. I guess you’re finally becoming a real couple.” Then she disappeared into the crowd. I had nothing in particular against the woman but I’d be lying if I said she didn’t get on my nerves.

Deciding it was time to continue mingling with guests inside the hall, I greeted a final guest and was about to head inside when a commotion suddenly erupted outside, voices rising in octaves, coming from the direction of the front yard.

Confused by the crowd gathering, I walked to the commotion, ready to either send the guests home or deal with the situation, until my eyes zoomed in on a familiar black haired man and a blonde haired man. I stopped mid walk, my brows shooting to the moon.

Ryan stood facing Owen, a disabled gun in his hand and an unpleasant smile on his face, as the latter and some other guards aimed their guns at him.

My eyes widened from shock at the scene. What the hell were they both doing?

“I’ve been ordered to kill you if you stepped foot into the Logan estate,” Owen said coldly. “Mr. Logan’s orders. Consider this your last warning: turn around and leave while I’m still patient.”

Ryan threw the disabled gun to the floor, turning his head from side to side as he studied Owen and the guards. “Ten of you and one of me, don’t you consider this a bit unfair?” He asked mockingly.

I blinked. What the hell is wrong with everyone?