Chapter 10
853 Words
The silence of the East Wing was absolute, broken only by the rhythmic, sharp tapping of Roxanne’s fingers against the keyboard. She had ignored the plush velvet armchair in favor of the rigid desk chair, her back straight and her mind finally clicking into the cold, analytical gear that had made her a name in the city.
On the screen, a waterfall of data cascaded down—shipping manifests, shell company ledgers, and encrypted payrolls. This was Silas’s empire reduced to ones and zeros. It was clinical, and for the first time since she’d entered the manor, she felt like she was the one holding the scalpel.
She spent the first hour simply organizing the chaos. She didn't look for the "big steal" yet; she looked for the anomalies. A three percent discrepancy in the North Side docks. A ghost employee on a warehouse payroll. She dragged files into new folders, color-coding them by risk level, building a digital spiderweb.
After a while, the blue light of the screen began to burn her eyes. She leaned back, rubbing the bridge of her nose, and her gaze fell on her personal phone.
Her heart did a slow, heavy thud. Mia.
The news hadn't broken yet—Silas had promised a controlled release to the press in the coming days—but Roxanne knew she couldn't let her sister find out from a headline. She grabbed the phone and stepped toward the heavy glass of the balcony door. The city was a carpet of amber lights below her, indifferent to the deal she had just struck to keep one girl safe.
She hit the speed dial. It picked up on the second ring.
"Rox?" Mia’s voice was small, echoing with the hollow acoustics of a room that wasn't yet hers. "I’m here. I’m at the dorm. A lady from the dean’s office met me at the gate with a key. She said you already took care of the tuition and the room for the rest of the year? Rox, what's going on?"
Roxanne let out a breath she felt like she’d been holding since she left her father’s porch. "Yeah, kiddo. I took care of it. Are you settled? Do you have your books? Did you eat?"
"I’m fine, Rox. Just confused. Why the sudden move? Did Dad... did he do something again?"
Roxanne closed her eyes, leaning her forehead against the cool glass. "Leo is Leo. But this isn't about him. It’s about me, Mia. I’ve taken on a new... client. A very big one. It’s a long-term project that requires me to stay on-site for a while, and I didn't want you in that house alone while I was gone."
"On-site? Where?"
Roxanne took a deep breath, steeling herself. "I'm at the Vane Estate, Mia. And there’s something I need to tell you before you hear it from anyone else. To make this partnership work—to ensure everything stays professional and protected—Silas and I have... made an announcement. We’re engaged."
The silence on the other end was so long Roxanne thought the call had dropped.
"Engaged?" Mia whispered, the word sounding like a foreign language. "The Silas Vane? The one you used to call 'The Ice King' when you were doing that profile last year? Rox, you hate people like him. You said the Vanes were the reason the city was rotting."
"People change, Mia," Roxanne lied, her voice thick with a forced lightness that tasted like ash. "He’s... different than I thought. Persistent. And brilliant. We realized we were better off on the same team. It’s a lot to process, I know. But for now, you just focus on your finals. Stay in the dorms. Don't go back to the house for anything. Promise me."
"I promise," Mia said, though she sounded dazed. "Is he... is he nice to you? I mean, I’ve seen him on the news. He looks like he’d kill someone for looking at him wrong."
Roxanne glanced back toward the suite. Silas was somewhere in the other room, a man who had indeed probably killed people for less.
"He’s protective," Roxanne replied evasively. "He’s making sure you’re safe, which is all that matters to me. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? Get some sleep."
"Love you, Rox. Be careful."
"Love you more, kid."
Roxanne tucked the phone away, her hands trembling slightly. She had traded her freedom for Mia’s safety, and she had just told her first major lie to the only person who truly knew her soul.
She turned back to the desk, the blue light of the laptop reflecting in her eyes. The guilt was a weight, but she used it as fuel. She sat back down and opened the "North Side Payroll" folder.
If she was going to be the "Ice King’s" fiancée, she was going to be the most dangerous one he’d ever met. She wasn't just going to find the traitor. She was going to burn them down.
- Writer
