Chapter 6 - THE DISCOVERY IN THE DARK
The silence was almost absolute, broken only by the faint, rhythmic ticking of a grandfather clock in the distant library and the quiet, ragged breathing of the weeping housekeeper.
Nicholas kept his hand resting firmly on Lucy’s shoulder, a silent, unshakeable promise of safety that the five-year-old desperately clung to. He looked directly at the woman he was supposed to marry, his dark eyes entirely devoid of the warmth that usually accompanied his fiancée’s presence.
“Explain why you sent them away,” Nicholas commanded.
Vivienne’s confident, practiced smile finally vanished, her elegant features hardening into a defensive, almost defiant mask. She opened her mouth to answer, her manicured fingers gesturing toward the staircase, when a sudden, unexpected movement across the foyer caught Nicholas’s eye.
Arthur, the Caruso family’s longtime butler, had stepped forward from the shadow of the gallery.
In his sixties, Arthur was the embodiment of formal, unquestioning loyalty, having served Nicholas’s family for decades. But now, his lined face was pale, his posture uncharacteristically tense as he held a folded document—a piece of heavy, legal-grade paper—that had remained unnoticed in his gloved hand until this exact second.
“Mr. Caruso,” Arthur said, his voice quiet, formal, but carrying an underlying gravity that instantly shifted the room’s focus. “I believe you should see this. It was delivered by courier to the side entrance just as Maria was packing.”
Nicholas turned his head, his dark eyes locking onto the document.
May you like
Vivienne’s gaze flicked to the paper, and for a fraction of a second, a sudden, sharp panicking flicker passed over her face, her controlled aristocratic poise fracturing as she watched the butler advance across the marble.
Nicholas reached out, his calloused hand taking the folded paper, realizing with a cold, instinctive certainty that there was far more to this decision than Vivienne had admitted. The contents of the document remained hidden, a silent, looming threat in the bright afternoon light of the mansion.
