Chapter 18

The following morning, the estate had been completely sanitized. The bodies were gone, the blood was washed away, and the bright, cinematic sunlight poured through the crystal chandeliers of the dining room as if the violence of the previous night had never occurred.

Anna sat at the massive mahogany table, wearing an elegant, tailored dress. She was no longer wearing the black and white maid’s uniform, and she was no longer relegated to the shadows. She sat proudly in the chair to Alexander’s right—the chair that had once belonged to Meredith.

Emily sat happily between them, eating a plate of pancakes, completely oblivious to the slaughter that had secured their peace.

Alexander sat at the head of the table, dressed in a flawless, dark three-piece suit. He looked at Anna, offering a rare, genuine smile. The dark, sociopathic energy that defined his professional life was entirely absent in this room.

“The Chicago syndicate has offered an unconditional surrender,” Alexander announced quietly, pouring a cup of coffee. “They were terrified by the total annihilation of their strike team. They are ceding their eastern supply lines to our holding company as a penalty.”

“So the war is over?” Anna asked softly, her expressive brows lifting.

“The war is won,” Alexander corrected smoothly. He reached under the table, his artistic, tattooed hand gently wrapping around her fingers. “The borders are secure. No one will ever threaten this house again.”

Anna smiled, squeezing his hand. She looked around the opulent, bright dining room. She had walked in a terrified servant, bleeding on the floor to protect a child, and she had emerged as the undisputed queen of a vast, invincible empire.

>>Chapter 19