Chapter 4

The threat hung in the air, cold and absolute. Meredith gasped, her hand flying to the diamond necklace at her throat. The sheer humiliation of being threatened with removal in front of her future subordinates left her completely paralyzed. She pressed her lips tightly together, sinking back into her satin chair, realizing with mounting horror that the power dynamic had just shifted violently out of her control.

Alexander kept his gaze fixed entirely on Anna. The beautiful, cinematic lighting caught the subtle trembling of the maid’s lower lip. She was terrified of the man standing over her, terrified of the woman sitting next to him, but the small hand gripping hers gave her the courage to speak.

Anna held Alexander’s penetrating gaze. Her expressive inner brows lifted helplessly, communicating a profound, desperate sadness. Her lower lip trembled.

“She made Emily walk through glass,” Anna whispered.

The words were spoken softly, but in the dead silence of the dining room, they struck like a physical blow. The air in the room seemed to shatter. Capos who had spent their lives dealing in violence stiffened in their chairs. Torturing a child, especially the boss’s child, was an act of profound insanity.

Anna’s voice caught on Emily’s name, breaking with a suppressed sob. She kept one hand tightly over the child’s tiny fingers on the table, still trying desperately to reassure the little girl despite her own overwhelming fear.

“Emily bumped into the side table,” Anna continued, the tears finally spilling over her lashes, tracing hot paths down her flushed cheeks. “A crystal vase fell and broke. Emily was barefoot. She was crying because she was scared of the loud noise.”

Alexander didn’t move a muscle. His broad shoulders remained perfectly square in his three-piece suit. Only the subtle clenching of his jaw betrayed the volcanic rage beginning to boil beneath the surface.

“And then?” Alexander prompted, his voice a low, terrifying rumble.

“Ms. Blake told the staff to leave it,” Anna choked out, avoiding looking at Meredith. “She told Emily that clumsy girls need to learn to watch their step. She… she ordered her to walk across the broken glass to get to her room.”

A dangerous, low murmur rippled through the assembled guests. Men shifted uncomfortably, their hands instinctively moving closer to concealed weapons, sensing the impending explosion.

“I couldn’t let her do it, sir,” Anna sobbed quietly, squeezing Emily’s hand. “I stepped between them. I put my shoes on Emily and carried her out of the hallway. I stepped on a large piece of the vase when I turned around. That’s why I’m bleeding. I’m sorry, Mr. Hayes. I’m so sorry for interfering.”

“You have nothing to apologize for, Anna,” Alexander said. The gentleness in his voice was a stark, terrifying contrast to the murder in his eyes.

Emily, sensing the heavy tension radiating from her father, looked directly up at Alexander. Her large eyes were filling rapidly with fresh tears. The three-year-old had been holding onto a terrifying secret all evening, and the dam was finally breaking.

“She said you’d make me finish,” Emily whimpered.

The child’s fragile, broken voice echoed off the crystal chandeliers. “She said if I cried, or if I told you… you would make me walk through the glass again.”

The silence that followed was apocalyptic.

>>Chapter 5