Chapter 4 - The Shadow of Caruso Holdings

The admission hung in the air like poison gas.

None of the wealthy socialites dared to breathe.

To threaten Gabriel Caruso openly inside his own estate was a death sentence.

Yet here I stood,

a lowly domestic worker,

hurling accusations of murder and corruption directly into his face.

Gabriel did not summon his guards.

He did not call for the estate security team to drag me out into the freezing November rain.

Instead,

a strange,

grim smile touched the corners of his lips.

“You have courage,

Elena,

” Gabriel said quietly.

“Stupid,

suicidal courage,

but courage nonetheless.

Do you really think I ordered the hit on David?”

“I don't think,

” I retorted.

“I know.

”

“Then you know nothing,

” Gabriel snapped back,

his voice suddenly sharp as a razor.

“David Vance was a thorn in my side,

yes.

He had documents regarding the port authority acquisitions.

But he was also an honest man in a dishonest world.

I respected him.

When that warehouse went up in flames five years ago,

I was just as surprised as the fire department.

”

“Liar!” I shouted,

the grief of five years boiling over.

“The entire underworld knew you wanted him silenced!”

“The underworld is filled with ambitious rats who wanted my throne,

Elena!” Gabriel shouted back,

his voice echoing off the vaulted ceilings.

“If I wanted David dead,

his body wouldn't have been burned beyond recognition.

I would have done it in broad daylight,

and I would have owned it.

”

Lucy began to cry softly,

burying her face in my apron.

I knelt down and wrapped my arms around her,

glaring up at the billionaire.

“Get out,

” I whispered.

“Just leave us alone.

”

Gabriel looked down at the silver medal still resting on the polished floor.

He reached down,

picked it up,

and clenched it tightly in his fist.

The metal bit into his palm,

but he didn't flinch.

“No one is leaving,

” Gabriel said,

turning toward the heavy oak doors of the ballroom.

“Lock the estate gates.

Nobody enters,

May you like

[COMPLETED] She waited ten years for her fiancé, but the night she marri...

[COMPLETED] Five Years After My Mafia Husband Chose Another Woman, He Me...

[COMPLETED] I CALLED MY HUSBAND 18 TIMES WHILE OUR SON WAS DYING. EIGHT...

and nobody leaves until we find out who really framed me for David Vance's murder.

”