Chapter 7 - A Mother's Desperate Vow

Lucy had fallen asleep on the velvet sofa,

exhausted by the emotional tempest of the evening.

Her small chest rose and fell in steady,

rhythmic breaths.

I pulled a woolen blanket over her shoulders,

then turned back to face Gabriel.

The anger that had sustained me for five years had not vanished,

but it had shifted its target.

It was no longer directed at the man standing across from me.

It was focused entirely on Marcus Caruso.

“If what you're saying is true,

” I said quietly,

“then Marcus thinks the loose ends were tied up.

”

“He does,

” Gabriel agreed,

pouring a fresh glass of bourbon.

“He thinks you and your daughter died in a shelter fire in upstate New York three years ago.

When you applied here under your maiden name,

he had no idea.

”

“Until tonight,

” I added grimly.

“Until the silver medal fell out of Lucy's dress on the ballroom floor.

”

Gabriel nodded slowly.

“Marcus has moles inside my security team.

One of them was in that ballroom tonight.

By now,

Marcus knows the medal has surfaced.

”

“Then we don't have much time,

” I said,

stepping closer to the desk.

“What do you propose we do,

Mr.

Caruso?”

Gabriel looked at me,

a fierce,

predatory light returning to his eyes.

“We use the gala,

” he said deliberately.

“Marcus is scheduled to arrive in an hour to give a keynote speech on anti-corruption.

”

“A speech on anti-corruption,

” I repeated,

a bitter laugh escaping my lips.

“The irony is almost poetic.

”

“Poetry is bloodier than people think,

” Gabriel replied.

“Are you ready to help me finish what your husband started,

Elena?”

I looked down at sleeping Lucy,

then back at the billionaire who had once been my sworn enemy.

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“I've been ready for five years,

” I said.