The air in the Montclair grand hall felt really cold and thin, like all the oxygen was being sucked out by Grandmother Evelyne Virement. She was sitting in a fancy velvet chair. Grandmother Evelyne Virement did not look like an old woman. She looked like an old statue made of ice. Her silver hair was pulled back tightly, which made her eyes seem even sharper. She had a cane with a gold wolf's head on it. It was standing between her knees.
Elara's parents were standing off to the side. They looked really nervous, like kids who were waiting to get in trouble. Sebastian was leaning against the fireplace, looking super brooding while scrolling through TikTok to show how little he cared.
Evelyne didn't even look at Elara. She stared at Elara's shoes with a look of pure disgust. "The bird has returned to its golden cage," she said, sounding like a bad Shakespeare audition. "But it smells like the poor. Gross."
Elara did not get upset. She just walked into the middle of the room, standing up straight and looking confident. She did not say hello or bow down. She just stood there with her hands in front of her. "The docks are where people make money, Grandmother ", she said. "I thought you would like the smell of money."
Grandmother Evelyne Virements eyes snapped up. They looked sharp and mean. "Making money is for men who build things ", she said. "Women are fragile flowers that need a glass box. You went looking for Him, didn't you? The emo boy who disappeared."
Elara's voice got softer and more dangerous. "No, he hasn't. If he was really gone," she said, "then why is everyone in this room so scared? Dad is having a midlife crisis. You came all the way here just to make sure everything is okay."
Elara's father told her to be careful with a deadly stare. Grandmother Evelyne Virement held up her hand. She stood up. Her joints made a cracking sound. She walked towards Elara, her cane clicking on the floor. She stopped in front of Elara's face. The smell of clothes and fancy perfume was overwhelming, smelling like a mix of old library books and expensive Old Lady perfume.
"Alaric is not a man ", Grandmother Evelyne Virement whispered. "He hurts people. Makes them do bad things. Sebastian has been trying to make our family's name better. If you think you are being smart by playing games with them, just remember something that is bright and shiny can be blown away easily. A diamond is shiny, but I can smash it with my heels."
Elara leaned in close to Grandmother Evelyne Virement. "That is okay, Grandmother ", she said. "I am not something that can be blown away she leaned in until their noses almost touched. "And I'm not a diamond, Grandmother," she whispered back ", I'm the whole jewellery store. And I'm definitely not for your business."
Grandmother Evelyne Virements hand tightened around her cane. She looked really surprised. Then Elara turned around. Walking towards the stairs, leaving Grandmother Evelyne Virement standing there in silence, Sebastian excused himself and went to his car, calling someone.
Sebastian slammed the door of his matte Bentley Flying Spur. The sound was really loud in the driveway. He didn't start the engine away. Instead he took out his burner phone. Started typing on it with his thumbs. He was typing fast. It looked like he was getting angry.
He wasn't looking at TikTok anymore.
"Pick up " he said loud. His face in the rearview mirror looked really ugly. He didn't look like the guy everyone thought he was.
The phone call connected. "Sir?" a deep voice said.
"The guest house " Sebastian said quickly. "Elara knows something. I don't know what she knows or how she found out. She's curious about Clara. If she finds out what's really going on if she realizes it's not a mistake but a problem the merger won't happen."
"We have security now, Mr Montclair ", his secretary said. "The girl is getting harder to control. She hasn't eaten in two days. She keeps screaming for you."
"Then give her some medicine to calm her down!" Sebastian yelled. He hit the steering wheel with his hand. "Do you know what I built to get here? . I won't let that Halfbreed bastard and a girl walking straight into something she won't survive ruin this Alaric wants to get fam, he gonna get by making me loss, he'll go after the link. Now that link is the girl in my backyard."
He stopped talking for a moment. He looked out the window. Saw Elara walking by. He got a look, in his eyes.
"Change of plans " Sebastian said quietly. His voice didn't sound scared anymore. It sounded calm and mean. "Don't just hide the girl. Move her to the shipyard warehouse Sector 4. If Elara wants to play detective, we'll give her some clues to follow. Make sure those clues lead her to Alaric."
"Do you want them to meet?" his secretary asked. It sounded surprised.
"Do I want them to meet?" Sebastian repeated the secretary's question. A slow, jagged smile spread across his face as he watched Elara's silhouette through the window. "I want them to crash into each other i want Elara to see a monster when she looks at him."
He gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. "Listen to me. We do not just move the girl. We leave a trail that Alaric is involved. We will drop Alaric's cufflinks in that guesthouse. We will use Alaric's server to send those orders for medicine. The girl and every other person who got hurt will know that Alaric is the one who did it. Every bruised wrist and every locked door will have Alaric's name on it. We will make sure that everyone knows what Alaric did.
"Sir?" the secretary stammered. "You want to frame him for the kidnapping?"
"I want to hand Elara the truth on a silver platter," Sebastian hissed. "If Alaric tries to save her, it won't look like a rescue it will look like a kidnapper returning to the scene of the crime. If he doesn't show up, he's the heartless bastard who left her to rot. Either way, when she finds that girl in Sector 4, she's going to believe Alaric is the one who broke her."
His blue eyes cold. "I've spent years building this image of the perfect partner. I'm not losing the merger because of Alaric's morals.' If someone has to be the villain in Elara's story, it's going to be the man who actually tried to stop me. By the time I'm done, Alaric won't just be gone he'll be hated." A week has passed. Alaric was in Russia for something he came back to Massachusetts.
The moon was a witness. It cast light on the cedar floors of the guest house. Sebastian moved through the shadows. He was quiet and graceful. He did not turn on the lights. He did not need to. He knew where his prize was. Clara lay on the silk sheets, her body a pale curve in the dark. As he approached, she didn't recoil. She reached for him, her fingers trembling as they brushed the expensive fabric of his shirt. " a week," she whispered. The words caught in her throat. Sebastian didn't answer. He caught her wrists, pinning them to the mattress above her head with a single, brutal hand. He loomed over her, the scent of expensive bourbon and cold rain clinging to his skin. With his free hand, he shoved the silk of her robe aside, exposing the slight, unmistakable swell of her lower abdomen.
Sebastian's eyes changed. They became darker. He was not being affectionate. He was being possessive. He touched Clara's stomach. His palm moved over her skin. His thumb dug into her skin. She let out a gasp. It was a mix of pain and devotion. "You have gotten soft, Clara ", Sebastian murmured. His voice was low and rough. "Carrying more of me every day. ."
He moved into her, then a slow, agonisingly deep intrusion that felt less like an act of passion and more like a hostile takeover. He didn't rush. He set a heavy, soul-crushing rhythm, his body a crushing weight that forced the air from her lungs. He rocked against her with a mechanical, sensual cruelty, making sure she felt every ounce of his dominance. Clara arched her back. Her breath was coming in gasps. She looked at Sebastian's face. It was cold and handsome. His eyes were wide and staring. He was searching for something in her eyes.
He leaned down, his weight pressing harder against her stomach, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin of her neck. He didn't mark her with a kiss he marked her with a claim. Every slow, grinding movement was designed to remind her that she was a ghost in his house, a secret he could squeeze the life out of whenever he chose.
"You love this, don't you? Sebastian hissed. His fingers tightened around her wrists. They bruised her skin. "The way I break you. The way I'm the only thing that makes you feel alive in this grave." Clara couldn't speak. She could only moan, a broken, melodic sound of total surrender. She didn't guard her abdomen anymore she opened herself to the monster, letting his darkness flood her.
Sebastians fingers stayed on the curve of Claras jaw for a while longer. His touch was soft. It was not real. He was pretending to care about her. He leaned back down. Put his forehead against hers. He was breathing hard. It was all an act. Claras heart felt full because of the way he was touching her.
"This is our last night in this place, Clara " he whispered to her. His voice was soft and gentle. It was all a lie. "I am going to take you that the Montclairs will not be able to find us. Somewhere that my mother cannot reach."
Clara looked up at Sebastian. Her eyes were shining with hope. "Really? Just us?" she asked him.
Sebastian lied to her. "Just us ", he said. He touched her stomach with his thumb. It was a touch but it was not real. "I have a home for us by the water away from the city. I have already moved your things there. I am making a life for you and for the baby you are carrying. We have to be careful tonight. We have to leave in the dark so that the Montclairs do not follow us."
Then Sebastian kissed Clara. It was a gentle kiss but it was not real. He was just pretending to care about her. He moved against her one time and it felt like a promise. But it was not a promise it was a lie.
"I am doing all of this to keep you safe " he whispered to her. His eyes were wide and dark. They looked like they really cared about her.. They did not. "The shipyard is a stop. It is a way for us to lose the people who are following us. Trust me, Clara. Have I ever hurt you?"
Clara shook her head. She was. She felt relieved. She pulled Sebastian close to her. She held onto his shirt like it was the only thing that could save her. She did not see the way Sebastian was really looking at her. He was looking at her like she was nothing like she was a thing to be used.
"I trust you, Sebastian " she said. "I love you so much."
Sebastian's voice was soft and smooth. "I know you do ", he said.
Then he stood up. He helped Clara put on her robe. He touched her hair. It was a gentle touch.. It was not real. "Get dressed, Clara " he said. "The car is waiting to take us to our home."
When Clara turned away, from him, Sebastian's face changed. He was not taking her to a home he was taking her to a prison. He was taking her to a place where she would be trapped and where he could use her to get what he wanted.
He watched her move clumsy and hopeful and felt nothing but the satisfaction of a predator who had successfully convinced the prey to walk into the slaughterhouse on its own feet.