Chapter 7 - A Family Dinner with Knives
Nora survived because Mateo reached her before the ambulance arrived. The bullet had grazed her shoulder, but the message was clear: someone could reach anyone.
Roman moved Lily into the mansion’s secure wing. Claire objected until she saw the bulletproof windows and the emergency exit disguised as a bookcase. Even then, she made Roman promise that Lily would continue school and would not be treated like a prisoner.
“You negotiate while frightened,” Roman said.
“It keeps me from making stupid decisions.”
“I make them anyway.”
“That is because you mistake control for preparation.”
His mouth twitched. “You are very difficult.”
“You say that like it’s a flaw.”
“I say it like it’s the reason I notice when you enter a room.”
The confession settled between them. Claire looked away first.
That evening, Victor insisted on a family dinner. Susan called it a summons. Claire called it a bad idea. Roman called it necessary.
The dining table held roast chicken, potatoes, and a bottle of wine no one touched. Peter sat at one end. Victor sat at the other. Celia leaned back with an amused expression, while Lily sat between Claire and Susan.
Victor lifted his glass. “To unity.”
“Unity is not the same as obedience,” Claire said.
“You are becoming comfortable.”
“I was comfortable before I met any of you.”
Peter set down his fork. “The police are preparing warrants. If we do not control the narrative, they will seize everything.”
Roman said, “We will cooperate.”
The room erupted in overlapping protests.
“We will not hand over family property,” Victor said.
“We will not protect criminal records,” Roman replied.
“You think morality will save you?”
“No. I think choices have consequences.”
Victor smiled thinly. “That sounds like something a man says when he has already chosen which people to sacrifice.”
Claire looked at Roman. “What does he mean?”
Roman did not answer quickly enough.
Victor placed a file on the table. “Roman has been negotiating with federal investigators for months.”
Lily stared at her uncle. Susan closed her eyes.
Claire felt cold spread through her chest. “Is that true?”
“I have been trying to build a legal exit for the businesses,” Roman said.
“Without telling me?”
“You were not involved.”
“You made me involved when you put a target on my back.”
“I never wanted you near this.”
“Yet you kept calling me your girlfriend to make everyone believe I was near it.”
Roman’s silence hurt more than an admission.
Victor sat back, satisfied.
Claire rose. “I’m leaving.”
Roman stood too. “Claire.”
“Do not follow me.”
She crossed the room. At the door, Lily caught her sleeve.
“Please don’t go angry,” Lily whispered.
Claire softened. “I am angry because I care what happens to you.”
“Then don’t let them make you disappear.”
The words stopped Claire. “What do you mean?”
Lily glanced toward Victor. “My mother said the safest person in a dangerous house is the one nobody notices.”
Claire looked at the family again. Celia was watching Victor, not Roman. Susan’s hand rested over the pocket where she kept her phone. Peter had gone very still.
She understood that Victor had wanted her to leave furious. He had revealed Roman’s negotiations not to protect the family, but to fracture the only alliance Roman had built outside it.
Claire walked back to the table. “Where did you get the file?”
Victor’s smile faded. “That is not relevant.”
“It is if the pages were copied.”
She took the file and examined the paper. One corner had a faint dusting of powdered sugar. The same kind Claire used at the bakery. She looked at Roman. “Someone searched my office.”
Roman’s face changed. “When?”
“Before the fire.”
Claire turned to Victor. “You had access to my bakery.”
Victor’s gaze sharpened. “Careful.”
“No. You be careful. The file was staged.”
Celia leaned forward. “Victor, why is there flour on the evidence?”
Victor stood so quickly his chair struck the wall.
Peter reached inside his jacket.
Roman moved between Claire and the table. “Everyone stays where they are.”
Peter withdrew a phone instead of a weapon. It rang immediately.
He listened, then looked at Victor. “The warehouse has been opened.”
Victor’s face went blank.
May you like
Claire understood the true purpose of the dinner. While everyone argued, someone had entered the old Duke warehouse.
And whoever had gone inside was looking for the ledger Roman had supposedly burned.
