0024 ~ Vincent ~ “Did you ensure he took the medication?” I kept my back turned to Luca as he entered, my voice cutting through the quiet of the old Lockwood study.
This room remained exactly as my father, Ben, had left it, untouched by the passage of time.
Before him, his father had occupied this desk, and his father before that.
The walls were lined with dark, built-in bookcases packed with leather-bound legal texts and ledger books, smelling faintly of aged paper, beeswax, and stale tobacco.
It was a room where fortunes were secured and lives were signed away.
“Yes, sir,” Luca replied, his boots coming to a halt on the Persian rug.
“He took both pills without a fight.” I opened the shallow mahogany drawer of the desk, pulled out a loose cigarette, and struck a match.
The flame flared, illuminating the polished wood before I drew the smoke deep into my lungs and let it roll out over the desk.
“And Elodie?” I asked, watching the gray wisps drift toward the ceiling.
“She is still visibly shaken by the display downstairs, boss,” Luca reported.
“But physically, she is unharmed.
She returned to the suite with your brother.” I took another long pull from the cigarette, the tip glowing a dull orange in the dimness of the room.
“Tomorrow, I want you to source a young woman from the local pool.
Hire her as a personal maid specifically assigned to Elodie.
I want someone who can manage whatever daily tasks she cannot perform, but more importantly, I need another pair of eyes inside that suite.” Luca nodded, his posture locked at attention.
“Consider it done, boss.
I will have someone vetted and standing in the foyer by sunrise.” “Good.” I tapped the ash into a crystal tray on the corner of the desk.
“What about our guest?
Has he settled into his new accommodations?” A faint, knowing smile touched Luca’s lips.
“Extremely well.
He isn’t talking yet, but the isolation is doing its job.” “Splendid.
That means I will be paying him a personal visit by tomorrow morning to accelerate the conversation.” I shifted my weight, resting my hand flat against the desk, my bandaged palm throbbing slightly beneath the gauze.
“And Steele?
Give me an update on his condition, along with the rest of the men who took fire at the harbor.” “Steele is out of surgery and completely stable,” Luca replied smoothly.
“The doctors say he will make a full recovery.
The other injured workers are resting in the private wing.
Their families have been taken care of financially, just as you ordered.” “Keep the security tight around that wing,” I instructed.
A sudden, irritating thought broke through my focus, causing me to tilt my chin upward.
The ghost of Elodie’s defiance still lingered in the air of this house.
“Elodie’s fiancé.
The man she was supposed to marry before her sister destroyed their lives.
I want you to dig up every single scrap of information on him.
Financial records, employment history, personal habits—everything.
Report back to me the moment you uncover anything useful.” “Understood, boss.
I’ll get the research team on it tonight.” I stubbed out the remainder of the cigarette, the small ember dying instantly against the glass.
“That will be all for this evening.
You are dismissed.” Luca offered a low, respectful bow and stepped backward out of the study, closing the heavy oak door behind him.
Left entirely alone, I walked over to the grand window, sliding my hands into my trouser pockets as I gazed out across the pitch-black lawns of the estate.
My thoughts swirled, anchoring themselves entirely on the stubborn woman sleeping upstairs.
….
The following morning, the dining hall was bright, flooded with the sharp light of a new day.
I sat at the head of the table, a cup of black coffee cooling near my hand, when I sent Anne upstairs with a final directive to bring Elodie down.
A few minutes later, the faint sound of approaching footsteps echoed from the stone corridor.
I turned my head just as Elodie stepped through the arched threshold, trailing slightly behind the older housekeeper.
“I was fully prepared to wrestle you down those stairs a second time today,” I remarked dryly, my eyes tracking her movement.
Elodie stopped near the end of the table, her face entirely pale, her lips pressed into a tight, defensive line.
She stood frozen, her hands curled into the fabric of her skirt.
“Do not stand there like a lifeless statue,” I said, gesturing with a slight tilt of my jaw toward the vacant chair immediately to my right.
“Have a seat.” Instead of complying with the spatial arrangement I intended, she deliberately walked past the closest chair and pulled out a seat several spaces down, putting a wide expanse of mahogany between us.
I chose not to challenge the small act of rebellion.
“How was your night?” I inquired casually, leaning back against the leather of my chair.
“Comfortable?
Full of marital bliss?” “It was fine,” she replied, her voice completely flat, lacking any human warmth.
I dismissed the icy tone with a wave of my hand and signaled toward the service door, where Anne was waiting.
Within moments, breakfast was served—a spread of eggs, fresh fruit, and toasted bread that neither of us seemed particularly interested in touching.
“And my brother?” I asked Anne as she arranged the silver domes.
“Where is he?” “Joy and the specialized medical staff are currently attending to him in his quarters, sir,” Anne replied quickly.
“The moment they conclude their assessment, ensure his breakfast tray is taken directly up to the room,” I instructed.
Anne nodded submissively, stepping back to stand near the sideboard, her hands folded neatly over her apron.
Elodie picked up her fork, turning a piece of fruit over on her plate without lifting it to her mouth.
“There is something important I need to discuss with you,” she said, her voice small but steady.
“Which is?” I asked, taking a slow sip of my coffee.
“It concerns two separate matters, actually,” she began, finally lifting her eyes to meet mine.
The raw fear from last night had vanished, replaced by a desperate, burning earnestness.
“The most critical one is my sister.
I need you to grant me permission to see Vicky at the hospital.
Since the night you dragged me away—the night you nearly crippled her—I haven’t been allowed a single glimpse of her.
I need to see the charts myself.
I need to know she is surviving.
You are the only person who can authorize the security team to let me pass, so please…let me go to her.” I set my coffee cup down, the porcelain clinking sharply against the saucer as my jaw tightened.
“I will be the one to determine when you are permitted to see your sister, Elodie.
For the foreseeable future, you are strictly forbidden from leaving this estate or entering that hospital wing.
Do I make myself clear?” “But why?” she blurted out, her composure cracking as she slammed her fork down.
“She’s my sister!” I looked across the expanse of the table, my brow furrowing into a dark scowl.
“You are honestly demanding a justification from me?” I scoffed, shaking my head at her sheer ignorance.
“Have you completely forgotten what she did?
Have you forgotten the exact reason you are sitting in this house right now?
Give the situation a modicum of thought, and the answer will become perfectly obvious.” “Am I not already paying the absolute price for her mistake?” Elodie argued, her voice rising as a faint flush returned to her cheeks.
“I am here.
I am doing what you want.
I just need to see her with my own eyes.” “I have already given you my final answer,” I stated, my voice dropping into a firm, unyielding register.
I pointed a finger toward her untouched plate.
“Now, drop the subject and eat your meal.” A heavy, suffocating silence settled over the dining hall.
We ate in quiet isolation for several minutes before I remembered her earlier statement.
“What was the second important matter you wished to bring to my attention?” I asked, watching her closely.
Elodie kept her gaze fixed on her food, her features shifting into a sullen frown.
“It doesn’t matter anymore.
You won’t agree to it anyway, given your current disposition.” “Speak,” I commanded flatly.
She looked up, her jaw squared.
“It’s about my employment.
I have a professional life, Vincent.
I need to return to my job at the firm.
I cannot afford to be summarily fired for missing any more days.” “Now that you bear the Lockwood name, it is an absolute security risk for you to be wandering around in the public eye without a detail,” I told her, cutting through her fantasy.
“Your employment is terminated.” “But I need that job!” she protested, her hands gripping the edge of the table.
“My career is the only thing I have left.” “Why is that miserable little position so vital to your existence?” I countered, a harsh laugh escaping my throat.
“Tell me, Elodie…was your meager monthly paycheck ever going to cover the massive compensation owed to the families who lost their sons because of your sister’s carelessness?” “I—” She opened her mouth to argue, but the words withered on her tongue.
“Do not bore me with discussions regarding your job ever again,” I said, putting an end to the conversation just as the heavy double doors of the dining hall swung open.
Luca walked into the room, followed closely by a young woman in a crisp, dark uniform.
“Boss,” Luca announced, stepping aside to present the newcomer.
“I have secured Mrs.
Lockwood’s new personal maid.” Elodie’s head snapped toward the entrance, her expression a turbulent mixture of utter confusion and boiling resentment as she stared at the woman standing beside my guard.
“A new maid?” Elodie whispered, her voice laced with sharp irritation.
“Yes,” I replied smoothly, leaning back to thoroughly enjoy the look of powerless anger transforming her face.
“Your new maid.”