Chapter 10: The Pact in the Dark
The storm raged on through the night, rattling the windowpanes and plunging the estate into flickering shadows as lightning danced across the valley. In the privacy of Viktor’s underground office, the heavy steel door was bolted shut from the inside. Viktor sat behind his desk, while Eleanor stood near the dark mahogany filing cabinets, her face pale in the glow of the desk lamp.
On the floor near the Persian rug, Custa had finally fallen into an exhausted sleep, wrapped in a heavy wool blanket, his messy blond hair splayed across a velvet cushion.
"The boy knows enough to destroy us," Eleanor said, her voice uncharacteristically frail. "If those people in the gray sedan make contact with him again when he's older, he will open the East Wing chimney. He will find the rest of the ledgers."
Viktor poured a finger of scotch, swirling the amber liquid without drinking. "Then we don't wait for them to make contact. We use the court petition to our advantage."
Eleanor frowned, turning sharply toward him. "What are you talking about?"
"We let the county court audit the trust," Viktor said, his voice flat and resolute. "We surrender the non-essential accounts to the state prosecutor. We let them think they've won a partial victory."
"Are you insane?" Eleanor stepped forward, her eyes flashing with anger. "That would expose fifty years of asset structuring! We would lose half our holdings!"
"We lose half the gold, but we keep the boy," Viktor replied, looking down at the sleeping toddler. "And more importantly, we purge the house of the toxic secrets you insisted on burying in the walls. Clara was right about one thing, Eleanor. The empire isn't worth anything if there's no one left alive to inherit it except ghosts and wardens."
Eleanor stared at the towering man, seeing the complete collapse of the iron-clad patriarch she had spent decades molding him into. For the first time, she realized that Viktor was no longer fighting for the Vance family name; he was fighting for the salvation of an innocent child.
May you like
"If we do this," Eleanor whispered, her voice trembling slightly, "the board will strip me of my title. They will force me out of the estate."
"Good," Viktor said coldly. "It's time someone cleaned the dining room."
