THE SHADOW BENEATH THE CRADLE

Arthur stepped forward, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "Master Gabriel, please. It wasn't supposed to go this far. We only intended to hold her until the statute of limitations passed on the maritime contracts."

"Be quiet, Arthur," Thomas commanded coldly, without turning his head. "Gabriel, you think you’re righteous because you keep your hands clean with charity boards and modern logistics software. But every brick of this estate was laid with compromises you didn't have the stomach to make."

"You traded Eleanor's freedom for shipping manifests?" Gabriel stepped right into his father's personal space, towering over the older man. "You made Lily think her mother abandoned her. You let my daughter cry herself to sleep for a thousand nights!"

"I protected our bloodline from scandal!" Thomas struck his cane against the cobblestones. "She is at the private clinic upstate. Dr. Vance has her under observation. She is comfortable, well-fed, and legally non-existent. Sign the conservatorship papers for the remaining shares of the company today, and I will let you visit her. Refuse, and she simply vanishes into the state system forever."

Gabriel stared at the man who had raised him, searching for even a flicker of familial warmth or remorse. There was nothing—only the cold, calculating arithmetic of wealth and pride.

"You're not a patriarch, Thomas," Gabriel said in a chilling whisper. "You're a prison warden."