Chapter 4
Thomas Vance strode down the private gallery, his leather-soled shoes clicking sharply against the checkerboard marble floor. He bypassed the main ballroom, where the murmur of confused guests was beginning to rise into an audible swell, and headed straight for the garden wing. He found Julian standing by the tall arched windows that overlooked the greenhouse, watching the figures of Elena and Lily moving among the tropical ferns. Julian didn't turn as Thomas approached, his hands clasped neatly behind his back. "The caterers are asking questions, and the best man is currently playing amateur detective," Thomas said, stopping a few feet behind his brother. "I told them food poisoning. A sudden stomach bug. People bought it because they're too polite to question a wedding cancellation involving seafood." Julian finally turned, his expression unreadable. "Good work, Thomas. As always." "Don't patronize me, Julian," Thomas snapped, stepping closer. "You didn't answer my question in the antechamber. Did you touch her?" Julian let out a short, cold breath that sounded almost like a laugh. "Touch her? She's a child, Thomas. A difficult, oversensitive child who resents the fact that her mother’s attention is no longer exclusively hers. I raised my voice because she deliberately spilled a cup of red ink across the final draft of the merger contract on my desk. Is that a crime? In the eyes of society, perhaps not. In the eyes of my hypersensitive bride, it's apparently an unforgivable sin." Thomas stared at him, trying to read the micro-expressions on his brother's face. They had grown up under the iron fist of a father who believed discipline was the highest form of love. They both knew the edges of cruelty, but Thomas had always drawn a line where innocence began. "If she goes to the police, Julian, a stomach bug won't cover it," Thomas said quietly. "She doesn't have proof," Julian replied, his voice dropping into a register of absolute, icy confidence. "A child's word against a respected businessman with an unblemished record and deep pockets? The authorities will call it a domestic dispute, a bride having second thoughts under pressure. But we can't let her leave the estate with the child. If she talks to the wrong person—a lawyer, a sympathetic ear outside our circle—this whole house of cards comes down." Thomas felt a cold sweat break out along his collarbone. "What are you planning to do?" Julian turned back to the window, watching Elena help Lily through the side gate that led toward the parking lot. "Nothing drastic, Thomas. I'm simply going to have a conversation with my wife. A civilized conversation between two adults who need to settle their affairs."
