Chapter 4 - The Mask Slips
"Amelia," Gabriel choked out, scrambling to his feet, the silk robe flying open. "You... you're supposed to be in Chicago until Friday."
"Clearly," Amelia said. Her tone was so arctic that the air in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.
Bella looked wildly between Gabriel and the woman standing in a maid's uniform. It took the young woman a second to connect the face from the framed photographs on the mantel to the woman standing before her. Panic flickered in Bella’s eyes.
"Gabe, who is—is this the help?" Bella stammered, trying to regain her footing.
Gabriel ignored her completely. He took a desperate step forward, his hands raised in a placating gesture. "Amelia, darling, let me explain. It’s not what it looks like. It’s just... a lapse in judgment. Stress from the merger—"
"Stop talking, Gabriel," Amelia said quietly. She lifted her hand and pointed a single, steady finger at the front door. "Get your trash, get your mistress, and get out of my house before I call security and have you both thrown off the property."
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"Your house?" Gabriel’s mask of calm finally shattered completely, revealing the arrogant, controlling narcissist underneath. His eyes flashed with ugly menace. "You forget whose name is on the deed, Amelia. You forget who funded every charity you run, every dress you wear, every inch of this estate!"
"The house is in my family's trust, Gabriel," Amelia replied, her voice cutting through his anger like a scalpel. "My grandfather built this foundation. You were just a tenant who forgot his place."
