Chapter 4 - Shadows in the Garden
Two weeks passed, and the Slade Estate slowly transformed from a cold fortress into a place that felt shockingly like a home.
Ruby’s laughter began to echo through the grand stone hallways—a sound Mrs. Gable remarked hadn't been heard in the mansion for nearly a decade. Darius, despite managing a massive corporate and criminal empire, made a habit of returning to the estate by six o'clock every evening, often sitting quietly in the library while Ruby showed him her latest drawings or explained the elaborate imaginary worlds she created for her dolls.
I threw myself into my work, managing the household staff, overseeing menu preparations, and restoring order to rooms that had been neglected for years. But I was not blind. I saw the armed men guarding the perimeter walls at night. I saw Marcus, Darius’s right-hand man, whispering urgent reports in the hallway about freight shipments at the Port of Chicago.
And then, on a rainy Thursday afternoon, Shane Mercer returned.
I was in the formal rose garden behind the house, cutting fresh stems for the dining table vase, when I heard the sharp crunch of gravel behind me. I turned, expecting to see Mrs. Gable, but found myself face-to-face with my ex-husband.
Shane looked terrible. His clothes were rumpled, his eyes bloodshot, and his posture jittery, like a man who hadn't slept in days.
"Elena," he sneered, stepping closer. "Look at you. Living like a queen in a mobster's castle while I'm getting squeezed by loan sharks all over the city."
I instinctively gripped my shears tighter, stepping back toward the house. "How did you get past the gates, Shane?"
"Your cold lady friend let me in," Shane smirked, nodding toward the terrace where Victoria Vance stood holding a glass of wine, watching us with an icy, expectant expression. "Turns out she doesn't like you living here any more than I do."
"Get out," I said, my voice steady despite the terror thumping in my chest. "You left us. You threw your children away in a nightclub. You have no right to be here."
"I want my kids, Elena," Shane hissed, lunging forward and grabbing my arm tightly. "Or rather, I want the fifty thousand dollars your new boss is going to pay me to sign over full custody and walk away! You think he cares about you? You're just a charity case he's using to make himself feel human!"
"Let go of her."
The voice didn't roar; it was a quiet, deadly whisper that cut through the humid garden air.
Shane froze, his grip loosening as Darius materialized from behind the hedge wall. He wore no jacket, his dark shirt unbuttoned at the collar, his eyes burning with an absolute, lethal intent.
Behind him stepped Marcus and two armed guards in black suits.
"Slade," Shane stuttered, taking two fast steps backward, holding his hands up defensively. "Listen... this is a family matter. She's my wife—"
"She was your wife," Darius corrected, stepping between Shane and me with terrifying grace. "Until you put your hands on her in my establishment. Until you abandoned your daughters without a dime to their names."
Darius reached out, grabbing Shane by his coat lapels and lifting him off the ground with effortless strength. Shane choked, his legs dangling uselessly.
"If you ever set foot on this property again," Darius said, his voice dropping into a register that made my skin prickle, "if you ever speak her name, or approach those children... I will personally ensure you vanish into the bottom of Lake Michigan. Do you understand me?"
Shane nodded frantically, his face turning purple.
Darius dropped him onto the wet gravel like a sack of trash. "Marcus. Escort Mr. Mercer off my grounds. If he returns, put a bullet in his knee."
"With pleasure, boss," Marcus said, dragging Shane up by his collar and shoving him toward the waiting SUV.
I stood shaking among the rose bushes, my hands trembling violently. Darius turned to me, his dark eyes searching my face for any sign of injury.
"Did he hurt you?" he asked, his voice softening instantly as he reached out, his warm, calloused fingers gently brushing against the reddened skin on my wrist where Shane had grabbed me.
"No," I whispered, looking up into his dark eyes. "I'm okay. Thank you, Darius."
May you like
For a brief second, his hand lingered against my skin, his thumb lightly stroking my pulse point. A sudden, electric warmth coursed through my veins, making my breath hitch in my throat. But before either of us could speak, Victoria’s sharp applause broke the silence from the terrace above.
"Bravo, Darius," Victoria called down, her voice dripping with venomous sarcasm. "Defending the maid like a true knight. But while you play family house with river trash, the Vance family has just finalized the port contract with the Detroit syndicate. And they want to know why you're distracted."
