Chapter 4
I didn't send men to the pantry.
Not immediately.
Vanessa expected that.
I could see it.
She kept looking toward the east hallway.
Waiting.
So I did nothing.
That frightened her.
“You're just standing there?”
“Yes.”
She laughed nervously.
“Men may be inside your walls and you're standing there.”
“You want me to move.”
“What?”
“You've wanted me moving all evening.”
Her face hardened.
I looked at my head bodyguard.
“Marco.”
“Yes, Boss.”
“Take Ivy and Owen upstairs.”
Vanessa stepped forward.
“No.”
I turned.
“They stay here.”
“Why?”
“Because they need dinner.”
I stared at her.
Now food mattered.
Interesting.
“They'll eat upstairs.”
“No.”
Her voice became sharper.
“They stay where I can see them.”
There.
Another mistake.
“Why?”
She recovered.
“They're my children.”
“So they're mine.”
Her jaw tightened.
Florence stood.
“I'll go with them.”
Vanessa laughed.
“You're not going anywhere.”
My mother looked at her.
“Watch me.”
I almost smiled.
Vanessa didn't.
She pointed toward the sink.
“You haven't finished.”
Silence.
“Excuse me?”
Vanessa looked at Florence.
The same cold expression she'd probably worn every day I wasn't home.
“You heard me.”
My mother's hands shook.
Vanessa smiled.
“Four days and still stubborn.”
She pointed toward the burned plate.
“You want food?”
Florence said nothing.
“Answer the question.”
I felt something inside me shift.
Not because of what she said.
Because of how practiced it sounded.
This wasn't Vanessa losing control.
This was routine.
Florence looked at her.
“No.”
Vanessa laughed softly.
“Then stay hungry.”
I crossed the room.
“Say that again.”
She turned.
“What?”
“Say it to her while looking at me.”
For the first time, Vanessa hesitated.
I waited.
Nothing.
“That's what I thought.”
I sent the children upstairs with Marco.
Florence went with them.
Vanessa watched every step.
Not relieved.
Angry.
I leaned against the dining table.
“Now.”
She frowned.
“Now what?”
“Tell me why you need the tunnel.”
“I don't.”
“Then why starve my mother?”
“She was impossible.”
“Why threaten my children?”
“They need discipline.”
“Why track my schedule?”
“I live with you.”
“Why are men coming at 8:30?”
Silence.
I smiled.
“That's the only question you didn't rename.”
Her face hardened.
“You've become paranoid.”
“Probably.”
“You think everyone wants your chair.”
“No.”
I looked at her.
“I think you do.”
She laughed.
“Your chair?”
“Control.”
Her smile thinned.
“This house would collapse without me.”
There it was.
“You really believe that.”
“Of course.”
She gestured around the room.
“Who manages the staff?”
“You.”
“Who manages your mother?”
I stared.
She didn't notice the word.
Manages.
“Who keeps the children quiet while you're playing king behind council doors?”
My jaw tightened.
“Who makes sure dinner exists?”
“Apparently not for everyone.”
Her eyes flashed.
“Because rules matter.”
I looked toward the pantry.
“You think authority is deciding who eats.”
“I think authority is making people listen.”
I nodded.
“Good.”
She frowned.
“Good?”
“Now we're finally being honest.”
At 8:27, something clicked behind the pantry wall.
Vanessa heard it.
So did I.
Her face went pale.
I didn't move.
Another click.
Then a soft knock from inside the wall.
Three taps.
Pause.
Two taps.
Vanessa whispered:
“No.”
I smiled faintly.
“Your men?”
“They're not mine.”
The pantry panel opened.
Not from our side.
A narrow section of wall swung inward.
Two men stepped through.
Dark suits.
No family pins.
One of them froze when he saw me.
The other looked at Vanessa.
“You said he'd still be in council.”
Silence.
Vanessa closed her eyes.
There it was.
No more pretending.
I looked at her.
“You didn't want the key to find the tunnel.”
May you like
She stared.
“You already had someone opening it from the other side.”
