Chapter 3
The water was murky, the bottom of the deep pond obscured by algae and the thrashing tails of massive koi fish. Roxanne kicked harder, the heavy, waterlogged fabric of her deep emerald silk jumpsuit clinging to her limbs, pulling her down. But she fought through the drag with the sheer, terrifying strength of a desperate mother.
Through the green haze, she finally saw him. Malik was sinking slowly toward the smooth stones at the bottom, his tiny tuxedo jacket billowing around him, his eyes closed.
"No," Roxanne mentally screamed. She grabbed him by the collar of his velvet vest, wrapped her arms securely around his small torso, and kicked fiercely toward the surface.
She broke through the water with a loud, desperate gasp for air. The entire conservatory was dead silent, the guests frozen in shock as they watched the syndicate leader emerge from the pond clutching her child. Roxanne swam quickly to the stone edge, ignoring the water pouring from her face and hair.
"Take him! Take him!" Roxanne ordered, shoving Malik up onto the stone edge before pulling herself out of the water.
Malik hit the hard stone, his small chest completely still for a terrifying second. Then, he violently lurched forward, coughing up water and gasping for air. The sound of his hacking coughs was the loudest noise in the massive glass room. Roxanne scrambled onto her knees, pulling him tightly against her chest.
"I've got you, baby. Mommy's got you," Roxanne murmured frantically, rocking him back and forth as water dripped heavily from her tailored black blazer.
Malik clung desperately to her, his small fingers digging into the wet silk of her jumpsuit. He coughed a few more times before his breathing finally began to stabilize. He looked up at his mother, his large brown eyes wide with terror and betrayal.
"Mom…" Malik sobbed, his voice weak and trembling. "She… she knew I can't swim. She pushed me, Mom."
The words echoed through the silent conservatory. The guests, capos, and bodyguards all turned their eyes toward Penelope, who still stood nearby, her arms crossed defensively over her chest.
"He's being dramatic," Penelope scoffed loudly, waving her hand in dismissal. "He's fine. Look at him, he's barely even crying."
Roxanne didn't look at her cousin immediately. She gently stripped off her soaking wet tailored black blazer and wrapped the heavy fabric securely around Malik’s shivering shoulders. She looked up and locked eyes with her two most trusted bodyguards, who were already rushing forward.
"Take my son to the secure suite," Roxanne ordered, her voice completely devoid of panic now. It was entirely cold, calculated, and lethal. "Do not let anyone near him. If anyone tries to stop you, you have my authorization to kill them."
The bodyguards nodded firmly, gently lifting the sobbing child and carrying him quickly out of the massive glass conservatory.
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Only when she was absolutely certain her son was safe did Roxanne slowly stand up from the wet stone edge. Every single conversation in the conservatory had died completely. The ambient music seemed to have faded away.
Water dripped steadily from Roxanne's deep emerald silk jumpsuit, pooling on the floor beneath her stiletto heels. She turned her head slowly, her dark, piercing eyes locking onto the two people who had just tried to murder her son.
