Chapter 1 - The Weight of Silence
The heavy oak doors of the study creaked as Reggie’s hand tightened around my arm like a vice. Blood rushed in my ears, a deafening roar that swallowed the ticking clock on the mantel. Jude Mercer didn't look like a monster in that moment; he looked like a statue forged from shadow and cold slate, his dark eyes fixed entirely on the three-year-old girl sitting on his knee.
"Let her go, Reggie," Jude said, his voice a low, gravelly baritone that vibrated through the silent room.
Reggie hesitated, his grip biting deeper into my sleeve. "Boss, the mother broke protocol. The child invaded the east wing. If the syndicate finds out a maid’s kid is roaming the third floor—"
"I said," Jude repeated, turning his gaze toward Reggie with a slowness that felt far more threatening than a pulled trigger, "let her go."
Reggie released me instantly, stepping back into the shadows near the doorway. My knees nearly buckled, but I forced myself to walk forward, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. Every instinct in my body screamed at me to snatch Brinley and run, but I knew if I made a sudden move, the men stationed outside in the corridor would end us before we reached the staircase.
Brinley didn't care about the guns, the bodyguards, or the cold tension thick enough to choke on. She reached up with her chubby little hand, her thumb brushing lightly over the jagged silver scar that ran from Jude’s cheekbone down to the edge of his jawline.
"It hurts?" she asked softly, her voice small and pure in the claustrophobic room.
Jude didn't flinch. He didn't pull away. A man who had built an empire on blood and fear sat frozen under the touch of a toddler. "It used to," he murmured, his thumb instinctively resting against Brinley’s back, shielding her tiny frame from the sight of the polished Glock sitting on the blotter. "A long time ago."
"Mommy puts band-aids on my boo-boos," Brinley offered, her small feet dangling over his broad leg. "She has dinosaur ones. I can give you a dinosaur."
A ghost of a expression passed over Jude’s face—not a smile, but a softening around his sharp eyes that rendered him almost human. He looked up from Brinley and met my gaze. I stood three feet away, trembling, my breath ragged, my hands clenched so tightly into my apron that my nails cut into my palms.
"Her name?" Jude asked me.
"Brinley," I rasped, my throat dry as sand. "Her name is Brinley. Mr. Mercer, please... she doesn't know who you are. She doesn't understand. I’ll keep her locked in the room, I’ll work twenty hours a day, I’ll do whatever you want—just don't hurt her."
Jude studied me for a long, agonizing moment. His eyes were a piercing, stormy gray, scanning my pale face, the frayed cuffs of my uniform, and the terror bleeding from every line of my posture.
"I don't hurt children, Clara," he said quietly, uttering my name for the first time. "I leave that to men like your husband."
The mention of Tristan felt like a bucket of ice water poured over my head. My chest heaved. "Tristan isn't a man. He’s a coward who ran."
"He didn't just run," Jude said, gently lifting Brinley off his lap and setting her feet onto the soft Persian rug. He kept one large hand lightly on her shoulder, keeping her steady. "Tristan sold your debt to the Moretti family in Boston before he vanished. Do you know what the Morettis do to debts they collect, Clara?"
I swallowed hard, pulling Brinley back against my legs the moment his grip loosened. She wrapped her arms around my knees, hiding her face in my skirts. "No."
"They don't put them to work in estates," Jude said, standing up to his full height. He towered over us, broad-shouldered and imposing, his black suit tailored impeccably. "They put them in houses in the docks and sell them by the hour. I bought your debt from the Morettis three weeks ago to keep them out of Providence. I didn't buy a maid. I bought time."
May you like
My breath caught in my chest. "Time for what?"
"Time to find Tristan," Jude replied, his dark eyes locking onto mine with ruthless intent. "Because your husband didn't just leave you with a debt. He stole something from me before he left."
