Chapter 2 - The Serpent in the Garden
Dinner that night was a masquerade. The dining room was massive, the table a sprawling expanse of mahogany that felt like a canyon separating me from the Thornton family. Jason sat at the opposite end, his eyes tracing the line of my throat with that same predatory hunger I had seen earlier.
"So, Claire," Jason said, swirling his wine with a lazy, deliberate motion. "How was your first afternoon with the sleeping prince? Did he regale you with stories of his childhood?"
I forced a tight, polite smile, the kind of smile I’d perfected while working at the café back in Yonkers. "It was... peaceful. I read to him for a while. It’s hard to believe he’s been this way for nine months."
Vivian watched me over the rim of her crystal glass. "He’s a beautiful ruin, isn't he? He was always so fragile, even before the accident."
"Fragile?" I countered, my voice steady despite the adrenaline. "The man who built this empire? I wouldn't call him fragile."
Jason chuckled, a dry, humorless sound. "Built it, yes. But he lacked the temperament to hold it. He cared too much about 'people.' A CEO shouldn't care about people. A CEO should care about margins."
"And you think you have a better temperament, Jason?" I asked, looking him dead in the eye.
He set his glass down slowly, the sharp clink echoing through the room. "I think I have the stomach for the things Ethan couldn't do. For instance, I’ve already authorized the transfer of the logistics wing to a private equity firm in the Caymans. It’s a bold move. Ethan would have agonized over it for months. I did it in an afternoon."
My stomach turned. He was already cannibalizing the company while Ethan lay upstairs, listening to every word.
"That seems like a massive decision to make without the CEO’s consent," I remarked, taking a slow sip of water.
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"Ethan isn't the CEO anymore, darling," Jason said, leaning forward. "He’s a historical footnote. And the sooner you accept that, the more comfortable your life here will be. We have big plans for this house, and for you."
I felt the threat hanging in the air, heavy and sharp. They didn't see me as a wife. They saw me as an obstacle to be managed or a toy to be discarded. But as I sat there, I realized I had the one thing they lacked: the truth. And I would use it to bring them to their knees.
