Chapter 3 - The Trap is Set
By noon, the estate was under a state of silent siege. To the outside world, nothing had changed. The black SUVs remained parked in the driveway. The guards patrolled the perimeter. But inside, the power dynamic had shifted entirely.
Claire Bennett arrived at the estate at one o'clock, wearing a pristine white trench coat and carrying shopping bags from Chanel. She hummed a light tune as she walked through the foyer, completely unaware of the tension vibrating through the walls.
"Dom, darling!" she called out, spotting him standing by the grand fireplace in the library. She walked in, ready to plant a kiss on his cheek, but stopped when she saw his cold, unreadable expression. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"I have," Dominic said, taking a sip from a glass of whiskey. "I found Mia."
Claire’s smile faltered for a fraction of a second—so fast that an untrained eye would have missed it. But Dominic had spent his entire life reading liars.
"Oh! The maid?" Claire said, quickly recovering her composure. "Did she come back from Pennsylvania? Honestly, Dominic, she is so unprofessional. Leaving her child behind like that. I was planning to fire her today."
"She didn't go to Pennsylvania, Claire," Dominic said, stepping away from the fireplace. "She was locked in my wine cellar. Starving. Tied up like an animal."
Claire gasped, her hand flying to her chest in a display of horror. "My God! Who would do such a thing? Is she alright? We must call the police!"
"We don't call the police, Claire. You know that," Dominic said. He walked over to her, his footsteps heavy on the Persian rug. He reached out and gently took her chin between his fingers, forcing her to look up into his eyes. "Nathan told me you asked for that new lock to be put on the door. He said you were worried about the wine."
"I... I was!" Claire stammered, her eyes darting around the room as if searching for an escape. "I saw some of the guards hanging around there. I didn't want anything stolen. Dominic, you don't think I had anything to do with this, do you? I'm your fiancée! I love you!"
"I know you do," Dominic said, his voice dropping to a soothing, almost hypnotic register. "And that's why I need you to help me. I think one of our guards has gone rogue. Someone is trying to frame Nathan. I've placed Nathan under house arrest for his own protection, but I need to find out who the real traitor is."
Claire’s eyes lit up with a mixture of relief and cunning. She thought she had won. She thought Dominic was still the blind fool she could manipulate.
"Of course, darling," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Whatever you need. We'll find them together."
"Good," Dominic said, smiling a cold, dead smile. "We’re going to hold a dinner tonight. Just us, Nathan, and the senior captains. We will root out the traitor together. In the meantime, I've sent Mia and her daughter to a safehouse in the city. They are out of our way."
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"That's... perfect," Claire whispered, her mind already racing to contact Nathan to plan their next move.
She had no idea that Mia and Harper were currently sleeping in Dominic’s own bed, protected by three of the most loyal, heavily armed men in the state. And she had no idea that she had just walked into her own execution chamber.
