Chapter 4 - The Confrontation
The study on the second floor was a massive room filled with leather-bound books, dark mahogany, and the scent of expensive tobacco. Adrian Vale sat behind his desk, his hands clasped under his chin, watching Clara as she stood in the center of the room.
“Explain,” he commanded.
Clara swallowed hard, her voice shaking as she began to speak. “For the past six years, Miss Evangeline has been given a specific herbal tea by Mrs. Gable. I recognized the scent. It’s a derivative of nightshade mixed with lead salts. In the harbor, it’s used to keep sick people quiet, but over time, it destroys the nerves in the limbs. It causes a progressive, artificial paralysis.”
Adrian’s face remained expressionless, but his fingers tightened until his knuckles went white. “Mrs. Gable was my wife’s most trusted nurse. She has no reason to harm my daughter.”
“Who benefits from Miss Evangeline being sick, Mr. Vale?” Clara asked quietly. “If she is healthy, she is the sole heir to your estate. But if she is... incapable, who stands to inherit?”
Adrian’s eyes flared with a sudden, realization.
The Vale empire was vast, and there were many who coveted it. But the closest relative, the one who had been quietly managing the shipping accounts since Adrian's wife died, was his brother-in-law, Julian March—the uncle of Selene March.
“Julian,” Adrian whispered, the name leaving his lips like a curse.
“I asked Miss Evangeline to stop drinking the tea four days ago,” Clara continued. “Tonight, she told me the feeling is returning to her legs. The nerves are waking up, sir. If we stop the poison completely, she might walk again.”
Adrian stood up slowly, his towering frame casting a shadow across the desk. The cold, calculated businessman was gone; in his place stood a predator who had just discovered a snake in his own nest.
“If you are lying to me, Clara,” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper that made her spine tingle, “there is no corner of this world where you can hide from me.”
“I’m not lying, Mr. Vale,” Clara said, looking him directly in the eyes. “Test the tea yourself. It’s kept in the pantry on the third floor.”
Adrian strode past her, his coat billowing behind him. Clara followed him as he marched back up to the third floor, his steps no longer quiet, but heavy with a terrifying purpose.
He threw open the door to the third-floor pantry, grabbing the porcelain jar labeled with Evangeline’s name. He opened it, inhaling the dried leaves, his expression darkening with every passing second.
“Barrow!” Adrian roared, his voice echoing through the entire mansion.
May you like
Within minutes, the butler appeared, his face pale and sweating. “Yes, Mr. Vale?”
“Bring Mrs. Gable to the drawing room,” Adrian ordered, his voice laced with a lethal calm. “And call my personal physician. Tell him to bring a chemical testing kit. If he values his life, he will be here in ten minutes.”
