Chapter 4 - Trapped in the Web
Damian slowly raised his hand from the mattress and reached toward Lila. For a man who had earned a reputation as a cold, unforgiving syndicate leader, his motion was remarkably tender. He gently touched the edge of Lila’s pink hearing device, looking into her clear, fearless eyes. She didn't flinch. Instead, she offered him a faint, sweet smile and patted his hand.
"Why didn't you tell anyone this morning, Mara?" Damian asked, turning his gaze sharply back toward the maid on the floor. His whisper was low and razor-sharp. "If your child knew my medicine was poisoned hours ago, why are you only telling me now that I am lying here near death?"
Mara broke down into silent, heavy tears, pressing her forehead against the polished floorboards. "Because Viktor threatened to kill us, sir!" she sobbed, keeping her voice as quiet as possible so no one outside the room could hear. "He caught Lila near the kitchen door this morning. He didn't realize she was deaf, but he knew she saw him. He grabbed me in the hallway and said if I didn't keep her locked in the servants' quarters, he would throw us both into the river!"
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Damian’s chest rose and fell in heavy, deliberate breaths as the full picture began to take shape. Mara hadn't been an accomplice; she had been a terrified mother trying to shield her defenseless child from a monster operating right inside his home. "He thought a deaf child couldn't testify against him," Damian murmured, his voice dropping into a dangerous timbre.
👉 Read on to see how Damian plans his move against the traitor in his home.
