Chapter 2 - The Estate Shadows
At the lavish wedding reception held inside the sprawling Basil family estate in Lake Forest, Fiona spent the vast majority of the evening completely alone at the bridal table.
Seth disappeared with his senior lieutenants barely fifteen minutes after walking through the front doors, abandoning her to a room full of judgmental strangers. That suited Fiona perfectly. It gave her the space she needed to observe the intricate ecosystem of the Basil empire without interruption.
She ate her meal slowly, methodically, while complex conversations unfolded around her in hushed tones. People always behaved differently around someone they considered utterly irrelevant. Because they assumed she was weak, insecure, and simple-minded, they completely stopped guarding their facial expressions. They dropped their professional armor. They whispered dangerous secrets right across the tables. They made fatal human mistakes.
Fiona saw Victor Dane, one of Seth’s oldest and most ruthless lieutenants, discreetly exchange a heavy, wax-sealed manila envelope with a known operative from an opposing South Side crew near the rear terrace doors.
She watched Grant Mercer, Seth’s chief financial adviser, brazenly lie to a visiting captain when asked whether a major cargo shipment had been delayed by customs.
And she noticed something even stranger, something hidden beneath layers of polite smiles. Whenever Seth entered the room, his closest adviser and head of internal security, Angelo Ross, smiled warmly and clapped him on the back. But the exact microsecond Seth turned his back and walked away, Angelo’s smile vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, venomous glare of pure ambition.
At eleven-thirty at night, Seth finally approached his new bride, cutting through the lingering crowd.
"The car is ready," he stated bluntly.
Fiona placed her champagne glass down on the white tablecloth with a soft click. "Is it for both of us?"
"For you."
That response did not surprise her in the slightest.
Seth glanced impatiently toward the crowded ballroom, his mind clearly occupied by criminal logistics. "You’ll stay here at the main estate. The west wing has been prepared. You’ll have whatever material resources you need."
"Except a husband, of course."
His eyes snapped back to hers, narrowing slightly. "This entire arrangement exists solely because of your late father's insurmountable debt."
"I am well aware of why I am standing here," Fiona replied smoothly.
"Good." He lowered his voice into a sharp warning. "I won’t interfere with your personal life if you don’t interfere with mine."
Fiona studied him for a long, quiet moment. Behind Seth’s broad shoulders, she spotted Angelo Ross laughing heartily at something Victor Dane had said across the room. Seth didn't even turn around to look.
Fiona did. She caught every nuance of their body language.
"I prefer peace and quiet anyway," Fiona said evenly.
Seth gave a single, curt nod of approval. "Then I suppose we’ll get along just fine."
May you like
He turned on his heel and walked away to deal with more pressing underworld business.
Fiona watched his broad back recede into the crowd. No, she thought to herself with a hidden smirk. We won't get along at all. Because you have no idea who you just invited into your house.
