Chapter 4 - THE COAT IN THE RAIN
“Let him go!” I screamed, rushing toward the men holding my son.
One of the suited men shoved me back. I hit the hardwood floor hard.
Gabriel caught me before my head struck the baseboard.
His eyes didn’t leave Daniel.
“You bring armed men into my home?” Gabriel’s voice was eerily calm. “You threaten a child? Your own blood?”
Daniel backed toward the exit, motioning for the men to keep a grip on Leo’s small shoulders. Leo was clutching his favorite worn blue teddy bear, crying silently, terrified by the strangers.
“He’s not blood to me,” Daniel spat. “He’s a liability. Just like his mother. I’m taking my share of the accounts, Gabriel. Don’t follow me.”
Isabella ran to Daniel’s side. “Take me with you,” she pleaded. “Gabriel’s lost his mind over this old woman and a maid!”
Gabriel stood up slowly. He adjusted his suit jacket.
“Let the boy go, Daniel. This is your only warning.”
“Or what?” Daniel laughed nervously. “You’ll kill your own brother in front of high society?”
Gabriel didn’t answer. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver whistle. It was an antique, something I’d seen him keep on his desk but never use.
He blew it once.
The sound was sharp and piercing.
Instantly, the heavy oak doors at the back of the dining room swung open.
Ten men, dressed in impeccable black suits, filed into the room. They didn’t draw weapons, but their presence was suffocating. They formed a wall between Daniel, Isabella, and the exit.
Daniel’s face went white.
“Gabriel, wait—”
“Take the child,” Gabriel ordered his men.
Two of Gabriel’s guards stepped forward. Daniel’s hired thugs took one look at the overwhelming force and instantly released Leo, raising their hands in surrender.
Leo ran across the room and crashed into my arms.
I held him so tight I thought I’d break him, burying my face in his hair.
Gabriel walked slowly toward his brother.
Isabella shrieked and shrank away, hiding behind a chair.
“You broke the one rule our father had,” Gabriel said, stopping inches from Daniel’s face. “You hurt family.”
Gabriel reached out and grabbed the lapels of Daniel’s expensive coat. With a violent jerk, he ripped the coat right off his brother’s shoulders, leaving Daniel standing in his shirtsleeves, trembling.
“Get out,” Gabriel whispered. “Leave New York. If I see your face in this city again, I won’t be acting as your brother. I’ll be acting as the head of this family.”
Daniel stumbled backward, his bravado entirely gone. He turned and fled through the back doors.
Gabriel turned to Isabella.
She was clutching the diamond necklace at her throat. “Gabriel, please, we’re getting married in two weeks! The press, the families—”
Gabriel reached out. He didn’t touch her skin, but his fingers caught the chain of the necklace.
He snapped it.
Isabella gasped as the diamond—his mother’s diamond—fell into Gabriel’s palm.
“The wedding is off,” Gabriel said flatly. “Pack your things. You have one hour.”
Isabella burst into tears and ran from the room.
The thirty-eight guests were dead silent.
Gabriel turned back to the table. He walked over to Margaret, who was shaking, and gently placed the diamond back into her hands.
Then, he walked over to me. I was still on the floor, holding Leo.
Gabriel knelt down. He looked at the little boy’s tear-stained face.
“Hello, Leo,” Gabriel said softly.
Leo sniffled and held up his blue teddy bear. “They ripped Mr. Barnaby’s ear.”
Gabriel smiled gently. “I know a guy who’s very good at fixing ears.”
Gabriel looked at me. “Claire. Pack your things. You aren’t sleeping in the servant’s quarters ever again.”
I swallowed hard. “Mr. Moretti, I don’t—”
“It’s Gabriel,” he corrected. “And you’re family.”
He stood up and offered me his hand.
But as I reached up to take it, a sudden crash echoed from the hallway.
One of Gabriel’s guards ran into the room, out of breath.
“Sir! It’s your mother’s nurse!” the guard shouted. “She’s gone, and she took the medical lockbox!”
Margaret gasped, clutching her chest.
“The lockbox?” Gabriel demanded. “What was in it?”
May you like
Margaret looked up at him, her eyes wide with terror.
“Your father’s original will.”
