Chapter 4
Celeste stood her ground amidst the shattered dessert display, her elegant features hardening into a mask of pure defiance. Despite the frosting staining her emerald evening gown, she carried herself with the arrogant confidence of a woman who believed she was untouchable.
"I did nothing, Damian," Celeste lied smoothly, her American accent dripping with practiced innocence. "I found the box, I realized what it contained, and I planned to dispose of it quietly. That is the entire truth."
Damian did not blink. He slowly unbuttoned his tuxedo jacket, his rugged, deeply masculine presence filling the empty space between them. "You are a very smart woman, Celeste. But you are a terrible liar. If you simply wanted to destroy the box, you would have burned it in the estate incinerator yesterday. But you brought it to a public banquet."
Celeste’s eyes flickered, a micro-expression of panic breaking through her cold facade.
"You brought it here to stage an accident," Damian continued, his voice echoing off the marble walls. "You wanted it to break in front of the guests so you could casually sweep the pieces into the trash without my security team logging the destruction of my late wife's property. But you are too ambitious to just destroy evidence. You verified it first."
"You are being paranoid," Celeste snapped, though her fair skin grew paler under the bright chandelier lights.
"Did you find him?" Damian demanded, stepping within inches of her face. "Did you use your family's private investigators to track the doctor mentioned in this note?"
Celeste pressed her lips together, refusing to speak.
Damian raised a hand, snapping his fingers once. Two massive bodyguards immediately stepped forward, grabbing Celeste by the arms.
"Let go of me!" she shrieked, her high heels struggling for traction on the slippery floor. "My father sits on the syndicate council, Damian! You cannot treat me like a prisoner!"
"Your father answers to me," Damian growled, his face inches from hers. "You have exactly five seconds to tell me if my son is safe, or I will hand you over to the basement crew right now. One."
"Damian, you wouldn't!"
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"Two."
"Fine!" Celeste screamed, her composure entirely shattered. "Yes! I found him!"
