Chapter 5 - the trial in the conservatory
By 5:00 AM, the rain had stopped, giving way to a pale, misty sunrise over the mansion grounds.
Inside the glass-walled conservatory at the rear of the estate, thirty heavy-armed guards stood along the perimeter. Sitting in the center of the room on a stone bench, flanked by two guards, was Vivienne. Her dark silk robe was rumpled, her face pale, her hands bound tightly behind her back with tactical zip-ties.
Dominic stood ten feet away, his broad back turned to her as he looked out at the damp rose gardens. Behind him stood Elena, wrapped in a heavy dark wool coat that Dominic had given her to stay warm.
"You brought mercenaries into my home, Vivienne," Dominic said, his voice flat, devoid of any human emotion. "You endangered my crew. You tried to murder my brother's child."
Vivienne lifted her chin, her eyes flashing with a final, desperate spark of arrogance. "That maid is a threat to everything we built, Dominic! If the council finds out Julian had a legitimate daughter, the Varelli trust will be frozen! The Valentis promised me fifty million dollars to clear her out!"
"The Valentis used you," Dominic said, turning slowly to face her. "They don't care about your fifty million, Vivienne. They wanted the master key to our harbor accounts—a key that only my brother's bloodline can activate."
Vivienne blinked, her breath catching in her throat. "What are you talking about?"
Dominic reached into his suit pocket and pulled out the small black gold crest ring Elena had worn downstairs. He held it up in the morning light.
"My father designed our family security network thirty years ago," Dominic explained quietly. "He installed a biometric lock on our main European vaults. The lock doesn't respond to passwords or keycards. It only responds to the unique DNA signature etched into the gold of this ring... passed down through Julian's line."
Vivienne stared at the ring, her mouth falling open in utter disbelief. "No... no, that's impossible! Julian was dead before the vaults were built!"
"Julian died because you told the Valentis where he was hiding thirty years ago," Elena said, her voice trembling with emotion as she stepped forward beside Dominic. "My mother wrote it all down in her diary. You weren't just his sister-in-law, Vivienne. You were jealous that Julian chose a common woman over your family's alliance."
Vivienne gasped, backing as far into the stone bench as her bound arms would allow. "You have no proof! That diary is hearsay!"
Dominic reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a heavy black leather folder—the same folder he had recovered from the unconscious Valenti gunman's pocket an hour ago.
"This folder contains the complete transaction history between your personal bank in Zurich and the Valenti syndicate," Dominic said coldly. "Signed by your hand three weeks ago."
Dominic turned to Marcus, who stood near the conservatory doors. "Call the family council. Tell them to assemble at the Lake Shore house by noon. We are holding a blood court."
Vivienne’s eyes widened in raw, absolute terror. A blood court was the oldest, most brutal tradition of the Varelli family—a tribunal where traitors were stripped of their name, their wealth, and their freedom forever.
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"Dominic! Please!" Vivienne screamed, tears finally spilling over her cheeks as the guards grabbed her arms and dragged her toward the door. "We're family! You can't do this to me!"
Dominic didn't answer. He turned his back on her, looking out at the sun breaking through the clouds over the lake.
