Chapter 4 - A Shattered Wine Glass and the Echo of Forgotten Promises
Inside the mansion, the remaining dinner guests were quietly ushered out through the side entrance by security guards dressed in dark suits.
Victoria stood alone near the grand fireplace, holding an ice pack against her red cheek.
“You’re making a massive mistake, Arthur,” Victoria hissed, her voice trembling with rage. “I know what happened thirty years ago in Rhode Island.”
Arthur slowly poured himself two fingers of neat Scotch at the marble bar across the room.
He didn't turn around to face her.
“Threats only work when you hold cards, Victoria,” Arthur murmured, taking a slow sip of the amber liquid. “You hold nothing but spite.”
“I hold the medical records from the clinic in Boston!” Victoria shouted, taking a bold step forward. “I know Julian didn't drown alone!”
Arthur set his crystal glass down with a heavy, deliberate thud on the marble surface.
The temperature in the lavish room seemed to drop below freezing in an instant.
He turned around slowly, his towering frame casting a long shadow across the room.
“If you ever speak that name in this house again, Victoria, you will leave this property with nothing but the clothes on your back,” Arthur warned.
Victoria clutched her expensive designer handbag tightly to her chest, her knuckles turning white.
She realized then that Arthur wasn't just protecting Mark or the little girl.
He was protecting a dark family secret that could destroy every single member of the Montgomery line.
Outside, the heavy engine of Mark’s SUV roared to life as he pulled out onto the quiet suburban road.
Mark watched the rear-view mirror as the massive iron gates of the estate closed slowly behind them.
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He knew that leaving the house was only the beginning of a long, dangerous night.
***
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