Chapter 11 - The Web Unravels
Genevieve quickly masked her shock, recovering the icy composure that had made her a feared matriarch in high society. She raised her chin, curling her lips into a disdainful smirk.
""Even if you survived the night, Julian, you cannot prove a thing,"" she sneered, adjusting the sable around her shoulders. ""Richard won't testify against me. The magistrate is my cousin. And the only witness you have to the kitchen tampering is a filthy, penniless baker girl who will hang the moment I give the order.""
""Is that so?"" another voice spoke.
Clara stepped out of the darkness, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Julian. She was no longer wearing her soiled apron; Julian had draped her in a heavy velvet traveling cloak, Marcus's silver crest pinned prominently over her heart.
Genevieve’s eyes dropped to the crest, and for the first time, genuine fear cracked through her porcelain mask. ""Where did you get that?""
""From my father,"" Clara said, stepping forward until the candlelight illuminated her sharp features, so eerily identical to the brother Genevieve had conspired to banish decades ago. ""Marcus Vance sent his regards. Along with the ledgers he kept of your father's embezzlements.""
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Julian tossed a bound leather book onto the stone table between them. ""Richard has already signed a full confession, Genevieve. The inspector from the capital is upstairs in my study at this very moment, waiting for my signal.""
Genevieve’s breath hitched. She dropped the silver candelabra, the candles extinguishing as they hit the damp stone floor, plunging the cellar into near-total darkness, save for Julian's solitary lantern.
