Chapter 4 - The Intruder in the Mist
The freezing night air roared through the shattered glass, sending napkins and papers swirling through the room. Julian instantly grabbed the vial, backing away toward the arched hallway as the shadows outside shifted. Through the jagged opening in the terrace doors, Vivienne caught a glimpse of a silhouette draped in an oilskin coat, disappearing into the thick fog of the cypress gardens.
Eleanor did not flinch from the flying glass; she stood up with imperial calm, smoothing her black jacket as though the intrusion were nothing more than a minor domestic inconvenience. She reminded Julian that running with the antidote would make him an accessory to murder before the board even convened. Julian sneered, retorting that the board already belonged to him before slipping into the corridor. Vivienne knew she could not chase him without securing Camille first. She helped her trembling sister onto the long velvet settee, wiping sweat from the younger woman's pale forehead.
Camille grabbed Vivienne’s wrist with desperate strength, her hazel eyes wild with terror. She whispered that the intruder wasn't a stranger; she had seen the ring on the intruder’s finger through the broken glass—the engraved signet ring belonging to their late father. Before Vivienne could process the impossibility of the claim, the heavy double doors of the wine cellar beneath their feet shuddered with three violent, rhythmic thuds.
