Chapter 4 - Shadows of the Past
The crash downstairs sent Arthur rushing out of Clara’s room, his hand instinctively reaching for the heavy signet ring on his finger—a habit from his days of street brawls before he inherited the family empire. In the grand gallery, portraits of past Vance patriarchs stared down with cold, judgmental eyes. Standing in the center of the room was Julian, Arthur’s estranged cousin, holding a shattered crystal decanter of expensive scotch. Julian’s smirk was venomous, his eyes bloodshot and erratic. He looked at Arthur with a mixture of mockery and jealousy. The tension between them was historical, a toxic rivalry fueled by competing claims to the family fortune and dark secrets buried deep in their youth. Julian sneered, making a subtle, demeaning comment about the new domestic staff, specifically pointing upward toward Clara’s floor. Arthur’s blood ran cold. Julian knew something; worse, Julian might have been the one responsible. Without a word, Arthur closed the distance between them with terrifying speed, slamming Julian against the mahogany wall. The air rushed out of Julian’s lungs, but his sinister smile only widened. He whispered a veiled threat about exposing what really happened to the previous maids who had tried to speak out. Arthur’s grip tightened, his knuckles turning white, realizing the war had only just begun.
