Chapter 10 - Sins of the Midnight Hour|
Down in the lower gardens, encased in the humid, fogged glass of the estate's private greenhouse, a very different meeting was taking place.
Donovan stood handcuffed to a heavy iron support beam, the effects of the scotch completely vanished, replaced by a cold, sweat-inducing terror.
Vincent stood ten feet away, casually unbuttoning his cuffs and rolling his sleeves back up to his elbows. Marco, his chief enforcer, stood by the entrance holding a heavy leather case.
"Vincent, please!" Donovan choked out, his eyes wide with desperation. "It was a mistake! I had too much to drink—she was just a maid! She talked back to me!"
Vincent opened the leather case Marco presented. Inside lay an array of surgical steel tools—the precise instruments his father had used to enforce discipline decades ago.
"She is not 'just a maid'," Vincent said smoothly, selecting a heavy steel pair of pliers. "Her name is Fay. And she works for me."
"I bring in thirty percent of the dock revenue!" Donovan screamed as Vincent stepped closer. "You're going to destroy our business over a girl who cleans floors?!"
Vincent looked at him with dark, emotionless eyes.
"The docks will continue to run without you, Donovan," Vincent said quietly. "Because after tonight, you will never walk on them again."
A horrifying scream echoed through the glasshouse, smothered quickly by the dense tropical plants and the pouring rain outside.
An hour later, Vincent returned to his private study. He had changed into a fresh black shirt, though his knuckles were slightly scraped and bruised.
Fay was still sitting on the leather sofa, holding a warm cup of chamomile tea Dr. Aris had left for her.
She stood up instantly as Vincent entered the room. "Is... is it over?"
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Vincent walked over to his desk, pouring himself two fingers of dark bourbon. "Donovan has been relieved of his duties within the organization."
"Relieved?" Fay repeated softly, reading between the icy lines.
