Chapter 4 - Behind the Gilded Mirrors
The north pavilion was cloaked in thick darkness and smelling of old dust and damp limestone. I moved silently through the service corridor, using the flashlight on my phone to navigate the maze of covered furniture and antique portraiture.
At the end of the long hall stood a set of double carved oak doors, secured from the outside by a heavy steel sliding bolt and a massive brass padlock.
I inserted Martha’s key into the padlock. It turned with a crisp click.
I slid the heavy bolt back, taking a deep breath to brace myself, and pushed the doors open.
The room beyond was blindingly opulent, bathed in the glow of a towering crystal chandelier that hung from a twenty-foot gilded ceiling. Floor-to-ceiling mirrors with baroque gold frames lined the walls, reflecting light across pristine white marble floors. Velvet drapes were drawn shut over the tall windows, cutting off any view of the outside world.
In the center of this immense, suffocating luxury sat a gigantic, ornate white wrought-iron cage, styled like a Victorian aviary. The bars rose eight feet into a dome, secured at the front with an industrial-grade padlock.
And inside the cage, kneeling on the cold marble in an ivory lace maternity dress, was Grace.
Her blonde hair was tangled, falling loosely around her pale, tear-streaked face. She was clutching her heavily pregnant belly with both hands, trembling violently, her head bowed in profound despair.
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Standing just outside the bars were Victoria and Julian. Victoria wore an ivory skirt suit with her arms crossed, watching Grace like an unwanted specimen. Julian stood beside her in his sharp black suit, his face contorted into a smug, victorious sneer.
"You're pathetic, Grace," Julian’s voice echoed off the marble walls. "All you had to do was sign the power of attorney over the trust, and you could have had a comfortable cottage in Switzerland. Now? Once the heir is delivered, you'll be committed to an asylum three thousand miles away, and Ethan will never know the difference."
