Chapter 7 - The Mask Slips
I spent the next twenty-four hours operating in a state of hyper-vigilance. Every sound in the penthouse, every car idling outside the lobby, every delivery package felt like a live grenade.
Elise didn't leave the girls' side. When she fed them, she prepared every meal from scratch, checking the seals on milk cartons, washing every piece of fruit twice. I watched her from the kitchen doorway—this girl who had voluntarily walked into the viper's nest because of a promise made to a dying woman.
"Julian," Elise called out softly that evening as the twins played with wooden blocks on the living room rug. "You haven't slept."
"I can't sleep," I said, walking over and sitting cross-legged on the floor beside her. Maisie immediately crawled into my lap, shoving a yellow plastic block into my shirt pocket. I wrapped my arms around her, burying my face in her soft, baby-shampoo-scented hair. "If Evelyn poisoned Clara... she won't stop until she has the trust fund."
"She won't touch the girls as long as you're here and healthy," Elise reasoned, her voice low so the children wouldn't notice. "A tragedy happening to two toddlers while their father is actively guarding them would raise immediate federal suspicion. But she wanted to get me fired because she knows I don't belong here. She knows the locket. If she realizes I'm Clara’s confidante, she'll panic."
"Let her panic," I muttered, dark fury surging through my veins. "Desperate people make mistakes."
As if summoned by the devil herself, my phone vibrated on the coffee table.
The caller ID flashed: *Evelyn Dupont.*
I exchanged a grim look with Elise before sliding my thumb across the screen and putting it on speaker.
"Julian," Evelyn's voice purred through the speaker, sounding disturbingly calm, the hysterical woman from yesterday completely erased. "I called to apologize for my outburst yesterday morning. The stress of Clara's upcoming memorial gala has simply frayed my nerves."
"What do you want, Evelyn?" I asked flatly.
"I’m hosting an intimate dinner party tomorrow night at the country club in Greenwich," she said smoothly. "Just close family, board members of the foundation, and old friends. I want you to bring the girls. It’s time they were reintroduced to high society. Clara would have wanted them surrounded by people who love them."
I looked at Elise. She shook her head fiercely, mouthing: *Do not go.*
"The girls are too young for dinner parties," I replied.
"Nonsense," Evelyn countered, her voice hardening slightly. "Bring the new nanny along to mind them in the private suite upstairs. In fact, I insist you bring Miss Vance. I'd love to make amends and offer her a proper welcome into the family circle."
The trap was so obvious it was insulting.
"We'll be there," I said coldly.
"Wonderful. Eight o'clock sharp, darling. Don't be late."
The line went dead.
"Are you insane?" Elise hissed, turning on me. "She's luring us out of the city! The penthouse has private security, biometric elevators, cameras on every floor. The Greenwich club is her territory. Her husband is on the board!"
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"I know," I said, looking directly into Elise's fierce, protective eyes. "Which means that is where she will make her move. And that is where we will catch her."
***
