Chapter 4 - Masks Come Off
The lab results arrived on a rain-slicked Tuesday evening.
Celeste’s contact at the independent lab confirmed her worst fears: the tea contained lethal concentrations of thallium sulfate, combined with a rare chemical compound designed to suppress immune responses. It was a sophisticated, highly expensive poison—something that could only be procured through high-end black-market channels.
Arming herself with this knowledge, Celeste began observing the family members during her brief trips down to the mansion's main floor.
Priscilla, the stepmother, remained cold and distant, constantly asking Celeste if Elias’s end was near so they could "prepare the estate paperwork."
Bianca, Finley’s beautiful 24-year-old wife, was suspiciously attentive. She frequently lingered near the kitchen when Oscar prepared the morning trays, offering sweet smiles and asking detailed questions about Elias’s daily routine.
Finley, on the other hand, seemed genuinely tormented. The young man spent hours sitting in the chapel on the estate grounds, looking pale and hollowed out by grief over his brother's impending death.
On Wednesday afternoon, while Elias was resting, Celeste stepped into the grand library to look for a medical reference book. As she navigated the tall oak bookshelves, she heard hushed, urgent voices coming from the adjacent study.
She froze, pressing her back against the leather-bound books, listening intently.
"He's taking too long to die!" a woman’s sharp, panicked voice hissed. It was Bianca.
"Calm down, Bianca," a cold, masculine voice replied.
Celeste’s blood ran cold. It wasn't Finley’s voice. It wasn't Oscar’s voice either.
It was Victor Vulkov—the head of the rival Vulkov mafia syndicate, the very man Elias was fighting for control of Chicago's shipping ports.
"How can I calm down?!" Bianca argued in a harsh whisper. "Priscilla is getting nervous! Old Dorothy is watching everyone like a hawk! If Elias doesn't pass away by the end of the month, Dorothy will transfer the family's master trust to a public foundation instead of letting Finley inherit it!"
"Is the nurse suspicious?" Victor Vulkov asked, his tone dropping into a dangerous key.
"No," Bianca scoffed. "She’s just a broke, useless girl from a free clinic. She does what she’s told. But Elias... his fever broke yesterday. He looked stronger when I peaked through his door!"
"Then increase the dosage," Victor ordered coldly. "Or better yet, I'll send two of my men inside tonight to finish him off under the cover of a break-in. Once Elias is dead, Finley becomes head of the Cade family. And since you control Finley, the Vulkovs will own Chicago."
Celeste’s heart hammered so hard against her chest she was afraid they would hear it through the wood paneling.
Bianca was a Vulkov mole. She had married Finley, manipulated Priscilla, and was slowly poisoning Elias to deliver the entire Cade empire into the hands of her father's syndicate.
Celeste slowly stepped backward, careful not to make a sound. But as she turned the corner of the bookshelf, her elbow caught an ornamental brass vase on a side table.
CLANG!
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The heavy brass vase hit the marble floor, echoing loudly through the silent library.
"Who's there?!" Victor Vulkov’s voice roared from the study.
