Chapter 7 - Blood on the Linen
By seven o'clock that evening, Aster House was transformed.
The main dining hall was glittering with crystal chandeliers, silver candelabras, and tables draped in imported Italian linen. High-profile executives, city councilmen, and wealthy socialites filled the room, laughing and clinking glasses.
In the kitchen, the chefs moved with frantic precision, sliding silver platters across the stainless-steel counters.
Randall stood near the doorway of the wine cellar, a small glass vial of synthetic chemical contaminant hidden tightly inside his palm. His heart pounded against his ribs like a sledgehammer. Every instinct screamed at him to stop, but the thought of the cash sitting in his apartment safe—and his petty, bitter desire to ruin the Carvers once and for all—pushed him forward.
He slipped into the dim, cool shadows of the wine cellar, uncorked a backup magnum of premium reserve Cabernet destined for the VIP tables, and tipped the vial into the dark liquid.
He didn't notice the security camera tucked away in the corner rafters—a camera that had been upgraded and re-routed directly to a secure tablet sitting on a mahogany desk ten miles away at the Carver estate.
Back in the sunlit conservatory of the Carver manor, Dominic Carver watched the live feed on his tablet with absolute, chilling calm.
Beside him, Nora gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.
“That’s... that’s Randall,” Nora whispered, staring at the screen in utter disbelief. “He’s poisoning the wine. Oh, my god, he’s going to poison dozens of people!”
Dominic didn't speak. He simply locked his tablet screen, slipped it into his pocket, and stood up from his chair. His face was carved from glacial ice.
“Gideon,” Dominic called out sharply.
The massive enforcer appeared from the hallway instantly.
May you like
“Boss?”
“Mobilize the team. Three cars. We’re going to Aster House.” Dominic turned his cold, piercing gaze toward Nora, who was standing up in a panic. “And you, Miss Bennett. You’re coming with us. It’s time you saw how we handle business.”
