Chapter 13: The Serpent at the Gate
The phantom warmth of the foyer vanished, replaced by a suffocating chill that seemed to radiate from the crumpled piece of paper in Natalie's hand. She stood frozen, her eyes staring blankly at the blood-red roses that now looked less like a luxury gift and more like a fresh splash of warning.
"Is everything to your satisfaction, Mrs. Vance?" Mrs. Gable asked, her sharp eyes tracking the sudden paleness of Natalie’s face.
"Yes," Natalie said quickly, her voice tight as she thrust the crumpled note into the pocket of her cream blazer. "Please have the flowers sent to the master suite. The clothes can be taken to my closet."
"Of course." Mrs. Gable bowed slightly, though her lingering gaze suggested she knew exactly how hollow Natalie's reaction was.
Natalie hurried up the stairs, her mind racing. Matteo Vance. Before she had been handed over to Sebastian, she had done her homework on the Vance family. Sebastian wasn't the sole heir; he had an older half-brother, Matteo, a man who had been cast out of the Vance Group years ago after a bitter, violent power struggle that nearly tore the conglomerate apart. Rumor had it that Matteo was unstable, brilliant, and utterly consumed by a vendetta against his younger brother.
If Matteo was reaching out to her, it meant he knew she was the weak link in Sebastian's armor. Or worse, he knew she was a fake bride.
Natalie closed the double doors of the master suite behind her and pulled the crumpled note out of her pocket, flattening it against the marble console table. Her hands were steady, but a cold sweat broke out across her neck. *Don't forget where you belong.* What did that mean? She had never met Matteo Vance in her life.
She spent the next few hours pacing the length of the massive suite, the encrypted files on her laptop completely forgotten. When midnight finally arrived, the heavy mahogany doors of the study clicked open right on cue. Natalie didn't hesitate. She marched straight in, the crumpled note gripped firmly in her hand.
Sebastian was sitting behind his desk, his sleeves rolled up, looking over a glowing tablet. He didn't look up as she entered. "You're late by two minutes, Natalie. I expect punctuality, especially when—"
"We have a problem," Natalie interrupted, slamming the crumpled paper down onto the glass surface of his desk, right over his tablet.
Sebastian paused. His icy blue eyes slowly drifted from the tablet to the wrinkled piece of paper, and then up to her defiant, tense face. He reached out, his long fingers flattening the note. As his eyes scanned the elegant handwriting, Natalie watched his jaw lock. The air in the room instantly turned lethal. The quiet composure of the ruthless CEO shattered, replaced by a raw, terrifying stillness.
"Where did you get this?" Sebastian asked, his voice dropping into a register so low and quiet it made the hairs on Natalie's arms stand up.
"It was delivered to the foyer this afternoon. With a mountain of roses and designer clothes," Natalie said, leaning over the desk. "Mrs. Gable said it was for me. Who is 'M', Sebastian? Is it Matteo?"
Sebastian stood up slowly, the sheer force of his presence filling the room like a physical weight. He didn't answer her. Instead, he walked over to the stone fireplace, his back to her, his fists clenching so hard his knuckles turned white.
"Matteo is supposed to be in Geneva," Sebastian whispered, the name tasting like poison on his tongue. "He is barred from entering the country under a legal injunction I personally signed three years ago."
"Well, your injunction didn't stop his florist," Natalie shot back, walking around the desk to stand near him. "He knows who I am, Sebastian. He knows we just got married, and he's calling me a 'bird in a golden cage'. What does he want?"
Sebastian turned around, his face a terrifying mask of absolute rage and cold calculation. He stepped closer to her, his shadow enveloping her completely. He reached out, his hand gripping her chin with a fierce, unyielding intensity—far tighter than he ever had before.
"He wants what is mine," Sebastian growled, his icy blue eyes boring into hers, looking for any sign of betrayal. "He couldn't beat me in the boardroom, so he's going to try to break me through you. Did you know him before this, Natalie? Did the Lopez family make a deal with him too?"
"No!" Natalie cried out, refusing to flinch despite the tight grip on her jaw. She looked straight into his stormy eyes. "I don't know him. My family kept me locked away from everyone, remember? I'm telling you this because we're supposed to be partners. If I wanted to betray you, I wouldn't have handed you the note."
Sebastian stared at her, his breathing heavy, searching her face for a lie. Slowly, the blinding rage in his eyes began to recede, replaced by that familiar, sharp calculation. He released his grip on her chin, his thumb brushing against her skin almost as an apology.
"He's watching us," Sebastian murmured, looking back at the note on the desk. "He thinks you're a victim. He thinks he can use your resentment against me to dismantle the acquisition from the inside."
A cold, dark smile suddenly touched Natalie's lips, despite the adrenaline pulsing through her veins. She rubbed her jaw, looking at her husband. "Then let's give him exactly what he wants to see."
Sebastian raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued. "What do you mean?"
"Matteo thinks I'm a miserable prisoner in your house," Natalie said, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper as she stepped back into his space. "So let's play the part. Let's make it look like our perfect corporate marriage is falling apart. Let's make me look desperate, angry, and ready to snap. When he reaches out to offer me an escape... we catch the serpent at the gate."
To be Continued...
