Chapter 19 - The Crimson Envelope
Sarah stepped out onto the conservatory terrace, her face pale in the moonlight. She held a silver tray, upon which sat a single, heavy package wrapped in crimson silk, tied with a black satin ribbon.
The romantic stillness of the night shattered in an instant.
Gabriel stepped in front of Khloe, his hand moving instinctively toward his holster. "Sarah, what is that? How did anything get past the checkpoint?"
"It was delivered to the main desk by a uniformed federal courier, Mr. Vance," Sarah said, her voice trembling. "It cleared the explosive and biohazard scans. It’s marked strictly for the attention of Khloe Bennett."
Khloe walked around Gabriel. Her heart hammered against her ribs, but her chin remained high. "Bring it here, Sarah."
Sarah placed the tray on a glass table.
Khloe untied the black ribbon, letting the crimson silk fall away.
Inside was an antique wooden box crafted from polished rosewood. Khloe lifted the brass latch and opened the lid.
Lying on a bed of black velvet was an item that made Khloe’s breath catch in her throat:
It was Julian Duval’s heavy gold signet ring—the ring he had worn every day of their four-year marriage, the ring he had supposedly surrendered to the federal marshals upon his arrest. It was stained with a single drop of dried, dark red blood.
Beside the ring lay a high-resolution photograph taken less than an hour ago.
It showed the private safe house beneath the Manhattan residence. It showed Elena’s nursery.
Standing beside Elena’s crib, looking down at the sleeping baby with a chilling, serene smile, was Helena Montgomery.
And tucked beneath the photograph was an official medical document from a Swiss fertility clinic, dated two weeks ago.
It was an ultrasound scan showing a twelve-week-old healthy fetus.
Stapled to the scan was a handwritten note in elegant, looping cursive:
*Dearest Khloe,*
*You thought you were the only woman carrying a Vance heir. Julian paid his debt with his life tonight—he was never very good at keeping secrets, was he?*
*The blue diamond looks exquisite on you, my dear. But Gabriel’s first child isn't Elena.*
*Meet me alone at the Brooklyn Navy Yard tomorrow morning at dawn, or the world will find out whose baby Gabriel Vance was really protecting seven years ago.*
*With love,*
*Helena & Your Daughter’s Brother.*
Khloe stood completely frozen, staring at the ultrasound, her hand clutching the twenty-carat blue diamond on her finger as the cold winter wind began to howl once more against the glass.
Gabriel looked over her shoulder at the document, his face turning completely gray, his eyes wide with an unspeakable, horrifying truth that threatened to tear down everything they had fought to build.
"Khloe..." Gabriel whispered, his voice trembling as he reached for her.
Khloe pulled her hand away, stepping back into the shadows of the terrace, looking at the man she loved with eyes full of a terrifying, unresolved question.
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The game had not ended.
The real war had only just begun.
