Chapter 4 - The Serpent in the Garden
The grand gates of the Baron Manor swung open at 8:00 a.m. the following morning.
Elias sat in the library of his stone mansion overlooking the Delaware River. The high-ceilinged room smelled of mahogany, leather, and old money. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the river churned gray under the heavy morning fog.
Marcus stood by the doorway, while Clara sat quietly at the heavy oak desk, reviewing copies of Elias’s complete medical file that Marcus’s men had covertly extracted from the hospital.
"She’s here," Marcus announced, looking at his security tablet. "Margot’s car just pulled up the driveway."
Clara stood up immediately. "I should hide upstairs."
"No," Elias said, holding up a hand. "Go into the side study. Keep the door cracked. I want you to hear every word she says."
Clara nodded and slipped through the adjoining doors just as the heavy front entrance doors opened downstairs.
A moment later, sharp heels clacked against the marble floor of the foyer. Margot Ashford burst into the library, her designer coat dripping with rain, her blonde hair perfectly styled despite an expression of dramatic distress.
"Elias!" she cried, rushing toward his chair with her arms outstretched. "Oh my God, Elias! I’ve been out of my mind with worry!"
Elias sat motionless, his face an unreadable mask as she threw her arms around his shoulders, burying her face in his neck. He smelled her perfume—expensive jasmine—and felt a wave of disgust ripple through him.
"Where were you?" Elias asked, his voice completely void of emotion.
Margot pulled back, dabbing at fake tears with a silk handkerchief. "My car! The battery died right after I drove through the cemetery gate. I couldn't get a signal in that horrible storm! I had to walk three miles to a gas station. When I finally got back to the graveyard, you were gone! I thought... I thought something terrible had happened to you!"
"Something terrible did happen, Margot," Elias said calmly. "I had a massive pulmonary embolism. I collapsed in the mud."
Margot gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "What?! Oh, darling... no! How... how are you sitting here? Did someone find you?"
"A passerby called an ambulance," Elias replied, watching her eyes intently. "The doctors at Philadelphia General managed to dissolve the clot just in time."
A micro-expression flashed across Margot’s face—a brief, microscopic flicker of annoyance before she forced a look of overwhelming relief.
"Thank God," she breathed, sitting on the edge of his desk. "Thank God you're safe. You see? This is exactly what I was telling you yesterday, Elias. Your health is so fragile now. You can't be managing the stress of the holding companies by yourself."
She reached into her designer handbag and pulled out a leather folder, placing it directly in front of him.
"I brought the transfer documents again," she said softly, laying a sleek pen next to the folder. "If you sign these, my father and I can take over the daily management of the shipping routes and warehouse assets. You won't have to worry about anything anymore. You can just rest."
Elias looked down at the folder. Inside were documents that would give Margot Ashford full power of attorney and liquidate sixty percent of the Baron family empire into offshore holding accounts controlled by Dr. Victor Ashford.
Rule number three, his father’s voice echoed in his mind. Never enter a room without knowing how you intend to leave.
Elias looked up at Margot and offered a faint, tired smile.
"You're right, Margot," Elias said gently. "I've been stubborn. The chair... it made me bitter. It made me fight the people who care about me most."
Margot’s eyes lit up with victory. "You mean you'll sign?"
"I want to sign them properly," Elias said, closing the folder. "The Ashford Medical Foundation is hosting its annual Charity Gala this Friday night at the Bellevue Hotel, isn't it?"
Margot blinked, surprised. "Yes... but what does that have to do with this?"
"Your father is receiving his Lifetime Achievement Award in front of the city's entire business elite," Elias said, leaning back. "I will sign the transfer papers publicly on stage at the gala. I will announce our marriage date and hand over the stewardship of the Baron empire to your family in front of every reporter in Philadelphia."
Margot’s breath caught in her throat. A radiant, greedy smile spread across her face.
"Elias... that would be incredible," she whispered. "It would silence all the rumors about your health and cement our families' legacy forever!"
"Then it's settled," Elias said smoothly. "Now leave me, Margot. I need to rest before Friday."
Margot leaned down, kissed his cheek, and practically floated out of the library, her heels clicking triumphantly down the hallway.
The moment the front door closed, Clara stepped out of the side study. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"You're giving her everything?" Clara asked, her voice tight. "After everything she did to you?"
May you like
Elias looked at Clara, his eyes cold and sharp as diamond glass.
"A man who walks into a trap willingly isn't a victim, Dr. Dunn," Elias said softly. "He's the bait."
