Chapter 2 - THE CONSPIRACY OF BLOOD
That night, while the twins slept under my watchful eye, I conducted my own secret investigation.
I refused to let the boys sleep in their bedrooms. Despite Mrs. Bennett's strict protests about "mansion protocols," I carried both Jacob and Jonah down to the master library on the main floor—a room with large floor-to-ceiling windows, open fresh-air circulation, and no connected ventilation ducts to the upper floor.
At 2:00 AM, the heavy oak doors of the library pushed open.
Nathan walked in silently, wearing a dark silk shirt with the sleeves rolled up, revealing faint, intricate tattoos covering his forearms. He carried two silver mugs, handing one to me.
"Black coffee," he said softly, sitting on the leather sofa opposite where I was sitting beside the sleeping twins. "They look... peaceful down here."
"Because they aren't breathing in the air from upstairs," I replied, taking a sip of the bitter brew. "Look at Jacob's chest, Nathan. His breathing was shallow and wheezing three hours ago. Down here, with fresh night air coming through the cracked window, his color is already returning."
Nathan stared at his sons, his dark eyes brimming with unspoken rage.
"I built an empire so my family would never be vulnerable," Nathan said quietly, his voice carrying the dangerous weight of a man who ruled an underworld. "My wife died giving birth to them. They are all I have left. I spent three million dollars hiring the top medical minds in the country, and every single one of them told me it was an unidentified autoimmune disease."
"Because Dr. Reeves controlled the sample collection," I pointed out, pulling a small plastic sample vial from my apron pocket. "I scraped some of that residue from the vent while you were securing the hallway earlier. I need a private, independent lab to test this—one completely outside your network and outside Reeves' influence."
Nathan pulled out a sleek black satellite phone. "I have contacts at Yale New Haven Medical Center who owe me their lives. I'll have my top security detail take the sample directly to their chief toxicologist tonight."
"Good," I nodded. "Now tell me about Dr. Reeves. How did he become their primary physician?"
Nathan's face hardened into stone. "He was introduced to me by my late wife's brother, Julian Vance. Julian is my chief financial officer. When the boys first got sick eighteen months ago, Julian brought Reeves in as an exclusive concierge specialist."
"Your brother-in-law brought him in?" I asked, my instincts firing. "Who stands to inherit your estate if... God forbid... something happens to Jacob and Jonah?"
May you like
Nathan froze. The realization hit him like a physical blow.
"If I die without living heirs," Nathan said, his voice dropping into a terrifyingly cold tone, "the family trust dictates that fifty percent of the Coleman syndicate's holdings and real estate revert directly to the Vance estate. To Julian."
