Chapter 41 Dancing With Love and Danger
Serena
Even twelve hours later, the image of Mr. Rivers jerking violently on the marble floor refused to leave my mind.
Not a single minute passed without me remembering him foaming at the mouth, his eyes rolling back, and his body twitching like something evil had taken over.
They still hadn’t returned from the hospital. That left me, Mrs. Hale, and the rest of the terrified house staff to deal with the swarm of journalists camped outside the estate gates like vultures waiting for fresh meat.
“What are we going to do?” I asked, pacing in front of the window, fingers itching to rip my hair out. “They’re everywhere.”
Mrs. Hale grabbed my arm and dragged me away from the glass before someone could snap a photo.
“You need to convince them you’re innocent,” she said urgently. “The video in Lara’s possession complicates everything. It might be difficult for people to believe you had nothing to do with it… but you still have to try.”
I shook my head. “I don’t even know how. If I hadn’t seen that video myself, I would’ve never believed I could sleepwalk. It still feels strange watching myself move around the house like a ghost.”
Mrs. Hale hesitated, then blurted out: “I know the rings were from them.”
I blinked. “Huh?”
“They’re obsessed with you, Serena. Both of them. They fight every single day to be the one who gets to call you theirs and Lara hates you for it. She was certain Sin would be forced to leave the country once the truth about him came out.”
I stared at her, suddenly realizing she knew the things happening in the family more than she let on.
“But you know I can’t marry them,” I whispered. “When they’re near me… they make me feel alive. I never knew what that felt like before them.”
Mrs. Hale’s expression softened for a second. “Lara’s plan is to make you look like a murderer so the family will get rid of you while Mrs. Rivers wants her husband gone so she can control the family’s entire wealth.”
“She’s already married to the man who controls the wealth,” I said, confused. “Isn’t that enough?”
Mrs. Hale glanced around nervously before stepping closer, lowering her voice to barely a whisper.
“Serena, you must not tell anyone… but she belongs to a cult of widows. The most powerful women in the country. In order to establish her authority in the cult, she has to not only be a widow…”
Her mouth tightened, like the next words tasted bitter. “She must have total control of the family, the wealth, the children, the connections, everything. Her husband’s death is just the beginning.”
I felt the blood drain from my face. A cult of widows? And Mrs. Rivers wanted to be their queen.
What the heck?
“That sounds ridiculous,” I said, shaking my head. “I know the Illuminati is real and all that conspiracy stuff, but a cult of widows? That sounds like peak Hollywood screenplay.”
Mrs. Hale sucked her teeth, a sharp, impatient sound I was starting to recognize as her version of “you’re being naive.”
“You have to believe me, Serena,” she insisted. “Mrs. Rivers had an agenda long before you ever stepped foot in this house. She wanted Lara to become the secret concubine, or something close to it for both Saint and Sin. Saint was the only known heir, so she paraded him around at every function while she made sure Lara warmed Sin’s bed so he wouldn’t have to go looking for women outside the family.”
I scratched my head, then tugged at my hair in frustration. “Mrs. Hale, I’ve heard enough. Nothing makes sense right now. A cult of widows? Secret concubine? This feels like a bad soap opera.”
“It doesn’t make sense to you because you’re still thinking like a normal person,” she said, stepping closer. “But believe me, it’s the real truth. The moment the twins return, Mrs. Rivers will push for the news to go public. She’ll paint you as evil and wicked. The twins will have no choice but to let you go after that.”
“What?”
“You must —”
She never got to finish.
My bedroom door swung open with a loud, earsplitting bang.
Lara barged in first, followed closely by Mrs. Rivers.
“After everything we’ve done for you, this is how you repay us?” Mrs. Rivers spat, pointing an accusing finger at me. “Poisoning my husband? You and this old witch?”
She jerked her chin toward Mrs. Hale.
“You shouldn’t talk to her like that!” I shot back, stepping forward. “She has done nothing wrong!”
Mrs. Hale pinched the back of my arm, but I ignored it.
“Excuse you?” Lara chirped, ever the drama queen. “You both conspired to take Mr. Rivers’ life and you think she’s done nothing wrong?”
I looked straight at Mrs. Rivers, letting her see the complete lack of fear in my eyes.
“I think we all know who the real culprits are.”
The light in Mrs. Rivers’ eyes dimmed for half a second before her mask snapped back into place.
“Oh, I’m shocked,” Lara said sarcastically. “Who could they be?”
I took another step forward, emboldened by the uncertainty in both women's eyes. “They’re both standing right in front of me.”
I looked Mrs. Rivers dead in the eye. “I will not sit back and suffer for a crime I didn’t commit. You poisoned your husband, Mrs. Rivers. For what? Power? Control? Fame?”
Saint and Sin chose that exact moment to stroll into the room.
Mrs. Hale hissed a warning behind me, but I ignored it.
“I’ll like to know what exactly is going on under this roof.” Saint’s voice was calm, but the tension rolling off him made the air feel thicker. “The doctors confirmed the residue of morphine in Father’s system. They claim he overdosed on it.”
“And we all know Father wouldn’t do that to himself,” Sin added, arms crossed, his eyes sharp as they darted round the room. “He doesn’t medicate himself.”
“That’s right,” Lara jumped in, her voice syrupy with fake concern. She was so smooth with her lines. “Nurse Dorothy handles his medications. Which makes me wonder… how could they have laid their hands on them?”
She looked straight at me and Mrs. Hale.
“Care to explain, Mrs. Hale?” Sin asked, flipping his wristwatch like he was checking the time on a bomb.
“I didn’t touch his drugs,” Mrs. Hale answered truthfully. “In fact, I don’t know where they are kept.”
Saint’s gaze shifted to me. “You were in that video, Serena.”
I nodded. “That’s right. I was.”
“I think we all deserve an explanation from you,” he said pointedly.
“Exactly,” Mrs. Rivers cut in. “Why were you in that kitchen at that hour?”
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to meet their eyes.
“If I had a reason for going into the kitchen, I can’t remember it… because I was sleepwalking. I don’t even remember the experience, but that’s what the video shows.”
“I was the one who found her,” Mrs. Hale added quickly. “She speaks the truth.”
Sin’s jaw tightened. “We have invited Detective Gilbert to take up the case,” he said. “We know the person who poisoned Father is right here in this room, and we will prove it.”
Lara flung her hair over her shoulder with dramatic flair. “I hope Detective Gilbert works fast,” she said sweetly, “because who knows who the culprit is targeting next?”
Sin and Saint stared at me for a long, heavy minute, as if they were searching my face for the truth and couldn’t quite find it.
Then, without another word, they turned together and left the room, speaking to each other in hushed, urgent tones.
Mrs. Rivers lingered, her eyes burning into me.
“You will pay for your disrespect earlier,” she said menacingly. “I will see to it that Detective Gilbert experiences no kind of setback while doing his job here.”
She turned on her heel, dragging Lara along with her like a prized accessory. The door clicked shut and I let out a shaky breath.
Since a detective was being invited to investigate, then I had nothing to worry about. Right?
If only that was true.
Mrs. Hale stayed behind, her face pale.
“Serena…” she whispered, glancing at the closed door. “Be very careful. This isn’t just about poison anymore. This is about power. And power in this house has always come with blood.”
I sank down onto the edge of the bed, my mind spinning.
I pressed my palms to my eyes. How had everything gone from pleasure to poison so fast?
I should have figured this out since, that in this house, love and danger had always been the same thing.
And I was standing right in the middle of both.