Chapter 166 Hidden Serpent

Chapter 166 Hidden Serpent
Cherry POV

I'm nestled against Nicholas's chest, my body aches—partly from the pregnancy, partly from the relentless tension that's become my shadow.

"We'll need to decorate the room soon," he murmurs. "Something warm, ready for when the little ones arrive."

"You're already planning their rebellion, aren't you?" My words tease, but inside, my heart clenches. A child. The thought is a double-edged blade—hope and terror in equal measure.

Before I can say more, a frantic knock shatters the quiet. My eyes snap open. Nicholas's grip tightens for a split second before he eases me aside, his face hardening as he strides to the door.

A maid stands there, her face pale. "Sir, I—I'm sorry to disturb you, but… it's terrible. Justine… she's dead."

The words hit like a gunshot. Nicholas doesn't flinch, but I see the muscle in his jaw tick. "Where?" he demands.

"Her room, sir. It's… it's awful." The maid's voice breaks, and I'm already on my feet as I slip into a robe. Nicholas doesn't stop me.

We hurry through the estate's labyrinthine halls. Justine's room door stands ajar, and the sight inside stops me cold. She hangs from the crystal chandelier, a grotesque centerpiece in the opulent room. A chair lies toppled beneath her, a thick fur blanket muffling any sound it might have made in falling. A note rests on the vanity, scrawled in a shaky hand: [I lost my child. I can't bear the pain. Forgive me.] Suicide, it screams—or so it's meant to.

Russell is on the floor, cradling her lifeless body now cut down, sobbing with guttural anguish. My eyes dart to Johnny in the corner, silent and still, his red-rimmed gaze burning with something feral.

Nicholas steps forward. "Russell, we're sorry for your loss." His words are formal, but there's no warmth in them. "Tell us what happened."

Russell chokes on a sob, shaking his head. "I wasn't here. I was out all night—business. The maid found her this morning when she came to check in. I… I can't believe she'd do this."

"We'll give you some space," Nicholas says, his tone unreadable. "Let us know if you need anything." Russell nods, clutching Justine closer, begging to be alone with her. I want to protest, but Nicholas's hand on my arm guides me out. Johnny follows.

He leads us to his room, saying there's something he needs to tell us. "Yesterday, Justine came to me. Twice. She told me things. Things I didn't want to believe." His hands clench into fists. "She said Laurel had Emily killed. That my own wife couldn't stand seeing my past in front of her. And Sophia arranged the crash that took Laurel out. Said she had proof."

My stomach twists. Nicholas's face is stone, but his eyes flicker with something dark. "That's not possible, Johnny. You know Sophia. You know me. We wouldn't touch your family."

Johnny nods, but it's hollow. "I told her she was crazy. Kicked her out. But she came back later, slipped me a photo—Sophia meeting a doctor at a private clinic. Shot from a distance, blurry as hell, but it was her. I still didn't believe it. Now she's dead, and I can't shake it. I-I think..."

Nicholas crosses his arms. "You think someone got to her. Turned her into a pawn."

Johnny's jaw tightens. "I think someone hugged her up to that chandelier. She was weak, Nicholas. No way she climbed up there herself. Someone did this—someone close. Russell, maybe. Or someone else in this damn house."

My mind reels, piecing together the scene. The note, the setup, the timing. "We all know who benefits most from this," I say softly. "Russell gets rid of a wife he didn't want, a child that wasn't his. No scandal, no loose ends. But there's no proof. If he did this, he's covered every track."

Nicholas's eyes meet mine, a promise in them. "If it's him, I'll handle it. Personally. You don't touch this, Cherry. No blood on your hands."

I shake my head, my fingers curling into my palms. "Not yet. Let's wait. Watch him. If he's acting, he'll slip. And if it's not him, we'll look like fools. There's something bigger here. I can feel it."

Three days later, Justine is laid to rest. Sophia, hindered by her health, doesn't return, leaving Nicholas and me to manage the funeral arrangements as the primary overseers.

At the burial, Russell collapses into a storm of emotion, his breakdown so severe that a fever overtakes him, necessitating an immediate transfer to the hospital. Watching his unraveling, I can't discern if it's genuine grief or a meticulously crafted performance.

Nicholas and I arrange for guards to be stationed outside Russell's hospital room. Their presence serves a dual purpose: to shield him from potential harm and to ensnare him if he truly is the serpent we suspect.

Simultaneously, the investigation into the security guard who edited the surveillance footage presses on. Under pressure, he finally confesses, admitting that Anthony orchestrated the act. We plan to delve deeper the following day, but morning brings a chilling discovery—he's taken his own life, wrists slashed in his cell.

We speculate that Anthony, having failed to eliminate me, is now silencing those who could expose him. With this suspicion burning in our minds, we turn our focus to Anthony, initiating a thorough probe into his every move, determined to uncover the extent of his treachery.

---

Russell POV

I'm propped against the pillows in the antiseptic hush of my hospital room, feigning weakness, when the door creaks open. A doctor steps in—or so I thought. He peels off his mask, revealing Theodus Rossi, my lover, my partner in this deadly game. His smirk is sharp, intimate, as he leans in close.

"Enough with the act, darling," he purrs, his arms pulling me into an embrace I don't resist. Not because I don't want to, but because I've learned something about myself in these dark months—I'm drawn to this, to him, in ways I never expected.

He pulls back, eyes glinting with triumph. "That troublesome woman is out of the way. Soon, your father will be, too. We're clearing the board, Russell."

I let the words sink in, a cold satisfaction spreading through me.

Justine's death was my design. The evidence she thought she'd found—Emily, Laurel, Sophia—all forged by my hand, planted for her to discover. I meant to wait, to let her unravel the family at the perfect moment, when my other plans were ripe for chaos. But that damned security guard got caught.

I couldn't risk exposure. So I moved fast, ended Justine, staged it as a suicide, and let the guard take the fall with his own blood. A neat little misdirection, pointing fingers at Anthony. After all, he fucked my wife. This is just payback.

I lean back, a slow smile curling my lips. "Once Anthony's gone, Eric and Johnny won't be a problem. The real thorns are Cherry and Nicholas. We tread carefully there."

Theodus nods, his hand lingering on mine. "We will. They'll never see us coming."