Chapter 7 - The Shadows of South BostonThree weeks later, the rain over the Berkshire hills had turned into a hard, glittering sheet of frost that coated the wrought-iron gates of Westbridge Manor in silver.
Inside the grand study, Chloe Henderson sat behind a massive mahogany desk that had once belonged to a nineteenth-century rail baron. She wore a tailored crimson wool dress that hugged her full hips and accentuated her waist, her dark hair styled in loose, cascading waves.
Spread out before her were three centuries-old manifests, a sleek laptop displaying encrypted banking records, and a cup of steaming Earl Grey tea.
She wasn't hiding in the archives anymore.
The heavy oak doors swung open silently. Sebastian walked in, pulling off his leather gloves and tossing them onto the side table. He wore a dark wool overcoat, his silver-streaked hair dusted with melting snowflakes.
He stopped at the edge of her desk, looking down at her with a look of pure, undivided appreciation.
“You look dangerously competent, Ms. Henderson,” he remarked, a slow smile spreading across his face.
“Competent enough to freeze three of Arthur Vance’s offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands before lunch,” Chloe replied without looking up from her screen, though a pleased smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
Sebastian walked around the desk, leaning over her chair and resting his hands on the armrests, caging her in with his warmth. He inhaled the scent of cedar and tea from her hair.
“Vance is desperate,” Sebastian murmured. “His superiors are tearing apart his department following the leaked audio of his illegal raid here last month. He’s looking for a way to strike back.”
“Let him try,” Chloe said, turning her head to meet his dark eyes. “My legal team—courtesy of your very expensive corporate lawyers—just filed a federal injunction against the Boston field office for harassment and unlawful seizure. Vance can’t come within five miles of me without getting arrested by his own internal affairs division.”
Sebastian let out a low chuckle, leaning down to press a warm, lingering kiss against the sensitive skin of her neck.
Chloe shivered, her fingers pausing on the keyboard. “Sebastian... we’re working.”
“I am working,” he murmured against her skin, his hands sliding down to rest gently on her hips. “Appraising my most valuable asset.”
Before Chloe could reply, the secure intercom on the desk chimed sharply.
Marcus’s voice crackled through the speaker. “Boss. We have an uninvited visitor at the main gate. A woman claiming to be your cousin from New York, but our scanner flagged her license plate. It’s Elena Vance. Arthur Vance’s sister.”
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Sebastian went completely still. The playful warmth in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, hardened edge.
Chloe turned away from her screen, her brow furrowing. “Elena Vance? What is the head of the New York syndicate doing at your front gate in the middle of a blizzard?”
