Chapter 4 - The Breakfast of Wolves
The morning sun hit the marble floors of the dining room with a blinding intensity.
I stood behind Richard’s wheelchair,
my hands resting on the cold metal handles.
He was slumped slightly to the left,
his head tilted,
his eyes fixed on a point on the table.
He was a master of his craft.
Across from us sat Eleanor,
the matriarch of the Vance family.
She was a woman of seventy who looked sixty,
her face frozen by too many surgeries and a lifetime of cold calculations.
She sipped her tea,
not once looking at her eldest son.
“The board meeting is at ten,
Ethan,”
she said,
her voice like fine china.
“Are the doctors prepared to give their testimony regarding Richard’s…
limitations?”
Ethan was shoveling eggs into his mouth,
his eyes focused on his tablet.
“Everything is set,
Mother.
Dr. Aris will confirm that the neural damage is irreversible.
The transition will be seamless.”
Chloe sat next to him,
picking at a piece of dry toast.
She looked tired,
dark circles hidden under layers of expensive concealer.
I watched her closely,
remembering the midnight meeting in the garden.
“And what about the nurse?”
Chloe asked,
her eyes flicking to me.
“Is she…
reliable?”
Eleanor finally looked at me,
her gaze like a physical weight.
“She’s a divorcee from Evanston,”
Eleanor said,
dismissing me as if I were a piece of dust.
“She has no family,
no prospects,
and a desperate need for the salary we provide.
She’ll do exactly what she’s told.”
I kept my expression blank,
the way I used to when Ofelia would criticize my cooking in front of Miguel’s friends.
I felt Richard’s hand move ever so slightly on the armrest,
a secret signal.
Stay calm.
“I’ve been told she’s very thorough,”
Ethan said,
looking up from his tablet.
“Maybe too thorough.
She spent a long time in Richard’s room last night.”
I felt a chill go down my spine.
Had they been watching?
“The patient required extra care after the move,”
I said,
keeping my voice low and respectful.
“He had a minor muscle spasm that required a warm compress.”
Ethan narrowed his eyes.
“A muscle spasm?
The doctors said his lower limbs are completely unresponsive.”
“Involuntary movements are common in cases of spinal trauma,
sir,”
I lied,
drawing on the medical training I had taken to care for my father.
“It’s often a sign of nerve endings misfiring,
not a sign of recovery.”
Ethan seemed satisfied with that answer.
He went back to his tablet.
“Just make sure you don't get any ideas about him getting better,
Maya.
It’s a tragic situation,
but hope is a dangerous thing in this house.”
“I understand,
sir,”
I said.
As I wheeled Richard out of the room,
I could feel Chloe’s eyes on my back.
She knew I had seen something.
Or perhaps,
she was just naturally suspicious of anyone who didn't belong to their world.
Once we were back in the safety of Richard's wing,
he waited until I had closed and locked the door.
“The man Chloe was with,”
Richard said,
his voice low and urgent.
“Describe him.”
“Tall,
dark hair,
wearing a gray suit.
He had a scar on his left temple.”
Richard’s jaw tightened.
“Marcus Thorne.
He’s the head of security for our main competitor,
Apex Bio.
If Chloe is feeding him information,
it’s not just about the company.
It’s about my life.”
“Why would she help a competitor?”
I asked.
“Because Ethan is an idiot,”
Richard said bluntly.
“He wants the title of CEO,
but he doesn't know how to run the business.
Apex will wait until he’s in charge,
then they’ll trigger a hostile takeover.
Chloe is making sure she has a golden parachute when the plane crashes.”
I looked at this man,
betrayed by his own flesh and blood.
I realized that our lives weren't so different after all.
We were both surrounded by people who saw us as tools to be used and then discarded.
“What’s the first step?”
I asked.
Richard looked at the satellite phone in my hand.
“We need to contact my head of legal.
A man named Julian Vance.
He’s my cousin,
and the only person in this family who actually has a soul.
But he’s been barred from the estate by Ethan.”
“How do I get to him?”
“You don't.
He’s coming to the gala tonight.
And you,
May you like
Maya,
are going to be my messenger.”
