The mansion never slept. It only waited — walls breathing in the hush of candlelight, listening for footsteps that always came after midnight. Every creak was a warning, every whisper a prayer.

Gabrielle Serenity, twenty-one, an heiress born into old money and quiet privilege, now lived in a house that flinched at its own silence. Draped in lilac silk and diamonds that felt heavier than chains, she sat by the window, one hand resting lightly against the faint curve of her stomach. The world outside glimmered with rain — soft, calm, nothing like the life inside.

Her husband’s name carried like a curse across the city. A man who smiled only when fear paid its debts. Thirty-eight, powerful, untouchable. Even his silence felt like a threat.

When the clock struck one, his car pulled into the long drive. The maids straightened, the guards stiffened, and by the time he entered the marble hall, the air itself seemed to retreat. His coat trailed behind him, heavy with rain and smoke.

Dinner, as always, waited for him.

The dining hall stretched like a cathedral — vast, gold-lit, and silent. The long table shimmered beneath the candles, but no one dared lift their head.

He took his seat at the head of the table. Gabrielle sat at the far end, perfectly still, her beauty almost cruel in its calm. Her black gown shimmered faintly when she moved, and the diamonds at her throat caught every flicker of light. She didn’t need to speak to command the room — she was already the kind of woman people feared to look at for too long.

The first course was served in silence. Forks touched porcelain, quiet and neat. A maid nearly tripped when she sensed his gaze shift — no one ever recovered from being noticed by him.

He finally spoke, voice low, deep, and steady.

“Did you handle the banker’s wife?”

His words weren’t kind or cruel — they were just measured, routine, as if asking about the weather.

Every servant froze mid-breath, their eyes flicking to Gabrielle at the far end of the table.

The candlelight trembled between them, and his gaze didn’t leave her.