CHAPTER SEVENTEEN #2
Alaric had never been away this much. Even when he was buried with Dominion or Kostas work, he’d found a way to be with her, like when she was pregnant and he’d slept on a cot at the hospital for two weeks straight when she got admitted early.
Or when a Citadel’s raids had claimed a Dominion warehouse in a single night, leaving my husband with bloodied clothes and a solution I hadn’t asked him to explain.
So why now?
Every time I opened my mouth to ask what had changed, my mother's desperate voice echoed in my memory. Her tearful "Is it me?" becoming a haunting refrain throughout my childhood as my father pulled further away.
I knew Alaric was different.
He'd never weaponize affection the way Darius Darzi did. His touch had always been tender, unless he was doing something that brought me pleasure. He had never yelled or raised a hand toward me—even when we did have a disagreement.
But logic couldn't silence the whispers of doubt that crept in at night, each of my mother's tearful questions to my father now reborn with my voice, waiting in the shadows of my mind for their chance to be spoken aloud.
I was terrified of becoming another version of her.
Santos’s jaw twitched, a rare sign of irritation and he suddenly said, “He’s been working too much.”
“I understand that better than anyone, but why does that mean radio silence after he leaves the house? Do you know something?”
“I know he doesn’t want you at Orpheum,” he said bluntly.
Angel turned fully and asked before I could. “Why?”
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he crouched to lift Nikolai’s sippy cup off the floor when he accidentally knocked it from his tray, setting it back gently.
“That place isn’t for you right now,” he continued. “Not today. Not with whatever he’s dealing with.”
Of the family’s four clubs, Orpheum reigned supreme.
More than a nightclub—it was where the elite vanished behind doors black as night.
You’d look up and find ceilings soaring like a cathedral, making even shouted confessions seem like whispers.
The bars gleamed obsidian, while lights bathed everyone in colors that weren’t their own.
Every mirror created the unsettling feeling of being both observer and observed.
Beneath the glitter and glamour, Orpheum functioned as the Kostas family’s nerve center.
Within this neutral territory of the Dominion, men and sometimes the women they sent to play the field, clinked glasses while plotting, and a simple handshake might seal either a partnership or an execution order—all happening while other wealthy patrons sipped expensive liquor, served by beautiful people who saw everything and said nothing.
It was also where the walls themselves seemed to listen, every whispered secret finding its way to Alaric’s ear by morning.
Where cash stained with blood and regret entered the back rooms only to emerge laundered and legitimate hours later.
Where every lingering glance and every desperate plea was mentally archived by staff and discreet Wardens who knew exactly which vulnerabilities their boss might someday need to exploit.
The boss being my husband and in-laws.
“I’ve been to Orpheum plenty of times before,” I said, my eyes narrowing at Santos. “Why would now be any different?”
Santos’s expression remained carefully neutral. “Your husband simply requested you be kept away for the time being.”
Now, if Alaric had told me this himself, I wouldn’t have batted an eye. I knew full well there were certain areas of our life I was not supposed to be involved. It coming from Santos had alarm bells ringing.
I watched Nikolai now picking at the fruit tray Angel had placed in front of him as if he were a mini king, trying to ignore the whispers of doubt creeping through my mind.
Apart from his VIP room and office, the Orpheum had a restricted level with private apartment like suites.
I’d been inside his enough to know the exact layout.
Alaric had never given me reason to distrust him, though.
The dozens of beautiful servers, dancers, and hostesses who worked at Orpheum had never concerned me anymore than the many beautiful women of Dominion did. He’d always made it clear with both words and actions that I was the only one who held his attention.
But there was something Santos wasn’t saying. I knew it.
I glanced at the time. It was too early for him to be at Orpheum. “Where is he now?”
I shouldn’t have had to ask Santos this, and the fact I was only showed how much things had changed between my husband and myself. Santos hesitated, his eyes flicking to Angel before returning to meet my gaze. “He and the other heirs are at West Pointe office to meet with someone in I-A.”
I believed that. Santos was many things, but a good liar wasn’t one of them—at least not to me. Not anymore.
“You’re still not telling me something,” I murmured, voice dropping to ensure Niko wouldn’t pick up on any tension. “What’s going on at Orpheum that I shouldn’t see?”
Angel moved between us, having turned her burner off. “Maybe it’s just business, Selene. Dominion stuff.”
“Then he would have said that.” I pressed my palms against the cool marble counter. “He wouldn’t have Santos keep me away like I’m some kind of—.”
“It’s not like that,” Santos interrupted, his voice firm but gentle. “I’m doing this to keep you safe.”
I sighed and went to wash my hands. “Then you can keep me safe when we go there later.”
“Selene,” Santos began.
“You absolutely should go,” Angel interjected, loyalty flashing in her eyes.
I joined her at the counter, arranging Niko’s lunch across the divided sections of his Bluey plate.
The toddler’s eyes widened at the spread—at not quite two, he already ate like a teenager.
I added another handful of cut strawberries before carrying the plate to his highchair, pressing my lips against his soft curls.
“I’m going tonight,” I said, straightening to face Santos. “I’d prefer having you take me rather than dodging Wardens and Watchmen on my own.”
Santos’s expression hardened into resignation, his protective instinct visibly wrestling with reality. “I’ll be at your side the entire time.”
Angel’s eyes met mine. “I’ve got Niko tonight.”
“I appreciate—.”
“Don’t start,” she cut me off, voice gentle but firm. “This is what we do for each other.”
Something in her quiet certainty steadied me, even as doubt gnawed at my resolve. Part of me wanted to trust Alaric completely, to believe there was a reasonable explanation—hadn’t he earned that much?
Yet beneath that hope writhed a darker suspicion I couldn’t silence.
By tonight, whatever Alaric was hiding would be exposed—I’d make sure of it. Though my stomach twisted at what I might find.