Chapter 3
Elise's soft voice drifted through the speaker, gentle enough to stand in complete contrast to the tension inside the room.
Maverick pressed the speaker button before lifting the phone close to his mouth.
"Miss Foster," he said, his voice unexpectedly composed. The teasing vanished completely, replaced by the calm authority of a businessman handling an urgent situation. "Something's happened to Xavier."
For a split second, there was only silence on the other end.
Then—
"What happened?" Elise asked at once, panic instantly flooding her voice. "Is he hurt?"
Every man in the room instinctively turned to look at Xavier.
His expression remained icy, but the tightening of his jaw betrayed exactly how furious he was with Maverick.
"We're at Phantom," Maverick continued, his voice quiet but grave. "There's been an accident. Xavier accidentally killed someone. Can you come over?"
There wasn't the slightest hesitation.
"Yes," Elise answered immediately. They could hear the faint rustle of movement on the other end, as though she had already grabbed her things and was hurrying toward the door. "I'm leaving now. Please wait for me."
The line disconnected.
The silence that followed felt strangely different from before. Each of them had heard the fear in Elise's voice, the complete absence of doubt before she agreed to come, and it left an impression none of them had expected.
Cassian was the first to break the silence.
"I wonder how long she'll take."
He glanced casually at the expensive watch around his wrist before swirling the whiskey in his glass, his expression carrying the same amused confidence as always.
"Assuming she even comes," Elias added with a small shrug, though the corner of his mouth hinted he didn't believe his own words.
Cassian's smile deepened.
"Or maybe she's gone home."
He looked across the table until his eyes settled on Xavier.
"Maybe she's calling her parents to cancel the wedding."
His words hung comfortably in the air as he leaned back against the sofa.
"Wouldn't that solve your problem?"
The room became quiet again.
No one missed the way Xavier's eyes darkened almost imperceptibly.
He reached for his whiskey, taking an unhurried sip before lowering the glass back onto the table with controlled precision. "If she wants to cancel it," he said evenly, "that's her decision."
It was the answer everyone expected.
Yet somehow...
It didn't sound convincing.
For a brief moment, Xavier found himself imagining Elise walking away without another word, refusing to have anything to do with him anymore and disappearing from his life as though the past year had never happened.
The thought should have relieved him.
Instead, something inside him tightened.
The feeling vanished almost as quickly as it came, buried beneath the composure that had never failed him in either business or life. He dismissed it without another thought, unwilling to examine why the idea irritated him in the first place.
Maverick watched him over the rim of his glass, a knowing smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
"I suppose," he said quietly, "we're about to find out if this is really just an arrangement..."
His gaze lingered on Xavier for another second before he finished,
"...or something more."
Gradually, the conversation drifted onto business, though it was obvious no one was paying much attention anymore. Glasses were refilled, idle comments were exchanged, yet every few minutes someone's eyes wandered toward the door of the VIP lounge.
Barely ten minutes had passed when a discreet knock sounded at the door.
The conversation stopped.
A discreet knock sounded against the door before a club attendant stepped inside. Bowing respectfully, he waited until he had everyone's attention before speaking.
"My apologies for interrupting, gentlemen." His gaze settled on Maverick. "There's a young lady outside requesting permission to enter. She introduced herself as Miss Elise Foster and said one of you asked her to come."
The room fell quiet for a brief moment.
Cassian was the first to glance at Maverick, the corners of his mouth lifting into an amused smile.
"Well..." he murmured, setting his whiskey glass onto the marble table before rising to his feet. "That was quicker than I expected."
Maverick pushed himself off the sofa with the same unhurried confidence, slipping both hands into the pockets of his tailored trousers.
"Let's not keep her waiting."
Neither man looked toward Xavier.
Without another word, they followed the attendant out of the private lounge, the heavy wooden door closing quietly behind them.
Inside, Elias leaned back comfortably against the leather sofa, swirling the whiskey in his glass before glancing toward Xavier.
"I'll admit..." he said with an amused chuckle. "Now I'm curious."
Lucius remained silent, his calm gaze shifting toward the closed door, while Xavier said nothing at all.
One hand rested in the pocket of his tailored trousers as he stood beside the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the glittering lights of Manhattan.
His expression remained unreadable, though the slight tightening of his jaw betrayed exactly how little he appreciated being dragged into whatever game his friends were playing.
Outside, the attendant led Cassian and Maverick through the dimly lit VIP corridor before stopping near the private entrance.
Elise was already waiting.
She was still wearing her soft ivory nightdress, a thin robe carelessly wrapped around her shoulders as though she'd dressed in a hurry.
Her long dark hair tumbled over her back in soft layers, wispy strands framing her delicate face and falling near her eyes.
She looked gentle, almost fragile at first glance, yet there was a quiet confidence in the way she stood despite her hurried breathing.
The instant she saw them, she hurried forward.
"Are you both Xavier’s friends? What happened?" she asked, unable to hide the anxiety in her voice. Her eyes instinctively searched behind them before confusion flickered across her face. "Where's Xavier? Is he alright?"
Cassian exchanged a subtle glance with Maverick before his usual smile disappeared. His features settled into a grave expression so convincing that even someone who knew him well would've believed every word he was about to say.
"There was an accident."
His voice was calm and measured.
"A server made a mistake while bringing over the drinks. Xavier lost his temper..." He paused just long enough to watch the color slowly drain from Elise's face. "...He smashed his whiskey glass. It wasn't intentional, but one of the shards struck the server."
Maverick quietly took over without missing a beat.
"The ambulance has already taken the man to the hospital." His voice remained steady, his expression unreadable. "The doctors are trying to save him."
A heavy silence settled between them.
"If the worst happens..." Maverick continued, holding Elise's gaze. "...Xavier could be facing criminal charges."
Elise stood motionless, her fingers slowly tightening around the belt of the robe wrapped over her nightdress as she absorbed what Cassian and Maverick had just told her.
Maverick watched her in silence for a long moment before taking another step forward. His sharp gaze never left her face, reading every subtle change in her expression with the same precision he used across a negotiating table.
"If this becomes a criminal matter," he said at last, his deep voice calm enough to make the question even more unsettling, "would you take the blame for him?"
The question had barely left his mouth before Elise answered.
"Yes."
There wasn't the slightest pause.
She didn't ask why.
She didn't ask what would happen to her.
She simply looked at the two men in front of her and said with complete sincerity, "I'll tell the police it was my fault. I'll say I was the one who broke the glass." She lowered her eyes briefly before continuing in the same soft voice.
"Xavier has an entire corporation depending on him. Thousands of employees rely on him every day. If something happened to him..." She gently shook her head, as though the answer had always been obvious. "I'll take responsibility."
For the first time that evening, both men were left speechless.
Cassian slowly exhaled, the easy smile that rarely left his face disappearing altogether, while Maverick simply stared at her.
He had expected hesitation. Questions. Panic.
Anything.
What he hadn't expected was for her to say yes without a single moment's hesitation. She hadn't even taken a second to consider what taking the blame would mean for her.
As if protecting Xavier wasn't something she had to think about.
It was simply instinct.
Elise, however, seemed entirely unaware of the effect her answer had just had on them. Her eyes had already drifted past their shoulders toward the closed door of the VIP lounge.
"Where's Xavier?" she asked softly, taking an instinctive step toward the door. "Is he hurt? Can I see him?"
Neither man answered.
Cassian simply stepped aside and pulled the heavy wooden door open.
The moment Elise crossed the threshold, the conversation inside the private lounge came to an abrupt stop.
Every pair of eyes lifted toward the entrance.
She barely noticed.
Her gaze swept anxiously across the spacious room, searching from one corner to the other before moving over the expensive leather sofas, the marble table scattered with crystal whiskey glasses, and the floor beneath them.
Everything was perfectly in place. There wasn't a single piece of broken glass, no overturned furniture, no trace of blood or chaos—nothing to suggest the violent accident she'd imagined during the frantic drive to the club.
Elise's hurried footsteps gradually slowed as she moved deeper into the room. The anxiety that had carried her all the way from the Chen Manor slowly gave way to confusion, her gaze sweeping across the room before coming to rest on the men waiting for her.