Kai leans back slightly in his chair, calm in a way that almost feels deliberate. “The party.”
“Of course, the party,” Gabriel says. “Christmas must be done properly at Steele House. Guests expect a certain standard.” His eyes flicker to me, pointed but brief, before returning to Kai. “I assume you’ve been handling your part.”
“Handled,” Kai confirms.
“Good.” Gabriel inclines his head once. “Then I’ll have the staff double-check the catering, and I want the guest list confirmed by tonight. Too many names last year. A crowd becomes vulgar if it isn’t curated.”
The silence that follows is suffocating. Kai’s jaw tightens, a muscle feathering in his cheek. His stare, when it meets his father’s, burns hot enough to scorch. It’s so raw, so unyielding, that I almost have to look away.
Then, with the ease of someone flicking a switch, Gabriel turns his head toward me.
“Adeline.”
My throat closes. “Yes?”
His expression is polite. Neutral, even. But his eyes are something else entirely. Calculating. Cold. “You must find all of this rather… overwhelming.”
“I—” I force my voice to steady. “I’m managing.”
“Managing.” Gabriel repeats it like he’s testing the word on his tongue, finding it amusing in a way that makes my skincrawl. His fingers tap once against the table before folding neatly again. “And yet, one does wonder what brings you here. Intothishouse.”
“Father—” Kai starts, his voice low.
Gabriel doesn’t let him finish. “It’s extraordinary,” he says, smooth as glass. His gaze settles back on me. “How alike you all look.”
The table stills.
“What?” I breathe.
At that moment, Sue slips past with a carafe, pouring Gabriel a glass of orange juice. She doesn’t meet my eyes, but when she sets the glass down, her glance flicks toward me just once. A warning. Careful.
Gabriel takes a sip, unhurried. “Your brother. Yourfather.”
“You knew them?” The question slips out, sharper than I mean it to.
His mouth curves, but there’s no warmth in it. “Knew them? I knewofthem.” His voice is polite, but the edge beneath it is unmistakable. “Your father was… memorable. Though, I suppose not in the way men hope to be remembered.”
A chill runs down my spine. “What do you mean?”
He leans back in his chair with perfect composure. “A man’s choices define him. And John Ross made his share of choices. Ones that cost others dearly.”
The room suddenly feels smaller, heavier, as his gaze pins me in place.
Kai’s jaw tightens again, his knuckles white against the armrest of his chair. “That’s enough.”
But Gabriel doesn’t look at him. He keeps his eyes on me, unblinking. Then, finally, he rises. “We’ll speak again,” he says, not to me, but almost over me. And then he turns, striding out of the room without another glance back.
I finally turn to Kai.
He hasn’t moved. Still sitting there, still watching the doorway where Gabriel disappeared, but his face—god. The charm is stripped from his face, leaving something harder, darker. His features are drawn so tight with anger he looks almost unrecognizable. For a second, I think he might actually break, shatter this whole table into splinters.
Then he closes his eyes. Just for a moment.
And when he opens them again, it’s gone. The fury. The fire. Everything.
The shift is so swift it nearly frightens me more than the anger itself.
The scrape of his chair against the polished floor makes me flinch. Kai stands, and without a word, he turns and walks away. His footsteps echo until they fade into silence.
